When comparing Age of Empires II HD vs Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, the Slant community recommends Age of Empires II HD for most people. In the question“What are the best RTS games for PC?” Age of Empires II HD is ranked 4th while Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 is ranked 11th. The most important reason people chose Age of Empires II HD is:
While the graphics are slightly outdated, they were very well done for their time. And when combined with the history behind the game and its wonderful soundtrack, the game comes across as extremely polished.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Awesome ambiance with a great finish
While the graphics are slightly outdated, they were very well done for their time. And when combined with the history behind the game and its wonderful soundtrack, the game comes across as extremely polished.
Pro Runs on very old computers
As this game is quite old, requiring only a 1.2GHZ processor and 1 Gigabyte of RAM, this title will run on older PC's and laptops alike without issue.
Pro Facilitates the user's preferred pace
This game neither gives the impression of being thrown to the wolves nor that of being left stranded on an island. Whether you want to move slowly and steadily through the game or take things at a more heightened pace, Age of Empires 2 will allow for both (given a little planning).
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.
Cons
Con A lack of proper User Interface scaling makes a clunky UI worse
While this is a remastered edition of a classic Real-Time Strategy title, the UI was left largely unchanged. Selecting workers still prompts you to click buttons to bring up both economic and military buildings, then choosing whichever building you wish to construct. This is uninteresting design and makes the UI difficult to navigate.
On top of this, the game does not feature UI scaling. Since the game is bound to your current desktop display settings, the UI will adjust itself to match that resolution. This means if you play at 4K resolution the User Interface will be absurdly small, making it near impossible to see what buildings you wish to construct or what units you want to train. This is counter-intuitive design, for this era of modern gaming, and makes properly playing the game more of a hassle than it should ever be.
Con Age of Empires II HD is an unsuccessful remaster due to its outdated graphics
With the only notable upgrade being high resolution options, Age of Empires II HD fails at being a proper remaster. While higher resolutions give the game a slight face lift, the rest of the engine is left largely unchanged. This means the graphics we see in this remaster are nearly the same in its original 1999 release. Due to this, the game is grating to the eye and does not deliver on its high definition promise.
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.