Articles & Editorials: Where’s the Connection?

Usually when you buy a sequel or a prequel to one of your favorite games, you expect it to be another part of the story which began in the original. So why is Red Alert’s storyline completely detached from the storyline of Command and Conquer? Obviously if the game is called “Command and Conquer: Red Alert,” it should be part of the Command and Conquer time line. According to Westwood’s PR people, the reason for the separation is “To separate the two series, because each one delivers a very unique story and game play experience.” But I think the real reason is the most obvious one; a mistake. An internal storyline contradiction.

If there is a mistake, I haven’t found it yet. There is the fact that Germany’s borders are not changed in Command and Conquer as a result of the Allied-Soviet wars. But is that really a big enough mistake that it requires something so drastic as separating C&C and Red Alert? I’m not saying that this is the reason the two series were separated, or even that I know what caused it. But either way, the real mistake was the separation itself.

Westwood should try to rectify that mistake. There are many people who are disappointed (I could tell by the number of e-mails I got replying to my interview with Chris Rubyor). It won’t keep me from buying Red Alert 2, but some people may feel differently. I still believe that Red Alert 2 will be a great game, but it bothers me greatly that it is a totally different storyline. If anyone from Westwood reads this, I would like to say: If it is at all possible, bring Red Alert back into the Command and Conquer storyline. Red Alert is not complete without Command and Conquer.

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