We are now deep in the era of "spiritual successors," where game franchises which were hugely popular back in the day but left to rot by their official licence-holders are continued through legally-distinct-but-still-pretty-much-direct sequels. Tempest Rising proudly presents itself as the heir to the Command & Conquer franchise, playing, looking and sounding almost exactly like you'd imagine a new official C&C game to. I can only conclude that either Danish developers Slipgate Ironworks have the best legal team on the planet, or Electronic Arts have completely forgotten they even own a franchise called Command & Conquer in the first place.
Tempest Rising casts you as a new commander for both the GDI GDF and the Brotherhood of Nod Tempest Dynasty. Through a set of linear missions for both sides, you have to guide the two factions through increasingly challenging missions with a likewise expanding roster of ground and air vehicles (naval assets are firmly off-screen, perhaps being saved for an expansion or sequel). You harvest Tiberium Tempest, which is both useful but hazardous (units crossing Tempest fields take damage and eventually die), unlock upgrades by building more structures in your base, and have to carefully keep an eye on your energy supplies. You then unleash your armies into battle, all accompanied by a solid Frank Klepacki soundtrack
It's all executed pretty well. The game isn't quite nailing the more rapid-fire gameplay of the original game or its spin off, Red Alert, but it compares favourably in graphics style, UI and tone to its 3D variants, particularly Command & Conquer: Generals and Command & Conquer III: Tiberium Wars, arguably two of the strongest games in the franchise. The RTS genre's central appeal of mining resources, building up a base, establishing defences and then going on the attack is as compelling in 2026 as it was in 1995 with the original Command & Conquer (not to mention 1992's Dune II).
The game also benefits from arguably its core focal decision to, if in doubt, go with the original RTS paradigm. Many recent RTS games have stumbled due to a hesitance about embracing old-skool design or trying to do something modern and "streamlined" (usually meaning "soulless"), perhaps with an eye to Twitch streaming, leading to misfires like Homeworld 3 and Dawn of War III. Tempest Rising gleefully embraces a more classic RTS design, including clunky interface choices and mission briefing cutscenes that go on just a little bit too long.
In that sense Tempest Rising's greatest strength - its embracing of old-skool design leading to fun gameplay - can also be its greatest weakness. It feels like there's a little bit too micromanagement of units to stop them walking through radiation and Tempest zones when they should really be doing that themselves. The interface can feel a little laborious as you click through different tabs to do something basic like keep the power on. Formations are a concept neither army has ever even remotely heard of. Both units have devastatingly powerful units or unit combos and just building an infinity blob of those and storming around the map will win every mission, with the AI just unable to cope with that. It's all true to the late 1990s, early 2000s classic design, but it can also end up reminding you of why games moved on. In particular, the utter lack of using buildings, walls or sandbags as cover for infantry, something standard in almost every RTS since 2004's Dawn of War (which had a recent, superb remaster), feels completely jarring. For a near-future game, it also feels like it half-arses drones. Either don't have drones at all, using Tempest interference as an excuse, or maybe develop them a bit more. As it stands, the game's use of drones feels about as interesting as Generals, and Generals had the excuse of being released in 2003 when the full potential of the technology was still not clear.
But, it's hard to impossible to argue against the core appeal of building a base, harvesting resources and sending a truly ridiculous number of tanks towards an enemy base. Tempest Rising may play it safer than houses made of cotton wool, but it's also tickling the nostalgia nerve just right. Also, at around 20 hours for a single-player run-through (not even looking at skirmish or multiplayer), the game's length and amount of content is positively generous compared to many of the classics without outstaying its welcome.
Tempest Rising (***½) is available on PC right now. It won't surprise you in the least, but it's a solid time for anyone missing the RTS genre.
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