Rating: 
Summary: Extends playlife of Generals to infinity...
Review: ...that may be something of an exgaggeration, but this statement isn't: If you loved Generals and haven't played Zero Hour, you have cause for celebration. At the time of this writing, Zero Hour has been out roughly 1.5 years (games live in "dog years" compared to other media), and as far as Real Time Strategy Games go, I put this at, or very near the top of my list, ahead of most every contemporary RTS.
Why?
To many reasons to list, but basically because Zero Hour completely refreshes Generals. If you played Generals like me (a psycho, social-life-debilitating amount), you pretty much had the game down; you knew build order, offense, counters, etc. Zero Hour completely reshuffles the deck by introducing a whole host of brand new units, as well as the ability to play as a General of a certain skill set that gives him advantages (like air/ground/nuclear, etc).
Can you say "C130 Gunship", "Heavy Chinese attack Heli", "Suicide Motorcylist"...when my buddy sent in a huge plane that dropped a bunch of leaflets on my troops to urge them not to fight, I almost came apart with laughter. Good times.
In addition to the General abilities, new maps, and new units, the games graphics have noticably improved.
I couldn't recommend this higher. For RTS fans that haven't checked Zero Hour out yet, don't hesitate to buy this Expansion Pack, this game's got a lot of life in it yet.
Enjoy,
Christian Hunter
Santa Barbara, California
Rating:
Summary: Another point to what was Westwood
Review: A fantastic entry in the RTS hall of fame, C&C Generals brought a new dynamic to would be combatants. From the varied units and landscapes to the strong AI and vivid graphics, this game raised the C&C brand to a new level of excellence. Expect realistic weapons and strategies depicting the US Armed Forces and their most unique opponents: The proliferous Chinese and the insideous GLA (a terrorist group... Al Queda anyone?)... Lets hope that China remains our friend!
Rating:
Summary: A Whole New Game
Review: Although Generals added a new standard of graphics and several new and interesting departures from the original C&C game design, it was something less than revolutionary. Zero Hour goes a long way toward addressing this issue, and really turns Generals into a completely new game. The expansion adds a new campaign for each side, with about 5 missions each. The campaign is interesting, and adds a few new elements, but is actually not the best part of the expansion. There are full motion video cutscenes (reporters talking about what's going on) to add some depth to the story, which is pretty straightforward stuff that could happen sometime in the near future (though we hope not). The missions add unique buildings and locations, all well done, as well as objectives that are pretty fun to carry out. Some of them are quite difficult, and there are a few stealth commando missions that Generals sadly lacked. There's also some campaign-only powers, such as the ability to call in battleship artillery and carrier strikes in one of the USA missions. The real meat of the expansion starts with the new units and upgrades. Each side has new things, some of which go a long way toward filling holes in the armies' capabilities. China, for example, gets some much-needed surveillance by way of the Internet Center, and a worthwhile stealth detector in the Listening Post. Frenzy, a new general power, increases the firepower and armor of units for a brief time. China also gets added airborne firepower with the Helix and the ability to carpet bomb. The GLA gets several low-tech solutions, most of which are still geared toward outmaneuvering rather than outgunning the opposition. The Battle Bus, however, can pack quite a punch in a frontline role. Fake structures, a sometimes-useful throwback from Red Alert, can also be purchased. More interestingly, they can be upgraded into real ones, which is a nice way to play with an opponent's mind. The USA gets a powerful base defense with the Fire Base, which is garrisonable, effective against infantry, and doesn't need power to shoot. They also get a mobile anti-air unit in the Avenger, making it unnecessary for you to bring weak Missile Defender-packed Humvees along in future battles. Three new tech structures are also added- the Repair Bay (repairs all your ground units), Artillery Platform (shoots at enemies with a howitzer), and Reinforcement Pad (produces a tank on a countdown). The upgrades and units are standard expansion fare, but Zero Hour adds something else- new generals, each with their own combat styles, units and powers, and personalities. There are three for each side- Air Force, Lasers, and Superweapons for the USA; Toxins, Camouflage, and Demolitions for the GLA; and Nukes, Tanks, and Infantry for China. Each of these has a doctrine that you must adhere to if you wish to use them effectively, and have weaknesses that hold you to it. For example, the US Air Force general cannot make tanks, but has aircraft cost reduced, unique and better air units, and a point defense laser on all airplanes that along with the standard countermeasures upgrade makes them practically immune to missile fire. China's tank general can build the Emperor Overlord, which is the newest and baddest vehicle on the ground. The GLA camouflage general can make literally everything invisible to the unaided eye, and turns the GLA into a real guerilla army (his Scud Storms are especially scary). All of these generals can be used in skirmish or multiplay, and there is a special 'generals challenge' campaign in which you pick one and play against all others. Your opponent is always on territory that favors their doctrine, and it can get pretty tough. This is a great way to accustom yourself to the various generals and pick your favorite, and is also quite fun since your opponents continuously taunt you during the games. It's worth mentioning that several nice tweaks have been added to the engine. For example, fighters on an airbase will automatically attack nearby enemies, and both superweapons and scouting powers (e.g. radar van scans) appear as a sidebar icon with a number indicating how many are ready, if it's more than one. This makes it no longer necessary to separately hotkey practically every unit you have. Multiplayer options have been added, such as how much cash to start with, and no superweapons. The already excellent graphics have been improved, with even more fantastic fireballs, flotsam and jetsam, and better water effects. The result is undoubtedly the most graphically appealing RTS out there, though you might need a new video card if you want to run at max detail. In summary, Zero Hour is for all intents and purposes a completely new game. Some have argued that it is what Generals should have been from the start, but I'm glad EA took the time to do a good job on this rather than rushing it for release. I honestly have no complaints about the expansion- it's one of the best ones I've seen for any game. It's a definite must for any Generals fan, and even if you weren't overly impressed with Generals, Zero Hour might just change your opinion.
Rating:
Summary: A Whole New Game
Review: Although Generals added a new standard of graphics and several new and interesting departures from the original C&C game design, it was something less than revolutionary. Zero Hour goes a long way toward addressing this issue, and really turns Generals into a completely new game. The expansion adds a new campaign for each side, with about 5 missions each. The campaign is interesting, and adds a few new elements, but is actually not the best part of the expansion. There are full motion video cutscenes (reporters talking about what's going on) to add some depth to the story, which is pretty straightforward stuff that could happen sometime in the near future (though we hope not). The missions add unique buildings and locations, all well done, as well as objectives that are pretty fun to carry out. Some of them are quite difficult, and there are a few stealth commando missions that Generals sadly lacked. There's also some campaign-only powers, such as the ability to call in battleship artillery and carrier strikes in one of the USA missions. The real meat of the expansion starts with the new units and upgrades. Each side has new things, some of which go a long way toward filling holes in the armies' capabilities. China, for example, gets some much-needed surveillance by way of the Internet Center, and a worthwhile stealth detector in the Listening Post. Frenzy, a new general power, increases the firepower and armor of units for a brief time. China also gets added airborne firepower with the Helix and the ability to carpet bomb. The GLA gets several low-tech solutions, most of which are still geared toward outmaneuvering rather than outgunning the opposition. The Battle Bus, however, can pack quite a punch in a frontline role. Fake structures, a sometimes-useful throwback from Red Alert, can also be purchased. More interestingly, they can be upgraded into real ones, which is a nice way to play with an opponent's mind. The USA gets a powerful base defense with the Fire Base, which is garrisonable, effective against infantry, and doesn't need power to shoot. They also get a mobile anti-air unit in the Avenger, making it unnecessary for you to bring weak Missile Defender-packed Humvees along in future battles. Three new tech structures are also added- the Repair Bay (repairs all your ground units), Artillery Platform (shoots at enemies with a howitzer), and Reinforcement Pad (produces a tank on a countdown). The upgrades and units are standard expansion fare, but Zero Hour adds something else- new generals, each with their own combat styles, units and powers, and personalities. There are three for each side- Air Force, Lasers, and Superweapons for the USA; Toxins, Camouflage, and Demolitions for the GLA; and Nukes, Tanks, and Infantry for China. Each of these has a doctrine that you must adhere to if you wish to use them effectively, and have weaknesses that hold you to it. For example, the US Air Force general cannot make tanks, but has aircraft cost reduced, unique and better air units, and a point defense laser on all airplanes that along with the standard countermeasures upgrade makes them practically immune to missile fire. China's tank general can build the Emperor Overlord, which is the newest and baddest vehicle on the ground. The GLA camouflage general can make literally everything invisible to the unaided eye, and turns the GLA into a real guerilla army (his Scud Storms are especially scary). All of these generals can be used in skirmish or multiplay, and there is a special 'generals challenge' campaign in which you pick one and play against all others. Your opponent is always on territory that favors their doctrine, and it can get pretty tough. This is a great way to accustom yourself to the various generals and pick your favorite, and is also quite fun since your opponents continuously taunt you during the games. It's worth mentioning that several nice tweaks have been added to the engine. For example, fighters on an airbase will automatically attack nearby enemies, and both superweapons and scouting powers (e.g. radar van scans) appear as a sidebar icon with a number indicating how many are ready, if it's more than one. This makes it no longer necessary to separately hotkey practically every unit you have. Multiplayer options have been added, such as how much cash to start with, and no superweapons. The already excellent graphics have been improved, with even more fantastic fireballs, flotsam and jetsam, and better water effects. The result is undoubtedly the most graphically appealing RTS out there, though you might need a new video card if you want to run at max detail. In summary, Zero Hour is for all intents and purposes a completely new game. Some have argued that it is what Generals should have been from the start, but I'm glad EA took the time to do a good job on this rather than rushing it for release. I honestly have no complaints about the expansion- it's one of the best ones I've seen for any game. It's a definite must for any Generals fan, and even if you weren't overly impressed with Generals, Zero Hour might just change your opinion.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as it could have been
Review: Bloatware. The "artists" spent their time and energy making some pretty graphics that will challenge your video card, and frustrate your internet connection if you have anything less than state of the art. As far as game play, step backward regarding on-line playing. Serious lag even with a high speed connection. No way to communicate effectively with other players and hard to turn off the audio to enhance performance. Starcraft Brood War(a 4 year old game) is superior. The AI is less than top notch. And forget about the QA people actually getting the bugs out. Maps have all sorts of bugs, and for an upgrade, try to import older C&C maps?
Where are specification on unit performance? It trial and error to figure out ranges and weapon effectiveness.
EA games seems to want to "challenge everything" except producing a top notch game. I was disapointed by this expensive add on product.
My recommendation, hold off and get Zero Hour on the cheap.
Rating: 
Summary: A great game
Review: Cncg is the coolest game of this genre.Great 3d effects, cool maps, and great units.
Rating: 
Summary: Generals ZH sux
Review: guys dont be fooled by this extension pack..its totally unstable go to any search engine and look for more informations...ull notice more pple complaining about this guy than voting for it...i enjoyed the game c&c generals and when i saw Zero hour thought its some extension pack like any other game..it turned out a poor game which doesnt work...EA games are trying to blame our systems for the bugs..i bought whole new pc paid around 2000 dollars "nearly bought a very hight performance pc" but this this game is causing problems....some time ot starts and mostly it crashed to the desktop with a serriour error msg....there are roumers about EA games trying to direct the market more into simulations and RPG games than strategies " guess just roumers" i think u can wait couple more month before u buy until a stable patch shows up....
Rating:
Summary: Better than the original!
Review: Having been a C&C fan since the beginning and reading all the reviews for this game before it cane out, I was a little dissappointed. But with this expansion pack, the game is now much better, Not only do you get 15 more missions and lots of new units, but you get the Generals Challenge which is very cool. If you play with every General (9 total), you get another 63 battles to play. Each General has its own tactic (i.e. Lasers, Tanks, etc) and you get these items cheaper than anyone else. Also, you can use any of these Generals for Skirmish or On-line play.
Some of the new things I liked was the USA Firebase (it lets you hold 4 soldiers in it while firing a powerful cannon.), USA Spectre Ship (which fires a strong gun and flys aropund an enemy base for 5-30 seconds (depending on your General Rank) or until shot down), China Internet Center (which can hold 8 hackers and helps them collect more money and can be upgraded), and the GLA Battle Bus (which holds soldiers who can fire from it and when it is immobilized, it becomes bunkered cover for those soldiers). There are many other items here than I just mentioned and many new structures than can be captured.
As for the Generals challenge, some of the items I like that only they have are Laser defense turret (USA) (fires a powerful laser at air or land and has good range), Emperor Overlord (China) (comes equipeed with propaganda tower and can have a Gattling Cannon installed), and Advanced Demo Trap (GLA)(a much more powerful explosion that builds faster). These are just a few of the many different items they have.
The only issue I still have is the difference in Easy, Medium, and Hard difficulty settings. Easy was too easy and medium was pretty tough. To give a quick example, in the Generals Challenge, about a minute into one of the games, a Particle Cannon was detected. The countdown started at 30 minutes. That was on easy and it was never fired. On medium difficulty, the countwon started at 4 minutes. After the first attack, they started bombing runs with planes and dropped off guys at the back of the base. Then theri second Particle cannon came on-line and then a third. It was tough to beat, but this is an example of the difference between the difficulty settings. My suggestion is, if you want to have a good battles, don't play on anything less than medium because it was not much fun on easy. Also, they have little news reports in between missions. For me anyways, this gave C&C back some of the feel of the earlier games. This statement might seem stupid, but it has pretty much always been a part of the games, and for it not to be a part of the first Generals game, it just felt like something was missing (Boy I sure miss Tanya).For any C&C fan this is a must have game. If you haven't bought the first part of this game yet, I would suggest buying the C&C: Generals combo of both games. If you do have the first part, buy this, you won't be dissappointed. Anyone new to the C&C world, this is not the best of the bunch (C&C Red Alert & Red Alert 2 are the best), but it is graphically the best looking C&C game. Happy gaming and good hunting.
Rating:
Summary: Better than the original!
Review: Having been a C&C fan since the beginning and reading all the reviews for this game before it cane out, I was a little dissappointed. But with this expansion pack, the game is now much better, Not only do you get 15 more missions and lots of new units, but you get the Generals Challenge which is very cool. If you play with every General (9 total), you get another 63 battles to play. Each General has its own tactic (i.e. Lasers, Tanks, etc) and you get these items cheaper than anyone else. Also, you can use any of these Generals for Skirmish or On-line play.
Some of the new things I liked was the USA Firebase (it lets you hold 4 soldiers in it while firing a powerful cannon.), USA Spectre Ship (which fires a strong gun and flys aropund an enemy base for 5-30 seconds (depending on your General Rank) or until shot down), China Internet Center (which can hold 8 hackers and helps them collect more money and can be upgraded), and the GLA Battle Bus (which holds soldiers who can fire from it and when it is immobilized, it becomes bunkered cover for those soldiers). There are many other items here than I just mentioned and many new structures than can be captured.
As for the Generals challenge, some of the items I like that only they have are Laser defense turret (USA) (fires a powerful laser at air or land and has good range), Emperor Overlord (China) (comes equipeed with propaganda tower and can have a Gattling Cannon installed), and Advanced Demo Trap (GLA)(a much more powerful explosion that builds faster). These are just a few of the many different items they have.
The only issue I still have is the difference in Easy, Medium, and Hard difficulty settings. Easy was too easy and medium was pretty tough. To give a quick example, in the Generals Challenge, about a minute into one of the games, a Particle Cannon was detected. The countdown started at 30 minutes. That was on easy and it was never fired. On medium difficulty, the countwon started at 4 minutes. After the first attack, they started bombing runs with planes and dropped off guys at the back of the base. Then theri second Particle cannon came on-line and then a third. It was tough to beat, but this is an example of the difference between the difficulty settings. My suggestion is, if you want to have a good battles, don't play on anything less than medium because it was not much fun on easy. Also, they have little news reports in between missions. For me anyways, this gave C&C back some of the feel of the earlier games. This statement might seem stupid, but it has pretty much always been a part of the games, and for it not to be a part of the first Generals game, it just felt like something was missing (Boy I sure miss Tanya).For any C&C fan this is a must have game. If you haven't bought the first part of this game yet, I would suggest buying the C&C: Generals combo of both games. If you do have the first part, buy this, you won't be dissappointed. Anyone new to the C&C world, this is not the best of the bunch (C&C Red Alert & Red Alert 2 are the best), but it is graphically the best looking C&C game. Happy gaming and good hunting.
Rating:
Summary: Best war game bar none
Review: Hey I'm a big fan of wargames ever since panzer general, steel panthers I,II and recently medal of honor and battlefield 42 and nam....
I have to say generals zero hour is the best war game ever made...simply because of the near realism and ability to command weapons of mass destruction and modern military machines. The game is just flat out fun and its fast - yeah there are some issues with load time in installation and quirks online but this game rocks....firing nuke missles, scud storms are satisfying....controlling bombers, snipers, tanks make it seem like you're really controlling a battlefield and fighting a war....
there are other fantastic weapons to command like carpet bombing, spectre gunship straffing runs, artillery barages...its just fun as heck to unleash "heck" on your command...
there are superhero's to command to like general burton, jarmen kell, and black lotus...this game has it all and it is eerrily accurate portrayal of today's world military landscape, china, USA and Al Qaieda as the main forces at battle...
The GLA have suicide bombers, truck bombers and biological attack weapons that are crazy...don't believe the negative reviews on here cause this game is all that and a bag of chips...I wish they would come out with another expansion pack...the message board at EA is helpful too when learning strategies to play and watching highlights of the top players and how they manuever their forces...the game plays real time so the action is fast sometimes but enables strategy and planning in attack and defense formations....
fire a nuke missle and feel the power of a WMD only in this game.
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