There can be few series’ in gaming history that can claim the same reputation as that earned by Westwood’s Command and Conquer line, though perhaps none that deserve it so richly either. Industry giants Westwood have nurtured C&C like a delicate Bonsai Tree, ensuring that with every release the series continued to grow in strength (unlike a Bonsai Tree I once nurtured which now resides in a state of permanent Autumn). Have you ever played a bad game from Westwood? No. Read on…

Yet with this latest addition to the C&C family, Westwood are perhaps risking their repute a little more than with a standard sequel; you see, Renegade is not a real-time strategy game. Far from it, Renegade is in fact Westwood’s first foray into the sticky quagmire of first-person shooters, and I think we’re all hoping they are not going to get stuck. Westwood will no doubt thank me for pointing out that this is perhaps the most highly-evolved and competitive of all game genres on the PC, so the developers are without question going to have to be in the highest possible form as comparisons will no doubt be drawn with the likes of Quake 3, Counterstrike, and the plethora of new FPS’ set for release this Christmas; including the promising Red Faction, due out a month or two before Renegade. Needless to say with all the above in mind, I definitely thought this game required a little further investigation…

The thinking behind the game appears to be the idea of adding a little more personality to the C&C series, as for the first time in Renegade, the player can experience the C&C universe at a close-up, ground level. With characterisation occurring as you assume the role of the GDI Commando, in undertaking missions in Renegade. Of this new perspective on the series, Executive Producer Dan Cermak says “When we were building the first Command & Conquer, we said to ourselves, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to be down there in the action, experiencing the battle firsthand?’ The was fast and furious, the back-story fascinating, and the setting, full of exotic locales and technology, perfect for an action game.”

Westwood appear to be making innovations in there new genre of choice already, as Renegade appears to enjoy a world more rich in detail, more realistic and alive, and more expansive than ever before, as the designers draw upon every aspect of the C&C world; creating a game of greater atmosphere. We hope. The soundings definitely seem good, as a Cermak continues; “It’s always the little things. As you go through the missions you’ll see vintage C&C elements – Orcas flying overhead, SAM Sites shooting at passing Ground Support Aircraft, Gunboats bombarding from offshore positions. But it’s really the weapons, vehicles and buildings at Havoc’s (the Commandos code name, if you didn’t know…) disposal that will give you the feeling that you’re truly in the C&C universe. You’ll be able to enter the Hand of Nod, blow up a Tiberium Harvester, waste Nod officers, use Ion Cannons to strike buildings, and much more.” All in all it would appear from this information, and the screenshots, that Renegade will be a game of heightened realism, as the battle continues around Havoc, in a fashion which suggests a continuous and evolving world independent of the player’s actions. It is perhaps this idea that makes Renegade a particularly exciting promise.