Summary
None of the entries in the beloved real-time strategy seriesCommand & Conquerwere ever advertised as easy and accessible. In truth, a lot of these games can be pretty tough at times, but that’s all part of the charm. Being able to overcome the odds and defeat a stronger, imposing opposition is what the series is all about.
Each game, however, tends to have at least one mission that is a colossal pain. It could be because of the enemy constantly dropping airstrikes on infantry, giant mutated ants chewing through armor and defenses like paper, or because of some blatantly unfair objectives being dumped on a player’s shoulders.
1Ezekiel’s Wheel
Command & Conquer
Kaneputs forward some back-breaking missions at times, with “Ezekiel’s Wheel” being the biggest pain. Having to control a pack of infantry and engineers in the northern part of either of the two maps on offer wouldn’t be so bad if GDI weren’t dropping firebombs sporadically, and if there wasn’t a second army separated by a river to control.
The Nod base to the south is partially defended by machine gun towers, and they can turn packs of soldiers into mush within seconds. Even a Commando isn’t of much use when he can’t dodge bullets. Worse still is the GDI boat floating across the river, which can obliterate any troops forced to rush through the defenses to reclaim the base again! The troops across the river won’t deal much damage to it, and they’re only good for collecting a crate of cash.
Westwood Studios already had missions that were tough enough in the base game, yet that didn’t stop them from going all-out with missions like “Twist of Fate.” GDI troops are scattered across the eastern parts of the map, while a small outpost is available southeast. Getting the MCV near the outpost intact is pretty tricky.
Once deployed and ready to build,the nightmare begins. Enemy troops will attack sporadically, while artillery may fire down from the mountains. Worse still, Nod will launch a nuclear strike and will even drop airstrikes, which are normally reserved for GDI! Having to take out all three heavily defended bases is a Herculean task that requires a lot of patience. Or, one can just abuse the AI by blocking them off with sandbags.
Babysitting a general is not fun when tanks, Attack Dogs, and infantry-frying Tesla Coils are abundant. In Hard mode, enemy troops will be relentless, leaving literally no room for mistakes. It’s a linear and on-rails mission, otherwise.
After the outpost is nuked, reinforcements will be dropped near a Tesla Coil, and tanks will be transported to the shore. The fact that the only tactic here is to rush towards them is ridiculous. Sabotaging the upcoming Soviet base will help power down the defenses, yet it’ll alert every enemy to that position. Even with Tanya at the player’s side, it’s an obnoxious, on-rails mission that offers little room for changing tactics. Nowtry beating it without saving, like PS1 players had to do…
The Giant Ant secret missions were a peculiar inclusion. The toughest of the four has to be “Hunt!” The Giant Ants that spew fire aren’t usually too tough, except against infantry, though the Warrior Ants have a devastating melee attack that they repeat very quickly when they’re close enough to a tank or building.
Spend too much time away from the base, and they can destroy a key building or a Harvester seamlessly. A limited number of scientists are available, so they need to be protected at all costs (popping them in an APC is helpful). Still, wasting time will only result in more Ants pouring out of their colonies, making it even tougher to penetrate and gas out.
Busting Tratos, leader of the Forgotten mutants, out of a Nod “hospital” is surprisingly the easiest part of his respective rescue mission. Everything else is tough. Laser Turrets can squash the allied Forgotten, and the Ghoststalker can accidentally kill his own allies with his Railgun if they’re too close, which can result in failure if players are not perceptive and mindful.
A GDI base must be deployed on the other side of the map to break into the facility. What’s worse is a timer counting down as well. For first-time players, it’s a lot to juggle. Finishing the optional mission “Destroy Radar Array” will offer a distinctive advantage to this one, making it far less aggravating.
The psychic Yuri does not go down without a fight after being outed as a traitor. The mission “Red Revolution” is branded one of the toughest missions in the entire game, as Yuri has the high ground with two bases defending the Kremlin he’s holed up in. Cloning Vats pump out duplicates of soldiers like crazy - especially his mind-controlling Psi-Corps troops.
Constructing a Nuclear Silo may seem tempting, yet doing so will spark a battalion of Kirovs to appear and slowly beeline toward one’s base. They’ll even keep respawning if the silo remains standing. Air defense is a must here. Even then, he’ll still be throwing packs of tanks and using the Iron Curtain power-up to render them invincible temporarily, making defending the base even more challenging.
As excellent asRed Alert 2’s expansion is, “Escape Velocity” proves to be one of the more difficult missions of the bunch. The Boomer Submarines and their respective Sub Pens must be destroyed. Unfortunately, their land-and-sea attack capabilities make them very powerful and difficult to find at times.
Naturally, Yuri sends forth battalions of troops to attack and is heavily defended, so knocking out the power is challenging. Worse still are the laser towers shaped like ugly Easter Island heads that will zap nearby troops, of which there are many. The thin, rocky terrain makes it difficult to maneuver around them, and the occupied waters complicate shipping units across the water.
Fans ofCommand & Conquer: Generalswere not happy with “Liberation” in the game’s respective expansion pack,Zero Hour.Destroying statues doesn’t seem too daunting on paper. Alas, the GLA pulls out some irritating tactics of their own that complicate things greatly.
Artillery and air units cannot be purchased for this mission. Even carpet bombing was patched out after patch 1.06. Why? Well, that would make it too fairly-challenged, wouldn’t it? GLA will gingerly throw Scud Launchers and Rocket Buggies. They won’t be above capturing Chinese-owned buildings either. Considering how sluggish and expensive China’s forces are, it’s just painful to play - especially on the highest difficulty.
“Croatia” putsCommand & Conquer 3: Tiberium Warsplayers through the meat grinder. An outpost must be defended until an MCV arrives. There are no silos, so one cannot earn more than 5,000 credits initially. Meanwhile, Nod has a trio of bases, one each for producing infantry, aircraft, and tanks. So, they get pumped out and sent to attack frequently.
The MCV must be escorted through a desolate town to reach the outpost to finally fight back. The bonus objectives - don’t lose any buildings in said outpost, and avoid letting the MCV get damaged whatsoever - areridiculous requirements.
Four enemy bases, both GDI and Scrin, are present in “Operation Stiletto.” Thankfully, neither side will attack unless provoked, which makes capturing both sides’ Construction Yards and Drone Platforms a bit easier. However, having to micromanage taking over each side’s bases while ensuring neither of the main buildings is destroyed can prove to be frustrating, more so when an enemy side decides to retaliate after capturing a base.
Both sides have some serious defenses established, which will retaliate when attacked. It makes it a real pain, considering this has to be a stealth mission. However, fans have discovered an easy way to beat the level by getting Saboteurs to capture all buildings at once when placed nearby. Admittedly, it’s a cheap tactic, so beating it legitimately is quite the feat.
