Now Playing: Command & Conquer Remastered

This Command & Conquer Remastered Collection features Tiberian Dawn and Red Alert, both of which I reviewed back in 2016 as part of the C&C Ultimate Collection, so if you’re interested in my thoughts on each title you can check them out here. That’s why this review isn’t so much about the individual games, but the overall package.

And as a package, this Remastered Collection is excellent. Not only do you get both original campaigns, you get a complete campaign list with all branching missions available. You also get all expansion missions, previously console exclusive missions and the fun, not so serious ‘themed’ mini-campaigns. In other words, you get every official mission ever available on any platform for both games. You also get a handy Map Editor and mod support.

In terms of bonus content you get a customisable jukebox so you can play I AM A MECHANICAL MAN on a loop until you go insane, and an extensive collection of behind the scenes videos from when they were recording the live-action mission briefings.

There are some quality of life improvements to the UI and controls – being able to queue unit builds is a very welcome change. And everything is fully customisable so you can pick and choose between legacy and modern options as you please. They also added a skirmish mode for both games.

In terms of the visual upgrades, both games now look fantastic. I didn’t fully appreciate just what a great job they’d done until I flipped back and forth between the original and remastered visuals – which is a toggle I’ll always love in remastered editions. The new visuals capture the spirit of the originals perfectly. Buildings, units and terrain all look great and you can even zoom right in to scrutinise the extra details.

The only real criticism I have of this collection is how they upscaled the live-action or CGI videos. Some of them look kind of terrible. It’s a shame when every other aspect of this remaster from a visual point of view is so perfectly done. But it seems like they really did the best they could with what they had.

Overall, this Remastered Collection is simply the best way to experience these two classic games. Its a comprehensive collection in terms of content, it provides all the modern control customisation you’d want and delivers fantastic in-game visuals. If you’re an old fan or even if you’ve never touched this series before, then be sure to check it out.

8/10