Command & Conquer

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Command & Conquer
System(s): Sega Saturn
Publisher: Virgin Interactive, Sega (JP)
Developer:
Sound driver: SCSP/CD-DA (11/15 tracks)
Genre: Simulation

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Saturn
JP 		¥6,8006,800 GS-9131
Sega Saturn
JP
(Satakore) 		¥2,8002,800 GS-9193
Sega Saturn
US 		T-7028H
Sega Saturn
EU 		T-7028H-50
Sega Saturn
DE 		T-7028H-18
Sega Saturn
FR 		T-7028H-09
Sega Saturn
BR 		191x32

Command & Conquer (コマンド＆コンカー) is a real time strategy game developed by Westwood Studios and published by Virgin Interactive for IBM compatible computers running DOS in August 1995. It is the first in the Command & Conquer franchise and is considered a milestone in the genre, influencing many RTS games in the years which followed.

The game's success saw it ported to the Sega Saturn and PlayStation in late 1996. Command & Conquer is frequently referred to as Tiberian Dawn by fans and is subtitled in Germany with Tier 1: Der Tiberiumkonflict.

Plot

Command & Conquer takes place in an alternative universe, shortly after a mysterious alien substance crashes on Earth near the river Tiber in Italy at some point in 1995. This substance, henceforth known as "Tiberium", becomes an extremely valuable commodity, which despite its toxic nature, is able to absorb and crystallize precious metals from the surrounding soil. A secret society known as the Brotherhood of Nod, spearheaded by a self-proclaimed messigah known only as "Kane", claims to have foreseen the arrival of Tiberium and has great plans for its future, soon controlling over half the supply and using the funds to amass an army of followers.

Following a succession of terrorist incidents blamed on the Brootherhood, the United Nations Security Council authorises the creation and deployment of the United Nations' Global Defense Initiative (GDI) to intervene against Kane and Nod, quickly escalating into a conflict which spans the globe (and is later referred to as the "first tiberium war").

The player, who is nameless and does not speak, can choose to conduct missions on behalf of GDI or Nod (each as its own disc), building bases and ordering troops, usually to destroy enemy factions and spread influence over countries. GDI's campaign takes place mainly in Europe, while Nod is more concerned with Africa.

Versions

The Sega Saturn version of Command & Conquer derives from the DOS original, being the most accurate console port of the game. There is no support for the Shuttle Mouse meaning the controls are considered to be more cumbersome than computer versions, and the resolution is fixed at 320x240. Some other changes were made for unknown reasons, such as the inclusion of wider bridges. Unit shadows are also missing, and the user interface features horizontally-scrolling menus as opposed to the vertical ones seen in the DOS version.

Its PlayStation counterpart is reportedly built off the Saturn's code, with slightly higher resolution (and more complete) cutscenes in comparison. Unlike the Saturn, the PlayStation version is known to suffer from noticeable slowdown when many units are on-screen, but is at an advantage for including extra missions (sourced from The Covert Operations - an official expansion pack for Command & Conquer). The Saturn version retains more of the original soundtrack and sound effects, however.

History

Legacy

Command & Conquer is thought to have been reasonably successful on the Sega Saturn, as it qualified for the Satakore range in Japan (where it was published by Sega themselves) and was at one point bundled with consoles in Europe. It has since been superseded by superior versions - a Windows 95 port released around the same period offers a higher resolution interface and more graphical options and has since become the base for all ports of the game moving forward.

Tomsoft attempted an unlicensed port to the Sega Mega Drive, but gave up early on and released his horribly incomplete beta. Because he failed to remove the copyright from the title screen, this has sometimes considered an official beta — but a look at the header (crediting his SDK) proves otherwise.

Command & Conquer was followed by Command & Conquer: Red Alert, set in the cold war era of the 1950s/60s, however the Tiberium storyline would receive a direct sequel in the form of Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun, which introduced isometric graphics (although cameos and nods to the future mean Red Alert is technically a prequel also). No future Command & Conquer games were released on Sega systems, though the series has largely avoided consoles entirely (save for PlayStation ports of Red Alert and some expansions, and the Xbox 360 port of Command & Conquer 3: Tiberian Wars).

Magazine articles

Main article: Command & Conquer/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

  • FR print advert

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Print advert in Ultra Game Players (US) #93: "January 1997" (199x-xx-xx)
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Print advert in Computer & Video Games (UK) #182: "January 1997" (1996-12-11)
also published in:
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Print advert in Sega Saturn Magazine (UK) #16: "February 1997" (1997-01-16)
also published in:
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Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
94 №61, p140[5]
100 №182, p54/55[2]
78 №437, p32
91 №50, p42/43
85
90 №51, p58-60[6]
95 №70, p92/93/94
94 №15, p72/73[7]
73 №1997-13, p139[8]
86 №, p9[9]
84 №96, p82
Sega Saturn
 88
Based on
11 reviews
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
576 KByte (HU)
92
[10]
Ação Games (BR)
90
[11]
Ação Games (BR)
90
[12]
Consoles + (FR) PAL
94
[5]
Computer & Video Games (UK)
100
[2]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U
89
[13]
Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J
78
[14]
Fun Generation (DE) PAL
100
[15]
Gambler (PL)
82
[16]
Game Power (IT)
91
[17]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
80
[18]
Joypad (FR) PAL
95
[19]
Kiber Zona (LT)
81
[20]
LeveL (CZ)
86
[21]
MAN!AC (DE) PAL
85
[22]
Mega Force (FR) PAL
94
[23]
Mega Fun (DE) PAL
90
[24]
Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL
90
[6]
Next Generation (US) NTSC-U
75
[25]
Player One (FR)
95
[26]
Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J
69
[27]
Saturn+ (UK) PAL
84
[28]
Secret Service (PL)
85
[29]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
91
[30]
Sega Saturn Magazine (UK) PAL
94
[31]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
73
[32]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
86
[9]
Total Saturn (UK) PAL
94
[33]
Total Saturn (UK) PAL
94
[34]
Ultra Game Players (US) NTSC-U
84
[35]
Video Games (DE) PAL
80
[36]
Sega Saturn
 87
Based on
31 reviews

Command & Conquer

Saturn, US
CommandandConquer Saturn US Box Back.jpgCommandandConquer Saturn US Box Front.jpg
Cover
Commandandconquer sat us manual.pdf
Manual
CommandandConquer Saturn US Disc Nod.jpg
NOD disc
Saturn, JP
CommandandConquer Saturn JP Box Back.jpgCommandandConquer Saturn JP Box Front.jpg
Cover
CommandandConquer Saturn JP Spinecard.jpg
Spinecard
CommandandConquer Saturn JP Disc.jpg
GDI disc
CommandandConquer Saturn JP Disc2.jpg
NOD disc
Saturn, JP (Satakore)
CommandandConquer Saturn JP Box Back Alt.jpgCommandandConquer Saturn JP Box Front Alt.jpg
Cover
CommandandConquer Saturn JP Spinecard Satakore.jpg
Spinecard
CommandandConquer Saturn JP Disc Satakore.jpg
GDI disc
CommandandConquer Saturn JP Disc2 Satakore.jpg
NOD disc
Saturn, EU

C&CSaturnEUManual.pdf
Manual
CommandAndConquer saturn eu cd1.jpg
GDI disc
Saturn, FR
CommandandConquer Saturn FR Box.jpg
Cover
CommandandConquer Saturn FR Disc1.jpg
GDI disc
CommandandConquer Saturn FR Disc2.jpg
NOD disc
Saturn, DE
CommandandConquer Saturn DE Box.jpg
Cover
Saturn, BR
CommandandConquer Saturn BR Box Front.jpg
Cover

References

  1. ↑ File:CVG UK 182.pdf, page 53
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 File:CVG UK 182.pdf, page 54 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:CVG UK 182.pdf_p54" defined multiple times with different content
  3. ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "January 1997" (UK; 1996-12-17), page 31
  4. ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "March 1997" (UK; 1997-02-19), page 100
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 File:ConsolesPlus FR 061.pdf, page 140 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:ConsolesPlus FR 061.pdf_p140" defined multiple times with different content
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 File:MeanMachinesSega51UK.pdf, page 58 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:MeanMachinesSega51UK.pdf_p58" defined multiple times with different content
  7. ↑ File:SSM_UK_15.pdf, page 72
  8. ↑ File:SSM_JP_19970425_1997-13.pdf, page 141
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Saturn no Game wa Sekai Ichi~i~i~i!: Satamaga Dokusha Race Zen Kiroku, SoftBank Publishing, page 11 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:SnGwSISDRZK Book JP.pdf_p11" defined multiple times with different content
  10. ↑ 576 KByte, "Február 1997" (HU; 1997-xx-xx), page 10
  11. ↑ Ação Games, "Março 1997" (BR; 1997-xx-xx), page 9
  12. ↑ Ação Games, "Maio 1997" (BR; 1997-xx-xx), page 22
  13. ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "February 1997" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 56
  14. ↑ Famitsu, "1997-05-02" (JP; 1997-04-18), page 1
  15. ↑ Fun Generation, "01/97" (DE; 1996-12-18), page 104
  16. ↑ Gambler, "3/1997" (PL; 1997-xx-xx), page 1
  17. ↑ Game Power, "Gennaio 1997" (IT; 199x-xx-xx), page 45
  18. ↑ GamePro, "March 1997" (US; 1997-xx-xx), page 86
  19. ↑ Joypad, "Décembre 1996" (FR; 1996-1x-xx), page 104
  20. ↑ Kiber Zona, "Spalis/Lapkritis 1997" (LT; 1997-xx-xx), page 3
  21. ↑ LeveL, "Leden 1997" (CZ; 1997-01-05), page 87
  22. ↑ MAN!AC, "01/97" (DE; 1996-12-11), page 68
  23. ↑ Mega Force, "Janvier/Février 1997" (FR; 199x-xx-xx), page 40
  24. ↑ Mega Fun, "01/97" (DE; 1996-12-11), page 36
  25. ↑ Next Generation, "May 1997" (US; 1997-04-15), page 152
  26. ↑ Player One, "Décembre 1996" (FR; 1996-xx-xx), page 92
  27. ↑ Saturn Fan, "1997 No. 12" (JP; 1997-06-xx), page 90
  28. ↑ Saturn+, "Issue 6" (UK; 1997-02-27), page 5
  29. ↑ Secret Service, "Marzec 1997" (PL; 1997-xx-xx), page 66
  30. ↑ Sega Power, "Christmas 1996" (UK; 1996-11-21), page 38
  31. ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "January 1997" (UK; 1996-12-17), page 72
  32. ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "1997-13 (1997-04-25)" (JP; 1997-04-11), page 141
  33. ↑ Total Saturn, "Volume One Issue Three" (UK; 1996-11-29), page 34
  34. ↑ Total Saturn, "Volume One Issue Four" (UK; 1996-12-29), page 19
  35. ↑ Ultra Game Players, "April 1997" (US; 1997-03-25), page 82
  36. ↑ Video Games, "1/97" (DE; 1996-12-18), page 102
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