It’s been many years since Command & Conquer held any relevance within the gaming scene. Although not a pioneer in the RTS genre, the series helped the genre grow by leaps and bounds, reaching an audience that would normally not engage in strategy and tactics. But years of poor decision-making reduced the brand to a shadow of its former self. Fast forward to today, and Tempest Rising stands as a contender to the vacant throne. But does it have what it takes to take the crown? Let’s find out.
Tempest Rising is a real-time strategy game inspired, for the most part, by the forerunner of many greats in the genre: Command and Conquer. The player takes command of units belonging to the GDF and Tempest Dynasty, two opposing factions vying for de facto control over Tempest. Yet unbeknownst to everyone involved, a greater power sleeps deep within the Earth, and this conflict is set to awaken this ancient power.
Tempest Rising’s campaigns consist of 22 missions that increase in scale and complexity with each passing mission. The missions range from stealth sections to holdouts against waves of enemies. This is what really surprised me about the game mode. I was expecting decent campaigns with some twists on familiar elements. But no. I was surprised by how well the pacing went, as well as how seamlessly new units and ideas are introduced.
What I love about the campaigns is that both take place at relatively the same time, with many missions being the reason for and a response to actions of the opposing side’s campaign. The best example of this is the game’s ending, where both sides ended the calamity their own way, without knowledge of the other side’s movements. You don’t get the whole picture until you’ve done both campaigns. Although I recommend starting with the GDF side first, as it is more beginner-friendly, it appears that there is context there that is missing from the Dynasty campaign.
Each mission starts with a briefing discussing your objectives with some light banter thrown in from time to time. It’s not bad per se, but I’ve been spoiled by years of watching Kane and GDI command, and I felt Tempest Rising to be dry and a little too serious at times. This is especially true for the Tempest Dynasty leader, Aleks, who I believe lacks the charisma necessary to bring together the Dynasty, no matter how much of a strongman he presents himself. For the GDF’s part, I have no complaints. Colonel Fisher sounds and acts like General Sheppard from Generals.
In between missions, the player can use up points they’ve earned in previous missions to unlock upgrade paths to further shape their preferred playstyle. The upgrades themselves are mostly nice to have at medium difficulty. But I did find them a near necessity at higher difficulties, where your choices can mean the difference between a swift victory or a painful defeat.
In terms of gameplay, the GDF is a defensive powerhouse. They rely on their tech advantage to maintain an edge over their opponents. When they’re not controlling a swarm of drones over large distances, you will find that GDF commanders are fond of keeping enemies at a distance. The trebuchet tank, in particular, is more or less an intimidating version of Starcraft’s siege tanks. To round out their impressive arsenal, commanders can choose to field shield maiden support vehicles to counter missile threats and scrambler stealth destroyers for hit-and-run harassment.
However, no matter how impressive the GDF may seem, they do have a couple of glaring weaknesses. For one thing, their hunter tanks aren’t very good on their own, leaving them vulnerable in the early stages of an operation. Also, they are dependent on a unique resource called Intel. Without it, they can’t field their best units and might have to resort to other means to achieve victory.
The Tempest Dynasty is all about raw power. They aren’t as high tech as the GDF, but their understanding of Tempest is unmatched on the human side and thus more knowledgeable of Tempest’s destructive potential. When they’re not fielding flamer units, Dynasty commanders typically go for Tempest-infused rounds to punch through whatever defenses that get in their way.
It’s tough to say that Dynasty has any real weakness. Sure, they have the most powerful late-game units. But if the opponent stops their aggression at any point before then, they can be beaten. Also, Dynasty don’t have a queue for buildings, so their base building is somewhat slow. But if you allow a Dynasty player to build up their base and their economy, you are in serious trouble.
The final faction in the game is the Veti. By all accounts, they are an ancient race that once enslaved humanity but were forced to retreat to the bowels of the Earth until nuclear war on the surface cleared the conditions for Tempest to grow. They appear late in the campaign and appear unstoppable in early encounters. Think of them as a mix of Starcraft’s Protoss and Warcraft’s Undead. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, they are not a playable faction. This is very disappointing as I, like other fans, was expecting the Veti to be playable at launch. I don’t know if that’ll change in the future, or their inclusion will be saved for a future sequel. Either way, I’m really disappointed at this situation.
Now let’s talk about multiplayer and the 1v1 scene. Where do I begin? After the initial hype for the game ended, it has remained steady on Steam. There’s no denying that the game is a solid experience. The gameplay is everything a C&C fan wants in a modern iteration, and the music gets you excited to fight more. But more needs to be done for the game to have any sort of staying power.
The game did receive a balance patch not too long ago that made adjustments to unit costs in multiplayer. But that’s not going to be enough to entice more players to want to check out the game. Maybe it’s too early to say, and the game’s best days are ahead. I truly hope that is the case.
After playing a handful of versus games for this review, I can say that the general flow of the matches remained the same since the multiplayer demo was released. Having Dynasty overcharge building structures at the beginning for a stronger economy, then following up with rocket troopers and/or tank pushes on an unsuspecting GDF player never gets old. I’m just glad that the mid-game is getting looked at and balanced through player feedback.
In terms of performance, I have not experienced any glaring issues when it comes to network and connectivity. I think my multiplayer games have improved a bit compared to when I was playing during the demo.
Tempest Rising’s one-two punch of synth music and rock music is flat-out amazing. It reminded me of a better time when C&C was actually good and when I didn’t dismiss it as a dead franchise. The visuals are equally amazing. The individual unit movements can be janky, especially during campaign missions, but the models themselves are immaculate. A lot of work was put into every bit of the game’s visual identity. I only wished that they considered FMV during briefings. That would have been a nice touch.
The devs missed an opportunity to employ Full Motion Video (FMV) in the game. I suppose they didn’t want to gamble, considering they’re going up against Joe Kucan’s Kane. I don’t want to make conversation with Aleks any more awkward than they already are through CG.
Tempest Rising is the closest thing we have to a Command & Conquer revival to date. So far, it’s looking like a better version of Tiberium Dawn, but it still has a long way to go to becoming the de facto RTS juggernaut we desperately want it to be. Perhaps when the series’ equivalent of Tiberium Wars is released, we will see Tempest Rising further establish itself as a mainstay within RTS circles. Until such a time arrives, I recommend this game to anyone with a passing interest in the Tiberium saga, maybe even a beginner looking to get into RTS games.
This review is based on a PC review code provided by the developer/publisher
Tempest Rising Review
Tempest Rising is the closest thing we have to a Command & Conquer revival to date. So far, it's looking like a better version of Tiberium Dawn, but it still has a long way to go to becoming the de facto RTS juggernaut we desperately want it to be.
The Good
- A worthwhile campaign
- Visually appealing
- Well defined factions
- Honors the source it draws inspiration from
The Bad
- Pathfinding isn't the best
- Missing the third faction
- Micro takes some getting used to
