What's Good	What's Bad	3.5 out of 5.0
Excellent interface Well balanced gameplay Solid multiplayer	Profanity (some religiously offensive -- eds) Um, haven't I played this?

The biggest question I have after playing through most of this game is, "Why three years?" The interface is essentially unchanged, there are only a handful of new units, and the graphic engine, while being new, is hardly cutting edge. Even the storyline is a simple derivative from the original Command & Conquer. What on earth could have taken three years to implement? Was there a paralytic case of writer's block? Repetitive stress disorders on a massive scale? Did they just take a year off and float the Mediterranean?

Now that I have taken the game to task for its shortcomings and unfulfilled promise, I humbly admit this: Tiberian Sun is a really fun game. Everything that I loved about the original Command & Conquer games is here and in a polished form. The gameplay is very well balanced, as well. The GDI firepower might seem overwhelming at first but once you learn to use the guerilla tactics and downright sneakiness of the NOD forces you will not have much to complain about.

The story unfolds by means of some fairly well done cutscenes. I will offer the abridged version for those not familiar with the Command & Conquer universe. Kane, apparently not so dead as we were led to believe, and his NOD forces have arrived to show the world better living through 'tiberium' while General Solomon and Commander McNeil lead the GDI good guys. Tiberium is a strange mineral that serves as a power source as well as the cause or catalyst for some very strange mutations of flora and fauna. The player gets to act out the game from either side (GDI or NOD), depending on his inclination. The budget must have been fairly significant because we get to see James Earl Jones and Michael Biehn as well as some other actors and extras. Most of the scenes were well done, if uninspired. I preferred the cutscenes from the original game. They just seemed more dramatic and, at times, more shocking. I still cringe at the thought of Kane casually killing Seth over his disobedience. That scene reminded me at that although I was playing a game, it was a game of strategic warfare. In other words: the losers do not go home at night. Westwood seems to have toned it down a bit this time around. I do not believe there is anything quite that brutal in Tiberian Sun.

There is some mild profanity peppered throughout some of the cutscenes. The profanity, while technically 'realistic' in a military setting, adds absolutely nothing to the believability of the game and could have been left out altogether, thus widening the market appeal of the title.

The interface is also classic C&C. Since I stand firmly in the, "If it isn't broken, don't fix it" camp, this is a "Good Thing". They have added the ability to queue units but have limited it to 5 at a time. Waypoints are also now possible. Patrols can be set up by creating a waypoint loop and then dropping a unit or group on said loop. Terrain plays a bigger part in Tiberian Sun than previous incarnations. Elevation will help with visibility and give added range to artillery. There is nothing worse than coming up on fortified NOD artillery entrenched on a hill and realizing that you are about to be pulverized. My first encounter went like this:

"What is that thing up there? It looks like an oil rig... oh, no!"
"Run away! Run away!" ...
Never mind...

Which brings me to what may be Tiberian Sun's finest point: multiplayer. The multiplayer game is rock solid. Server support is good, chatting capabilities are robust and games are plentiful and easy to join. Scenarios and starting conditions can be set in the excellent pre-game screen. The infrastructure looks to be set up for tracking of 'ladder' type rankings, as well.

I have to do a difficult thing now. I have to give a recommendation regarding this game. On one hand, we have a very well polished game that is fun, plays well, and is a textbook real time strategy game. You could argue that Westwood made good on their vow to create a successor to what is one of the most revered computer games ever made. On the other hand, we could argue that we have a game that could have been marketed as an add-on to a three year old product. Members from this camp will scream and stomp about the lack of innovation and creativity. I think I will leave it up to you, gentle reader, to determine which camp you belong to. Those that have not played Command & Conquer might want to play Tiberian Sun if for no other reason than to experience RTS at its most fundamental. If you are a RTS veteran and are looking for bleeding edge graphics or gameplay or originality, then pass on Tiberian Sun and wait for Battlezone II. That leaves the hardcore C&C players. You already have the game...why are you still reading this? Go play...