There’s a good chance that Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian
Twilight is not what you were expecting. This real-time tactical game
shares some attributes with the Tiberium-fueled strategy games that came
before it–flashy graphical effects, GDI and Nod forces pummeling each
other, and a scowling antihero with a stare so intense his eyes pierce
your soul. But Tiberian Twilight stands out not for its use of age-old
series standbys, but for reinvented mechanics that have little in common
with those of its predecessors. Base-building and broad strategizing
have been supplanted by small-scale micromanagement; standard battles
have given way to capture-point conquest. It’s a bold shift for the
apparently final chapter of the saga, though not always a positive one.
The disappointing campaign ends in a conclusion unworthy of Kane’s
melodramatic legacy, and the moment-to-moment gameplay is too limited to
be consistently engaging. And yet the multiplayer action and
single-player skirmishes are good fun, if not remarkably so, and a
system of persistent unlocks provides nice rewards across every mode.
This may not be the exhilarating finale to Kane’s exploits you had hoped
for, but Tiberian Twilight is a pleasant diversion good for occasional
grins, though not for riotous thrills.