The Red Alert franchise first debuted in 1995 on the PC, as part of the Command & Conquer series. The game was later ported to consoles like the Playstation. A hit sequel came around in 2000, it’s taken long eight years till another sequel was finally released on the Xbox 360 and PC, Red Alert 3. RA3 brought back everything that fans had loved so much about it in the first place: action-packed strategy held together by a wonderfully cheesy story and characters. While the X360 featured some disappointingly drab textures(in comparison to what Command & Conquer games have accomplished in the past), both versions successfully delivered the time-tested gameplay fans loved.
For a long time the scheduled Playstation 3 version of the strategy game Red Alert 3 was widely considered to be canceled. It turns out that we were wrong. Not only that, but it seems the new PS3 version(titled, Red Alert 3: Ultimate Edition) will come with many features that both the Xbox 360 and PC versions never had. According to producer Greg Kasavin, development had been held up so as to quickly finish the PC and Xbox 360 versions, after which the team focused on pushing the PS3’s limits before getting it out the door. All the content from the PC’s Red Alert 3: Premiere Edition is available here, including videos(documentaries, bloopers, etc), the game’s soundtrack, and other extras. The total result is an install of about 3.8 gigabytes.
Another thing certainly worth noting is the substantial update in graphics when compared to other versions of the game. Effects such as water, colors, and unit movement have all seen improvements, as well as overall textures. This is an exciting addition, considering that one very common complaint among reviewers of the original edition of the game is the disappointing and uninteresting graphics.
Unfortunately, content from the upcoming PC expansion pack will not be present in the “Ultimate Edition”, but that’s hardly anything to get too upset about, as it seems the Xbox will share the same fate. No downloadable content has been confirmed for the game yet, but we may see some in the future, according to the developers.
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UPDATE
Red Alert 3: Ultimate Edition came out this March 23. It appears to be, at the very least, a slightly superior version of it’s X360 and maybe even PC counterparts.
