Command and Conquer 64 Official Trailer (1997, Westwood Studios)
38It sounds like the audio track skipped a milisecond there... or the terrorists really downsized for the N64 version. The "'Brother' of Nod".
Command & Conquer is a 1995 real-time strategy video game developed by Westwood Studios and published by Virgin Interactive. Set in an alternate history of modern day, the game tells the story of a world war between two globalized factions: the Global Defense Initiative of the United Nations and a cult-like militant organization called the Brotherhood of Nod, led by the mysterious Kane. The groups compete for control of Tiberium, a mysterious substance that slowly spreads across the world.
Westwood first conceived Command & Conquer during the final stages of the development of Dune II, and it expands on ideas first explored in that title. Inspired by the events of the era, particularly the Gulf War, the team gave the game a modern warfare setting. The game contains live-action full motion video cutscenes, which star Westwood employees and a single professional actor, Joseph D. Kucan, who plays Kane.
Command & Conquer is set in an alternate timeline, after a meteorite crashed near the river Tiber in Italy. The meteorite brings with it an extremely toxic alien substance called Tiberium, which becomes extremely valuable because of its ability to absorb and crystallize precious metals from the surrounding soil. An ancient, cultic secret society called the Brotherhood of Nod claims to have foreseen the potentials of this new substance, investing in the development of technology to harvest and refine Tiberium crystals ahead of the scientific community. Nod soon controls nearly half of the supply and uses these assets to sustain a rapidly growing army of followers worldwide. The group is led by a self-proclaimed messianic figure known only as Kane.
Following a series of international terrorist bombings that culminate in the destruction of the fictional Grain Trade Center in Vienna - attacks which are quickly attributed to the Brotherhood of Nod - the United Nations Security Council realizes that Kane and Nod are commencing a global campaign of terrorism, and authorises the Global Defense Initiative to intervene on its behalf, setting a conflict in motion that escalates into a world war. The game begins soon after the arrival of Tiberium in 1995, although precise time-frames are not provided in-game.
Reviewing the Nintendo 64 version of Command & Conquer, Erik Reppen of Game Informer wrote that it "has done an amazing job of completely reworking the old levels into a 3D polygonal format." Although he said that the game "offers plenty to keep you entertained", he disliked the heavy sound compression and the loss of the FMV cutscenes present in earlier versions. IGN's Aaron Boulding opened his review by saying: "To their credit, Looking Glass developed Command & Conquer with all of the elements you want from a quality RTS." Boulding praised the gameplay and the Special Ops missions, but noted that most of the units were distinct from the PC version. He was less happy with the port's graphics, calling them "hit and miss", though he lauded the audio effects and voice work. Boulding also said the controls were well handled, though a bit complicated, and concluded: "Command & Conquer is a fine game and may get a little addictive for anyone who never got into the PC version of the game. But for anyone who ran through the old version, the N64 won't offer much in the way of new thrills beyond the new N64 missions and the 3D world."
Next Generation commented that, while earlier ports had trouble recreating the mouse controls of the original, the Nintendo 64 version "handles it beautifully". The review's author stated that the controller's analog stick "allow[s for] the same simple point and click interface as the PC", adding that "the entire interface is equally responsive and well planned." The reviewer praised its graphics and audio, even calling the voice acting "the most competent [...] ever to appear en masse on the platform", but disliked its lack of multiplayer support, and concluded that the port "keeps the spirit of the game perfectly while adapting it wonderfully to the limitations of the N64". James Bottorff of The Cincinnati Enquirer believed that advancements in the real-time strategy genre rendered the Nintendo 64 port outdated, despite its new "bells and whistles". However, Bottorff wrote that those who had not played earlier Command & Conquer releases would find it "highly addictive", adding that its "controls are surprisingly good for a PC port."
Command and Conquer was released on the following platforms:
PC (MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows), Mac OS, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, Nintendo 64, PlayStation Network (PS3/PSVita)