Rating: 
Summary: An Instant Classic
Review: This is one of the most remarkable games ever put out for the PC. I know people that wouldn't, under any circumstances, consider themselves a computer gamer, but have nevertheless played Red Alert. That's how fun it is. From the day it was released, it was obvious this was going to be one of the best real time strategy games of all time. It is the pace of Red Alert that distinguishes it from some of the older classics, such as the original Command & Conquer and Dune II. After you've played this game, the other ones will seem to be going in slow motion. Multiplayer games in Red Alert are frequently over within 20 minutes, and the actual outcomes can be determined in skirmishes that last just seconds. What is probably most appealing about this is the fact that it's realistic- 20 minutes is about right for a real battle. Unlike the long slugging matches and wars of attrition you can get into in some other real-time strategy titles, you will never get into a deadlock in Red Alert. For those of you who were appalled by the AI in old Command & Conquer (more like, the lack thereof), the Red Alert AI is much improved. You won't see an enemy army camped peacefully in the middle of your base anymore, and they can actually fight in multiplay. The single player missions are challenging, and have a great plot. You definitely get a feel for both sides and what they are fighting for, and the acting- though at times somewhat painful- was a good backdrop for the action. Balance between the Soviet and Allied sides is well done. In general, the Allies move faster and have superior naval power (the Aftermath add-on balances the navies somewhat). The Soviets have stronger but slower units, and better air power. What distinguishes Red Alert (and its sequel, as well) is the fact that the units are really different. They aren't just clones of the other side with different graphics, and many have very specialized uses. There are innumerable tactical plans you can choose, each using different units, maneuvers, and strategies. One thing that will not work- and this is a good thing- is playing totally defensive. Unlike some other RTS games (Tiberian Sun, Starcraft, or Total Annihilation) sitting in your base and trying to hold off your opponents is a sure way to lose. This is good because Red Alert matches are therefore more than a bunch of rushes and resource wars, but tend to be climactic battles that usually involve large numbers of tanks and perhaps air and sea support. Now, I realize some people enjoy spending hours whittling down their enemies and being whittled in return, and if you're one of those people then this game isn't for you. For all the rest of us, it's a joy to play.
Rating: 
Summary: Your entry into the world of Real Time Strategy
Review: This isn't the first, or latest or even the best Real Time Strategy game ever made, but it's perhaps the best first game for those new to the genre. In RTS, you build up both an army and the industrial base with which to create the army. There is some valuable resource (here, the famed "Tiberium") which fuels your war mchine and that of your opponent. The inherent unrealism of RTS - you build the base and the army not only in real time, but in a rather short amount of it - is more than compensated by the tenacity and resourcefulness of your enemy, the obstacles you face and the myriad strategies you must quickly use to overcome both. "Red Alert" is actually a prequel to "Command and Concquer" which pit the noble - if militaristic - Global Defense Initiative against the insidious cultish Brotherhood of Nod. In RA, we find the younger GDI facing a massive war machine fielded by Josef Stalin's USSR. How did that happen? What about WWII? Never took place - Hitler was some out of work painter and Austrian army vet when he died under mysterious circumstances after a 1924 meeting with somebody named Einstein. Now the Soviets and the GDI fight using weapons that vary between conventional and (by our standards) exotic. In addition to your tanks, planes and ships, you must also contend with Tesla Coils (artificial lighting generators), chronospheres (remember the "Philadelphia Experiment"?) and the "Iron Curtain". You get to play each side, and must deal with each one's respective weakenesses - the allies are better represented on sea where their cruisers and gunboats annhilate russian subs; Russian MiG's, however, dominate the sky). Anybody whose RTS experience goes no further than "Dune II" (1992) best be warned - this is more than about tank-rushing. simply cranking out a dozen or so of your heaviest and most fearsome mechanized armored assets and sending them headlong at your enemy's weakest point is not the single strategy. As an exmple - one mission may have you decimate the GDI base on the other side of the river. However, there are no bridges (at least none that last very long). So you've got to build marine transports to carry your army across - but that requires a subpen. To protect your subpen (which is built on the water) and the transports when they're built, you'll need to crank out subs (which are inferior to the enemy's surface fleet, but remain the only real option). Also, your transports can only load and offload their cargoes on sandy stretches of shoreline - and the only non-rocky coastline just happens to be occupied by the enemy. The allies may also have spies - who can walk past tanls and soldiers without being spotted (only your canine units know when they're around), and the feared "Tanya", a sexy "Rambette" who can pick off scores of infantry like pigeons and responds with the appropriate "Ka-chinG!!!" with every kill. Red Alert is incredibly challenging, not infrequently frustrating and quite addictive. An extensive internet community exists for those with questions or those hungering for new missions. I ran the game on my P-166MMX with no problems. Those with more powerful systems may want to consider "Red Alert-2", but they'd be missing an excellent intro to the genre.
Rating: 
Summary: Do not waste your money.
Review: When I first got this I was quite concerned that Win 95 was written all over the CD and then when I installed it the titles all said WIN 95 RED ALERT 2. And I'm like hello, I'm about seven years from then. I've been playing Age Of Empires II for more than a year and a half and RA2 is a joke compared that that game. You can't pause the game. The graphics are tiny little pixels that have no distinction from one to another. The intro games are too hard. Shooting is unexplained and makes no sense. Sometimes they shoot on their own, sometimes you think you're aiming but I don't know if I am or not? And the missions make no sense and aren't explained at all. Sometimes the guy dies, sometimes you have to tell him to go up, but the game doesn't end there for some reason? In conclusion I uninstalled the game after two days and put it on my shelf where I haven't thought about it since. Until today.
Rating: 
Summary: Good... but not great.
Review: While the game was enjoyable, it is noticably outdated and sometimes the controls are not quite responsive (i.e. it takes a few seconds before your units will begin to move). But you would like it if you are a C&C fan, but for everybody else should go straight to Red Alert 2... MUCH BETTER!
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