[PC] Command & Conquer Generals 2, now just Command & Conquer

[CeeKay]

we'll find out December 10th apparently.

[edit] my thoughts from the other thread:

could they be going post apocalyptic, kinda like Autoduel?  and what is up with that gun in the pickup truck?

maybe this is Dragon Age 3: The Year 3000

[Isgrimnur]

Dragunov Age.

[Blackjack]

To me it looks more like a "Technical" (pick up truck with a heavy machine gun, or rotary cannon in this case) in Black Hawk Down or Command & Conquer: Generals.

The poor flying guy has a green shirt, knee pads, ammo belt and what seems to be a headscarf on (I'm sorry, I mean "do-rag"). Since he's not blown into little bloody giblets, I'm guessing this is not an M-rated game?  

Clearly they're announcing a Renegade Ops sequel by Bioware.   Or, "Medal of Honor: Pickup Truck Assault."  

[jersoc]

if the game is like the SS, then it'll be a boring on rail game like gears.

nope.

[kronovan]

t certainly isn't a sequel to anything Bioware's done before. What EA IP from yesteryears might fit that picture? Of course it could be a new IP, but those are usually hinted at by EA, if not fully marketed pre-release.

[Maggot]

I'm all for them experimenting with new styles but this really does nothing for me.

[Blackjack]

Hey, Bioware has done a Sonic DS game (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_Chronicles:_The_Dark_Brotherhood), and its mech blaster Shattered Steel was the first Bioware game I ever played (1996). So they have some interestingly different games in their DNA.

Though they seem long overdue for revisiting Baldur's Gate with modern technology (game engine-wise).

I like to think this is the canceled Mercenaries co-op focused sandbox title Pandemic was working on when its plug was pulled in 2009. EA presumably still owns the IP rights to that. That's the unfounded rumor I'm going to start.  

[CeeKay]

Though they seem long overdue for revisiting Baldur's Gate with modern technology (game engine-wise).

while it would be cool, but then EA would have to work with Atari.

[Blackjack]

Though they seem long overdue for revisiting Baldur's Gate with modern technology (game engine-wise).

while it would be cool, but then EA would have to work with Atari.

Make it happen, CeeKay!  That's a shame though (I forgot), BG seems like an IP Bioware oughta own.

[kronovan]

Though they seem long overdue for revisiting Baldur's Gate with modern technology (game engine-wise).

while it would be cool, but then EA would have to work with Atari.

And Wizards of the Coast and that means...meh, it isn't going to happen.

[kronovan]

I like to think this is the canceled Mercenaries co-op focused sandbox title Pandemic was working on when its plug was pulled in 2009. EA presumably still owns the IP rights to that. That's the unfounded rumor I'm going to start.  

Good call, that could just be it. Its early, but the low quality of that visuals leads me to believe this might be an XBLA game.

[Blackjack]

A few seconds tucked into a Spike Video Game Awards show teaser that promises you'll "get to see the new game" Dec. 10 at the show:
http://www.spike.com/video-clips/xmcja6/video-game-awards-the-next-game-from-bioware
*The new game's brief footage starts at about the 13 second mark, I believe. Blink and you'll miss it.  

It clarifies that the game is from a "new" Bioware Studio. As much as I hope it's not another military FPS, most of the clues suggest it is... I'd love for it to be a tank game or a helicopter game -- there is a tank clearly shown at the bottom of the video but of course they have those in FPSs.

[Ridah]

They're saying those are the NPCs from Command & Conquer, plus one of the artists who worked on the series during the EA LA period was brought in.

I love the C&C series, but unless they do something outrageously awesome with the singleplayer campaign like Blizzard did with SC2, I'm not interested. Assuming it's an RTS, that is.

[TiLT]

This is just ridiculous! EA has taken one of their studios, probably given them a solid trademark to work on (Command & Conquer), then slapped the Bioware name onto them. That doesn't make them Bioware, except in a formal way. Even so, it appears that the gaming community is swallowing this bait hook, line, and sinker. If they hadn't renamed this studio "Bioware", the game would have barely registered as a blip on the radar. With a simple name change they've instead made it come to the front of everyone's attention. It's a bit insulting towards gamer intelligence, actually. Sadly, it's probably going to work too.

I'm sure Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk are ecstatic about the way EA is treating their company these days.

[jersoc]

after DA2, anything with bioware makes me cautious. The only thing i'm (going to be) eating up is turkey.

[Blackjack]

They're saying those are the NPCs from Command & Conquer, plus one of the artists who worked on the series during the EA LA period was brought in.

I love the C&C series, but unless they do something outrageously awesome with the singleplayer campaign like Blizzard did with SC2, I'm not interested. Assuming it's an RTS, that is.

Hmmm, suddenly my observation that the exploding pickup looked like a "Technical" in C&C: Generals doesn't seem so lame. 

My sister-in-law bought me C&C: Red Alert 3 a couple years ago for Xmas and I've still yet to even take the shrink wrap off. 

[disarm]

I'm sure Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk are ecstatic about the way EA is treating their company these days.

Complaining all the way to the bank, no doubt...

[CeeKay]

wow, that footage in the teaser looked..... boring.  Maybe they'll call this new studio 'Biowestwood'.

[Turtle]

Generals was quite a fun game, but not my style of RTS. On the other hand, I could really do with a C&C style RTS of any kind, and honestly I'd be willing to give Generals another shot.

And yeah, if the Bioware guys wanted to maintain more control over their name and studio, they probably shouldn't have sold.

This new studio though, I wonder who is heading it up?

Also, anyone else really hoping that they had just rebooted the Tiberium series? I know it hasn't been that long since the last game finished it out, but it kind of went out with a whimper.

[Ridah]

This is just ridiculous! EA has taken one of their studios, probably given them a solid trademark to work on (Command & Conquer), then slapped the Bioware name onto them. That doesn't make them Bioware, except in a formal way. Even so, it appears that the gaming community is swallowing this bait hook, line, and sinker. If they hadn't renamed this studio "Bioware", the game would have barely registered as a blip on the radar. With a simple name change they've instead made it come to the front of everyone's attention. It's a bit insulting towards gamer intelligence, actually. Sadly, it's probably going to work too.

I'm sure Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk are ecstatic about the way EA is treating their company these days.

It gives people faith because the Bioware brand is a good one, and you would expect they wouldn't release a game under the brand unless they were going to make a good game.

[TiLT]

This is just ridiculous! EA has taken one of their studios, probably given them a solid trademark to work on (Command & Conquer), then slapped the Bioware name onto them. That doesn't make them Bioware, except in a formal way. Even so, it appears that the gaming community is swallowing this bait hook, line, and sinker. If they hadn't renamed this studio "Bioware", the game would have barely registered as a blip on the radar. With a simple name change they've instead made it come to the front of everyone's attention. It's a bit insulting towards gamer intelligence, actually. Sadly, it's probably going to work too.

I'm sure Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk are ecstatic about the way EA is treating their company these days.

It gives people faith because the Bioware brand is a good one, and you would expect they wouldn't release a game under the brand unless they were going to make a good game.

Yeah, just like when EA gave Bioware all the time in the world (read: one year) to create a sequel to Dragon Age, resulting in what is most likely the worst Bioware game in modern history.

[kronovan]

Maybe they'll call this new studio 'Biowestwood'.

I actually prefer the name "Biowetwood." Its something that occurs when you take your dog for a walk in the woods. 

[Ridah]

This is just ridiculous! EA has taken one of their studios, probably given them a solid trademark to work on (Command & Conquer), then slapped the Bioware name onto them. That doesn't make them Bioware, except in a formal way. Even so, it appears that the gaming community is swallowing this bait hook, line, and sinker. If they hadn't renamed this studio "Bioware", the game would have barely registered as a blip on the radar. With a simple name change they've instead made it come to the front of everyone's attention. It's a bit insulting towards gamer intelligence, actually. Sadly, it's probably going to work too.

I'm sure Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk are ecstatic about the way EA is treating their company these days.

It gives people faith because the Bioware brand is a good one, and you would expect they wouldn't release a game under the brand unless they were going to make a good game.

Yeah, just like when EA gave Bioware all the time in the world (read: one year) to create a sequel to Dragon Age, resulting in what is most likely the worst Bioware game in modern history.

It might have been the worst Bioware game in history, but it was still better than most games in history 

Bioware may not have created a masterpiece, but it was pretty good.

[rshetts2]

My disappointment in Dragon Age 2 was in the fact that they basically threw out the play style they established in the first Dragon Age and made it more of an action rpg.   That being said, I thought it was a pretty good game over all.  It just wasnt what I hoped it would be. Once I got past that, I enjoyed the game a lot.  Putting aside your own personal prejudices seems to work that way quite often.

[TiLT]

This is just ridiculous! EA has taken one of their studios, probably given them a solid trademark to work on (Command & Conquer), then slapped the Bioware name onto them. That doesn't make them Bioware, except in a formal way. Even so, it appears that the gaming community is swallowing this bait hook, line, and sinker. If they hadn't renamed this studio "Bioware", the game would have barely registered as a blip on the radar. With a simple name change they've instead made it come to the front of everyone's attention. It's a bit insulting towards gamer intelligence, actually. Sadly, it's probably going to work too.

I'm sure Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk are ecstatic about the way EA is treating their company these days.

It gives people faith because the Bioware brand is a good one, and you would expect they wouldn't release a game under the brand unless they were going to make a good game.

Yeah, just like when EA gave Bioware all the time in the world (read: one year) to create a sequel to Dragon Age, resulting in what is most likely the worst Bioware game in modern history.

It might have been the worst Bioware game in history, but it was still better than most games in history 

Bioware may not have created a masterpiece, but it was pretty good.

Not good enough to maintain the brand you were talking about, particularly now that other companies have surpassed Bioware's skills in creating RPGs. But I'll let the cold facts speak for themselves:

- EA gave Bioware a little more than a year to develop Dragon Age 2, the sequel to a game that took many years to create. Bioware had to sacrifice important features like art assets (thus the repeating dungeons). One year is not enough development time for an AAA-game.
- Dragon Age 2 is the worst received full Bioware game ever, not counting Sonic Chronicles. Don't believe me? Ask Metacritic. That list is sorted by the average review score by professional reviewers. Even Jade Empire, a mostly forgotten and poorly reviewed game from several years back, fared better.

Not to mention that Bioware has started inventing new words when they are uncomfortable using the established ones. When they talked about Dragon Age 2 being simplified from Dragon Age Origins (which it was), Bioware avoided mentioning the word "streamlined", even though that was the proper word to use. Instead they decided to use "aerodynamic" about their design. They got ridiculed for that, as they should be. It's a sign of danger when a company is uncomfortable talking openly about their own games and instead have to use subterfuge.

Now that a third-party company is being absorbed into the Bioware brand, working on a game that doesn't look like it's an RPG, it becomes clear that the company is in great danger.

[Dante Rising]

I'm going to agree with TiLT on this one. I think Bioware will quickly go the way of my beloved Origin and Bullfrog from years past. Bethesda and the Bioware of Christmas Past have shown that complex RPGs can move significant units. But instead the company completely diluted Dragon Age 2 and Mass Effect 2. EA bought Bioware because of their pedigree and reputation, but they don't seemed concerned with keeping either intact.

Thank God we have Bethesda, and I'm hoping Obsidian survives the lackluster sales of Alpha Protocol and Dungeon Siege III.  

[Turtle]

Move significant units, but also take up a lot more money to develop.

And you know that steamlining, or rather, aerodynamic-ness Tilt hates so much? It's one of the reasons why Skyrim is being enjoyed by so many. Time let go of the stupid steamlined/aerodynamic comment stupidity. People who hark on that one little comment are just as silly as the one who made the comment in the first place. No one cares, or is impressed. There are a lot of stupid comments out there in the industry, and if that one thing got on your nerves that much then your say goodbye to your sanity after a simple search.

Jade Empire fared better only because people really didn't know any better. Ancient reviews from a time of great flux in the industry aren't the best indicators of quality in the modern times.

Anyone really know who is heading up this new studio brought under the Bioware name?

Bioware doesn't have to do all RPGs, in fact, for studio health, it's probably a good idea that they do not and alternate between a series that's faster to develop, but no less quality, and the full fledged RPG.

Yes, they definitely rushed Dragon Age 2 to try to fill this need for a fast game that they can release between the big giant RPGs, and yes, it failed at that overall, but had a lot of good points over DAO that if they folded together into a mix of DAO and DA2, would probably become my favorite RPG ever.

[TiLT]

And you know that steamlining, or rather, aerodynamic-ness Tilt hates so much? It's one of the reasons why Skyrim is being enjoyed by so many. Time let go of the stupid steamlined/aerodynamic comment stupidity. People who hark on that one little comment are just as silly as the one who made the comment in the first place. No one cares, or is impressed. There are a lot of stupid comments out there in the industry, and if that one thing got on your nerves that much then your say goodbye to your sanity after a simple search.

You really don't understand what I was saying, do you? It's not about the concept of streamlining, but that Bioware was so afraid of using the word that they tried camouflaging it by using a different one and pretending it was in some way different (ie. "No no, our game isn't streamlined! It's aerodynamic! Huge difference!"). To me that reveals uncertainty in their own product.

[Turtle]

Eh, chalk it up to a lead that's inexperienced with talking to a ravenous fanbase that hangs on every word.

I am, like you, cautious about the direction Bioware is heading. But let's face it, even if they head in the direction we don't want, or do want, there's always someone ready to step in and fill the void. Remember that there was a time where everyone thought that the classic RPG was pretty much dead.

I'm unconcerned about the new studio. I think EA was going to open a new studio, or had the studio open for a while working on this next C&C game for a while now, and just needed to use a name. Currently, the Bioware studio name is the one that's most well known. As we've seen with studios like Irrational, once renamed 2K Something, then got its name back, it's all up in the air, and what matters more than name shifts is actual actions and acknowledgments from the developers, which there have been.

[CeeKay]

heh, if they did use conversation trees it'd definitely de-aerodynamicize C&C

[Turtle]

Honestly, I'm glad there's a new C&C. I'm getting really tired of Dawn of War 2, and Starcraft 2 just isn't my style of game.

C&CG2 probably won't fill the void, but at least it's an alternative.

[Blackjack]

To me it looks more like a "Technical" (pick up truck with a heavy machine gun, or rotary cannon in this case) in Black Hawk Down or Command & Conquer: Generals.

Dear past self, you were right on the mark!  

I liked C&C: Generals in its day, although I'm not convinced that the current obsession with all things Modern Warfare extends to RTSs, or that -- if this is a multiplatform title -- anyone can really get console gamers to embrace RTSs as a category.

I'd keep in mind this is Bioware's new studio, which presumably is a bunch of former RTS devs, so I doubt it's going to be an RTS mushed together with Mass Effect or something.

It's definitely long overdue for a reboot. I don't think I know anybody who even played C&C 4, or Red Alert 3. I actually asked for those as gifts, and to this day have never even opened 'em. Which (although one person is hardly a trend  ) I think speaks to the franchise needing an overhaul to get gamers in general excited about it again.

[Blackjack]

C'mon, CeeKay -- you gotta at least leave "Bioware" in the original thread title, or this thread is already dead. Bioware's name is the only reason anyone would give a hoot about this. Unless that was your evil plan all along. Ahahahaha....  

From the oficiale page:
http://www.commandandconquer.com/en/games/bygameid/cncgenerals2

In the near future, world leaders are mere seconds from signing a global treaty and bringing an end to war as we know it when a devastating terrorist attack rips through the peace conference, killing all in attendance. In a world left with no politicians, diplomats, or activists, only the Generals remain. It’s up to you to assume their roles, command of their forces, and put an end to global terrorism once and for all.

    All-out War – Take control of three unique factions, competing for resources, building up your base of operation, and leading massive batteries of tanks, soldiers, and aircraft into battle.

    Uncanny Sense of Realism – Frostbite 2 technology allows for visceral, visually stunning conflict at an epic scale. Incredibly detailed units and environments, dynamic physics, and exhilarating visual effects bring the battle to life in ways never before seen. This is the closest thing to real war without the consequences.

    New Ways to Dominate or Ally with your Friends – Go beyond classic deathmatch with a selection of new multiplayer game modes, designed with both cooperative and competitive play in mind.

    Thrilling Campaign – Command the war on terror in an electrifying single-player campaign. Experience the dramatic story from multiple perspectives—from heroic General to crazed terrorist [this is guaranteed to earn the game a 30-seconds of "Isn't that horrible???" buzz-bj] —while engaging the enemy in pulse-pounding tactical combat.

   Ever-evolving Experience –  Enhance your game with an expanding array of downloadable content. From maps and units to factions, campaigns, and more, the fight against terrorism is deeper than ever.

I understand having a short snippet but man, that is way TOO short.  

btw, it seems funny, but Origin is already taking pre-orders from this. Here's the sys requirements, though it's probably just based on what Battlefield 3 uses (same engine):

Minimum System Requirements

OS: Windows Vista (Service Pack 1) 32-bit
Processor: 2 GHz Dual Core (Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or Athlon X2 2.7 GHz)
Memory: 2 GB
Hard Drive: 20 GB
Graphics card (AMD): DirectX 10.1 compatible with 512 MB RAM (ATI Radeon 3000, 4000, 5000 or 6000 series, with ATI Radeon 3870 or higher performance)
Graphics card (NVIDIA): DirectX 10.0 compatible with 512 MB RAM (NVIDIA GeForce 8, 9, 200, 300, 400 or 500 series with NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT or higher performance)
Sound card
DirectX Compatible
Keyboard and Mouse
DVD ROM Drive

Recommended System Requirements

OS: Windows 7 64-bit
Processor: Quad-core CPU
Memory: 4 GB
Hard Drive: 20 GB
Graphics card: DirectX 11 compatible with 1024 MB RAM (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 or ATI Radeon 6950)
Sound card
DirectX Compatible
Keyboard and Mouse
DVD ROM Drive

[Blackjack]

BiowarEA

That's a good one! 

Although most of us probably wished Bioware had swallowed EA instead of the other way around. 

[Purge]

So madden would have the decision trees?


./-----throw the ball
|-----run the ball
'\-----ignore the ball, head back to the showers with a couple of cheerleaders.

[TiLT]

So madden would have the decision trees?


./-----throw the ball
|-----run the ball
'\-----ignore the ball, head back to the showers with a couple of cheerleaders.

Well, it's nearly a Bioware decision node, but you need to mix in some gay/lesbian sex in one of the options or it just doesn't sound right.

[Blackjack]

While this is all very amusing, as I've babbled earlier, the game's by a new studio of RTS devs formed under Bioware as the parent studio, and using Battlefield 3's game engine. While I do find it peculiar it's under the Bioware label, nothing I've read suggests it's going to be an RPG-ized RTS, as interesting as that might be. The game's DNA is a buch of RTS veteran devs, probably laid off from various other former RTS devs, not Bioware RPG-conversation-tree dialogue dev DNA.

Now you can take my DNA references and derive whatever potty humor you care to derive.  

[Purge]

Also,

I LIKED Westwood Studios' games.

[Fuzzballx]

Fond memories of westwood studios...

And Generals was one of my top 3 RTS of all time and most fun experience with C&C aside from my initial discovery of the original C&C.

Nothing could get me excited to play RTS again other than this or a great new Space fleet or capital ship command RTS.

[Purge]

"Dune two... the building ... of a Dynasty."

* Purge gets goosepimples