Command & Conquer (1995 video game)

Did You Know?

• The Nintendo 64 port was developed by Looking Glass Studios.
• An expansion pack titled The Covert Operations added 15 new missions and unlocked an easter egg mini-campaign involving dinosaurs.
• A spin-off game called Command & Conquer: Sole Survivor focuses entirely on online multiplayer, putting players in control of single units in modes such as deathmatch and capture the flag.

Plot

The Brotherhood of Nod, an ancient cult led by the messianic figure Kane, claims to have foreseen Tiberium's potential and develops harvesting technology ahead of global science, using the resources to build a worldwide army. By the game's start, Tiberium has spread globally, with Nod controlling nearly half of it through footholds in poor nations, funding terrorist attacks in wealthy countries. The Global Defense Initiative, originally a UN peacekeeping force after an alternate World War II, is repurposed as an anti-terrorist organization and aims to eliminate Nod. The conflict becomes a world war, with the Nod campaign set in Africa and the GDI campaign in Europe. The player character is not directly identified; the sequel Tiberian Sun names the GDI commander James Solomon.

Development

Westwood Studios began developing Command & Conquer in early 1993, conceiving it near the end of Dune II’s development. Co-founder Brett Sperry described it as the net result of the Dune II wish list, aiming to build the ultimate RTS with an original intellectual property. The title was chosen because Sperry believed it summarized the gameplay. Drag-selecting and context-sensitive clicking were inspired by Apple's desktop navigation.

The game originally had a high fantasy setting but was redesigned to a modern warfare theme due to the mid-1990s political climate, particularly the Gulf War. Co-founder Louis Castle noted that war and terrorism were prominent in the news. Sperry believed future wars would be between Western society and anarchistic terror organizations without centralized government. The team made the installation process resemble hacking a military infrastructure to create the feel of a real battlefield terminal, but created a parallel universe to avoid real war's sobering issues.

Reception

Command & Conquer was a commercial hit. In the United States, PC Data ranked it the fourth-best-selling CD-ROM product across all categories for October 1995 and seventh in computer games the following month. By April 1996, it had sold 500,000 copies worldwide; Westwood reported sales above 1 million by September 1996. It was the seventh-best-selling computer game domestically for the first half of 1996.

The game was especially popular in France and Germany, selling 200,000 copies in Germany by November 1996. Sales across all platforms reached 1.7 million by February 1997 and eventually exceeded three million. Critical reception was highly positive. PC Gamer US named it the best strategy game of 1995, and Computer Gaming World tied it with Heroes of Might and Magic: A Strategic Quest for that honor.

Computer Games Strategy Plus named it top real-time strategy title and overall Game of the Year. In 1998, Command & Conquer Gold received nominations for Computer Entertainment Title of the Year and PC Strategy Game of the Year at the AIAS Interactive Achievement Awards. Entertainment Weekly's Bob Strauss praised its cutscenes, voice clips, and nonstop action, calling it a game that makes other war simulations look flat. Next Generation lauded its simple yet deep strategy and full motion video.

Computer Games Magazine called it an adrenaline rush in a box, praising its music, sound, gameplay, and story, though noting minor AI issues.