Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3

Did You Know?

• The game's executive producer Chris Corry stated that many units are amphibious, trading effectiveness for increased flexibility.
• During the 12th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences awarded Red Alert 3 with Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year.

Plot

As the Soviet Union faces defeat by the Allied Nations, Soviet General Nikolai Krukov and Colonel Anatoly Cherdenko use a time machine beneath the Kremlin to travel to Brussels in 1927 and eliminate Albert Einstein, changing the future. Returning to the present, Cherdenko is Premier of the Soviet Union; in this timeline the Soviets are on the brink of conquering Europe when the Empire of the Rising Sun declares war on both the Soviet Union and the Allies, seeking world domination.

Nuclear weapons have not been invented due to Einstein's elimination. In the Soviet campaign, the player assumes the role of a Soviet commander whose first task is to expel Imperial Japanese forces from Soviet territory by defending Leningrad, securing a satellite launch facility, and retaking a naval base in Vladivostok. Afterwards, the Allies are rallied by U.S. President Ackerman, forcing attacks in Europe on their HQ in Geneva and a research lab in Mykonos; an attempt is made on Premier Cherdenko's life.

The fight culminates in a strike against the Von Esling Airbase in Iceland, where Cherdenko names General Krukov as the traitor and orders the commander to kill him. The Soviets then invade Japan to kill Emperor Yoshiro in his palace at Mt. Fuji. The commander defeats all three Imperial commanders and kills the emperor on his battle mecha. Dr. Gregor Zelinsky, the scientist who created the time machine, contacts the commander to reveal the altered events but the communication is cut and he disappears.

Development

A third Red Alert game was unofficially announced by Electronic Arts' executive producer Mark Skaggs in December 2004, but he left shortly thereafter. No mention of Red Alert 3 occurred until February 14, 2008. A public beta test was announced in February 2008; PC users who registered a code from Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath or Command & Conquer 3 Limited Collection by September 15 could participate. From July 24, participants received e-mails with keys and download links.

FilePlanet members could also participate from August 22. The beta servers closed on September 29. Executive producer Chris Corry said Red Alert 3 would come bundled with SecuROM software, requiring online activation and allowing only five activations per serial. Uninstalling the game initially did not return an installation, but after patches it did.

Following the Spore SecuROM controversy, customers threatened to boycott; EA increased the activation limit from three to five. Many customers remained unsatisfied. The 1.05 patch allowed users to de-authorize the game in the settings menu.

Marketing

Preorders of Red Alert 3 included bonuses such as Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, an exclusive multiplayer map, a bonus DVD, and desktop wallpapers. In the 2008 United States Presidential election, 43 people voted for Ackerman as a write-in candidate. The Premier Edition includes a soundtrack CD with remixes of Hell March and Hell March 2, a bonus DVD with making-of documentaries and strategy tips, a code for exclusive multiplayer maps, and a key for a beta of a future Command & Conquer game.

It comes in a Soviet-themed tin case with a poster of the women in Red Alert 3. In the UK, the Premier Edition is exclusive to Game. In Taiwan, an exclusive limited Premier Edition included a Dicota Red Alert 3 backpack. Copies of Red Alert 3 included a code to unlock the Kossar's Helm in Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.

EA Singapore and Gamers.com.my launched a Commander's Pack in Singapore and Malaysia containing the Premier Edition, a Dicota Notebook BacPac, and a Microsoft Sidewinder X6 Gaming Keyboard with Red Alert 3 decals. A smaller Officer's Pack was also released. The PlayStation 3 Ultimate Edition was released in March 2009.