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Review: Command and Conquer 4 Beta First Impressions

I recently received an invite into the latest installment of the Command and Conquer franchise: Tiberium Twilight. With the beta, you only get access to the multiplayer aspect and that is all I have been playing these last few days. I wanted to give my own Tiberium Twilight beta preview and see what other people think as well.

Tiberium Twilight isn't just another Command and Conquer installment in the strictest sense. It still pits the GDI versus the Brotherhood of Nod, but they have changed the gameplay mechanics quite a bit.No longer do you go out and harvest tiberium (although you do pick up single crystals for research upgrades) nor is there any kind of base build up (unless you play the defense class). You fight over the control points (think Company of Heroes) and other important areas. The more points you control, the faster you gain tickets to reach 2,500 (and win the game). It doesn't matter if you kill the enemy crawler, he can just call in another. Those single Tiberium crystals count towards that point total too; along with other strategic points on the map.

I think Command and Conquer 4 Tiberium Twilight beta gets some things right, and fails at others. Here is Down to the Last Save's likes and dislikes about the Tiberium Twilight beta thus far.

What I liked about the Command and Conquer 4 Tiberian Twilight beta:

• No Resource Collection- you build your unit and thats it. Yes you collect single Tiberium crystals from the drop off points, but thats it.
• No base building - Although some players play defensive and build bases, they can be taken out with some effort.
• The Control points- You focus more on the fights and less on micromanaging the resource collecting and base building.
• The Game Chat- Being able to chat in any channel even while in a game is very nice. They also have a decent contacts list too.
• The powers- You get a power point pool and can use abilities to influence battles (think Company of Heroes)
• Three different paths for units- Offensive, Defensive and Supportive.
• This unit is countered by- A little tool tip when you click on an enemy unit tells you what counters it.

What I didn't Like about the Command and Conquer 4 Tiberian Twilight beta:

• No tutorial- The UI within the game is confusing at first, a tutorial would be handy.
• In-game chat is very hard to see- Very difficult to communicate.
• In-game voice is subpar- Damn, I need a mute button while in the game.
• The game creation/join seems very console like- no way to customize your game name, you start it and go.
• The "always connected" for play thing.
• No level number next to emblems- Yeah, like I am going to memorize what emblem equals what level.
• Multiplayer Levels- by far, the worst thing I hate about C&C4.

A little explanation on the last point: to unlock new units and upgrades in Tiberium Twilight, you have to gain levels. This wouldn't be terrible at launch, but it leaves new players far behind. A level one player only has access to four or five units and thats all he can build until he gains levels. Those levels only work for one faction; so either pick a side or play a lot to stay even. I joined a few games and was thoroughly confused as to why I couldn't build the same units as my teammates were; it took a few games to realize units are tied to levels. It's hard to counter a mammoth tank with a tier one Nod rocket unit unless I have a metric ton of them; plus they will more than likely have more than just one tank.

Tiberium Twilight can be really fun to play, but it will require time until you can unlock the higher end units (at least 10 to 15 games where you win).  But just coming into it when your opponent can use gimmicky combos and destroy you is frustrating: there is literally nothing you can do about it. Though, this is just my opinion, so if you are in the beta, tell me what you think about the Tiberium Twilight beta.