Story & Campaign Structure

The campaign structure is much more limited than it was during the days of Tiberium Dawn, which allowed you attack provinces in a less linear fashion. Still, it was not too bad. Some campaigns do allow you to choose between two different missions. However, I'm not sure if your choice really has any real effect on the next mission. Probably the only tangible effect I've noted is that tackling a simpler mission first makes the next mission (which is harder) much easier to accomplish.

The story itself is pretty good, drawing from the C&C universe. I'm sure the writers had a lot of material to work on. It's certainly far better than the thin storylines I've seen in many games today. Sure, Company Of Heroes was fun, but honestly, it used the bog standard Normandy-esque Band of Brothers storyline. You can literally see the ending right from the first mission.

Fortunately, C&C3's storyline is very solid and that is quite a breath of fresh air. Sure, this game doesn't have the storytelling of Asimov and Herbert but it sure takes a step in the right direction. I really wished the game industry would return to the likes of Homeworld.

The quality of the FMV (full motion video) clips were extremely good although some of the actors just don't fit well in their roles. Well, some do but I'd say that the FMV clips were pretty cheesy. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, I suppose. After all, this is a video game, not an Oscar-winning movie. If a storyline about a green substance with aliens and a cult lead by a bald guy isn't cheesy by nature, I don't know what else would.

Most of the actors played their roles pretty well with a few exceptions. Cute little Jennifer Morrison should loosen up a bit... Geez, her mission briefings make me cringe. Even Billy Dee Williams was a tad annoying and actually reminded me of a pimp with his pimp cane and the “Can I interest you in a pretty lady for the night?” smile. Still, he was pretty decent in his role.

Michael Ironside was quite good in the FMV clips, but I felt that there was a certain something he lacked. Maybe too many Sam Fisher voiceovers made him look sneaky and all. But I have to say that Joe Kucan, Tricia Helfer and Grace Park all did their roles very well, delivering great lines naturally.

Overall, the FMV clips were good. To tell you the truth, the only better clips I've seen so far were from the Wing Commander series which I played when I was still a teeny weeny kid. Remember Mark Hammil as the gruffy Blair, John Rhys-Davies and Malcome McDowell? C&C3 may not be the six CD fest that was Wing Commander 4, but hey, it's real acting and the cast stack up pretty well. Kudos to EA for this well-executed aspect of the game.