Command & Conquer: Kane's Wrath (Expansion Pack) (PC DVD)

I generally do not like expansions. They used to be additions only very successful games got to have. Nowadays they are mostly the...other half of the game the publisher withheld when selling us half the original for £30! C&C:KANE's WRATH is a rare exception that brings new dimensions to an already great game!

Story-wise, although an expansion, this is somewhat of a prequel to C&C3-TIBERIUM WARS, as it is set on the history of NOD, starting off just after the 2nd Tiberium War and continuing well past the 3rd.
There is a big campaign comprising of 13 single player missions, new units and upgrades and a new (a la RISE OF NATIONS) Global Conquest mode, that can turn C&C3 into a Turn-Based game! What make this REALLY interesting are the six subfactions, each with its special units, strengths and weaknesses. Not to worry, all GDI, NOD and Scrin get their own off-shooting factions.
On the opposite ends of the spectrum, there is Reaper-17 (a Scrin sub-faction): with hard-hitting and powerful offensive options; and then there is Traveler-59 (also a Scrin offshoot): a much more devious faction that relies on mind control of humans (remember how much fun Yuri's Revenge? was). In between, GDI's (retro) Steel Talons and (futuristic) ZoCom and NOD's (mind-benders) Black Hand and (cyborgs galore) Mark of Kane.

Production of the new epic-units can tip the battlefield scales dramatically. Most are not only devastating but are pretty hard to take down too. GDI gets the MARV [Mammoth Armed Reclamation Vehicle], a souped-up triple-barreled tank; NOD gets the Redeemer, an augmented killer avatar; whereas, Scrin get the Eradicator Hexapod, a impressive six-legged mech.
Revamped units, such as the Shard Walker or the Reaper Tripod, or back-to-the-drawing-board units, such as the Prodigy or the Ravager all add to a renewed experience. Moreover, as a long-time C&C fan, I particularly enjoyed the reappearance of good-ol' units such as Titans and Wolverines on the side of GDI!

The graphics are beautiful, the physics detailed and the explosions and beam-weapons spectacular! Don't forget to turn on the volume on those speakers, because this is a total immersion experience.

As with the original: it misses the 5th star for fun because one cannot hold a battle formation while moving. As most units move at different paces (and although the AI has improved they keep bumping on each other), this results in the more agile, yet vulnerable, units having to face the enemy first - a short-lived sight... May be the next C&C (say, RED ALERT 3) could have some TOTAL WAR infused into it, with battle formations options.

Finally, be advised that this is an expansion and, yes, you do need the original C&C3: TIBERIUM WARS to play it. If you do not have it, take note that there is a pack available, including both original game and expansion (the prices fluctuate so make sure to get the best deal).

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

There's not too much to be said about the interface, controls, graphics or units here; Kane's Wrath operates much the same as C&C 3, and its graphics are equally top notch. The expansion pack does add a few new buildings and units here are there however, including a couple of new sub-factions for GDI, Nod and the Scrin, and a superweapon unit each which are fun to play sparingly in campaign mode, though a little dominant in skirmish mode. The acting cast has admittedly been considerably pared down for Kane's Wrath, but then again, the same has been true of every C&C expansion pack - whilst the main games can and do attract some big name actors, the expansion packs are often left with a skeleton crew. Only Joe Kucan as Kane makes a returning appearance, the only other two roles worth mentioning here and the two new characters of Brother Marcion (Carl Lumbly) and Abbess Alexa Kovacs (Natasha Henstridge).

In campaign mode you play as the Brotherhood of Nod through thirteen missions, a pretty lengthy campaign for an expansion pack, however, Nod's campaign is the only campaign. There is no campaign for GDI or the Scrin, as there was in C&C 3. This is unusual and I can understand why some fans of the series are a little disgruntled about this - given a choice, I'd like to have played a GDI and Scrin campaign here in addition to the excellent Nod campaign, but the Nod campaign is still fun, challenging and retains all the classic C&C elements, so I'm not complaining too much about it. The other downside of only having a Nod campaign is that whilst new units are introduced to all factions, you can only play with the new GDI and Scrin units if you choose their faction in skirmish mode - in the campaign you come up against these units but you never get to play with them.

Kane's Wrath is also unexpectedly not a sequel to the events of C&C 3, as most expansion packs are. Rather, the campaigning spans several eras, with the first act filling in the gaps between the end of Tiberian Sun and C&C 3, the second act providing extra material concurrent with the main game, and the final act set some five years after C&C 3. It fills in a few of the gaps in the C&C saga, but of course leaves the big questions unanswered about who or what Kane is and what his final goal is. However, despite these niggles with the plot, smaller cast and only having a Nod campaign to play with, I still found Kane's Wrath to be an enjoyable game. It kept all the essential, classic C&C elements - plenty of base-building, tiberium harvesting, and armies clashing here, not to mention the mysterious and enigmatic Kane up to his usual unfathomable plotting, and I gleaned many fun hours playing through it.

Played this last year for approx 3 months! It loaded OK on my windows 7 PC. This was the last of the series before the style of the game changed.