When comparing Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 vs Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation, the Slant community recommends Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 for most people. In the question“What are the best RTS games for PC?” Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 is ranked 11th while Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation is ranked 28th. The most important reason people chose Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 is:
Red Alert 2 features fun and interesting units that make this entry in the Command & Conquer series far from serious. For example, the Soviet Giant Squid can slowly destroy naval units by ensnaring them in its tentacles, and the Allied Mirage Tank can camouflage itself as trees and enemy vehicles. These units are fantastical and over-the-top, conveying a light tone to the player, which separates this experience from the dourness of other Real-Time Strategy titles.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Whimsical unit design gives the game a light-hearted and campy tone
Red Alert 2 features fun and interesting units that make this entry in the Command & Conquer series far from serious. For example, the Soviet Giant Squid can slowly destroy naval units by ensnaring them in its tentacles, and the Allied Mirage Tank can camouflage itself as trees and enemy vehicles. These units are fantastical and over-the-top, conveying a light tone to the player, which separates this experience from the dourness of other Real-Time Strategy titles.
Pro High-quality and humorous FMV gives Red Alert 2 life
The FMV in Red Alert 2 adds a breath of immersive life to the title, helping add to the ambiance and tone the game wishes to set. For example, a mission cold-opens with U.S. General Carville sitting at a desk talking about Canada, where the remnants of the U.S. Government have taken refuge, stating that there are more cattle in Canada than people, which humorously shows the exact kind of game Red Alert 2 strives to be. With other FMV like this, the title gives itself its own identity, separating itself from the previous Red Alert titles
Pro Two playable campaigns give you hours of content
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 gives you the choice to play as either the Soviet Union or the Allies for its single player campaign. In the Soviet campaign, you vie for complete and total control of Earth, while the Allies desperately rally to stave off the Russian offensive on multiple continents. With a combined total of 24 missions, the campaign manages to tell two complete stories while giving you hours of playtime.
Pro LAN-based Multi-Player lets you play with friends without needing internet
As well as having online Multi-Player, Red Alert 2 allows players to connect via LAN. This enables you to hook up multiple computers in your home to play Multi-Player skirmishes, without the need for internet. This gives you the freedom to play with your friends, in the same house, if ever the servers go down or internet access is not readily available.
Pro Better framerate when ran in DX12
This game is DX12 compatible which allows for a higher frame rate over DX11. DX12 is only able to be taken advantage of on Windows 10, so that is something to consider, but for those that can take advantage, there is a slight gain to be had.
Pro Pleasing graphics
The graphics stand out as polished and make for a really nice looking RTS. This is top of its class in graphics for an RTS in 2016.
Pro Cool mechanic for controlling troops
There is a tool in the game that allows one to "lasso" their units together into an army. By making an army the player can then control that army as they would one troop unit, meaning that all micromanagement for a large group of troops is unnecessary as the game will deal with it in a more intuitive an easy manner. This can be done with as little or as many troops as the player want, which overall makes for an easy way to control the game when in the heat of battle.
Pro Good mix of gameplay modes for any skill level
The game features a single player story mode, a story mode called Ascendancy that will walk the player though how to play the game and multiplayer modes that are ranked as well as custom multiplayer modes. Through the assortment of modes the game allows for any type of player to find gameplay that they may like, whether they are a seasoned RTS player or a newcomer to the genre. Whether playing locally in single player or online with friends or random people, there should be plenty on offer for any skill level.
Pro Focuses on positioning over micromanagement
The maps in this game are large, sometimes taking up as many as 20-30 zones in a single map. What this means is that the player will need to focus a lot more on position of their units over actually micromanaging every aspect of each unit (due to the vast size of maps and the amount of units on them). This allows for gameplay that has a broader scope in strategy, as it forces the player to plan out what is best to protect and the best position to hold of enemy attacks all while still trying to grow their army in order to overpower their enemy.
Pro Easily allows the player to utilize specific info on their enemies
At all times the player can vies on a mini map how much their enemy has expanded and into what areas. There is also a thing called player power rating, which allows the player to know on a point scale what their enemies military and economic power level is. Which means you can get a sense of what fields your enemy is expanding into. Combining these tools allows for a quick way to know where the enemy is expanding and into what fields of tech they are concentrating on. This way the player can adjust their strategy accordingly, making for an even deeper level of strategy overall.
Cons
Con Can't run on Windows 10 without fiddling
Red Alert 2 is an older title that was released in 2000 and due to various issues it does not run natively on windows 10 without fiddling with various programs.
Con You can't fortify repair houses that the units take protection in, like you could in Command & Conquer Generals/Zero Hour
Not being able to repair outlying houses means no outposts for units, which is bad.
Con Outdated graphics may not keep your attention
Red Alert 2 is an older title that was released in 2000. As a result, its graphics are quite old and dated, which may cause people to lose interest in playing.
Con Over-the-top story and units cause lack of seriousness in campaign
Those looking for a Real-Time Strategy title that is serious in nature will have to look elsewhere. Red Alert 2 has a slightly humorous storyline and characters, serving as a satirical take on previous entries in the Command & Conquer series.
Con Physics are unrealistic
Many of the units will pass right through each other, making for units that behave in an unrealistic way and can pull the player out of the immersion of the title. The units also all hover over the ground, which means they have no real weight to their actions, when combined with the unrealistic way they move makes for something that just does not looked polished.
Con Demanding system requirements
The game requires a high end GPU as well as at-least a 4 core processor. This means the game is quite demanding and needs to take advantage of multi-cores in order to play smoothly at high graphical settings. So for those with a mid-range system, the game may play at lower frame-rates, which can be frustrating.
Con Lacking in options for factions and units
There are only two factions available in the game to play with, so makes for limited choice. On top of this each faction has only so many different units, which also shows a lack of choice. Combined, once the game has been experienced and both factions played with there will be little in surprise as to what the game has to offer.