The 3 factions each have their own strengths and weaknesses, which must be exploited if the gamer is to be successful. GDI has a limited air force, but they possess exceptional armored vehicles, including an Armored Personnel Carrier that can be loaded with an infantry unit. The infantry unit is protected in the APC, but can they can still fire from inside the vehicle, making a loaded APC a very powerful weapon. The Brotherhood of Nod lacks heavy armor, but makes up for it in speedy and stealthy units, such as the Attack Bike or Stealth Tank. The Scrin have an excellent air force, including huge capital ships, but suffer a lack of variety in ground forces. All 3 factions have a their own powerful walker-type vehicle, which can be captured and used by the other factions. Strategies must be adapted to use and to counter each of the 3 factions, augmenting the quality of C&C 3’s game play.
Bringing an RTS game to consoles is not an easy proposition, and has been attempted only on handful of occasions. Despite the limitations the Xbox 360 controller presents to a game of this type, EA has done an exceptional job porting this game from the PC. The learning curve is fairly steep for this game, not only for mastering the control layout, but also for learning the strengths and weaknesses of individual units and buildings, and learning to recognize each unit by sight. Unfortunately, the gamer will have to learn these strengths and weaknesses on the fly. The documentation provided with the game is very thin, and there is no “encyclopedia” within the game to provide valuable information about units and structures. Though I largely detest strategy guides, it may be worth the money for the gamer that wants to get the most out of Command and Conquer 3
