Last week we learned that Command & Conquer: Rivals would be launching worldwide on December 4th, which is today. Lo and behold EA has stuck to the release date as the game is now available for download from the Play Store. It's billed as a fast-paced real-time strategy game, but really it's just a Clash Royale clone with a C&C skin.
If you were hoping for something that plays like the original games, you are sadly out of luck. Command & Conquer: Rivals plays a lot closer to titles like Clash Royale. It's a mobile PvP release with a Command & Conquer skin slapped on top. Now I know this may aggravate more than a few of you out there, but in 2018 it's clear that companies like EA aren't going to consider hardcore fans when it comes down to it and would rather cash in with a shallow pay-to-win mobile game. Something I'm sure EA's AAA peers Bethesda, Valve, and Blizzard also know a heck of a lot about.
Getting down to the nitty-gritty, you can expect 1v1 real-time battles, a collectible card system, loot crates complete with wait timers, multiple in-game currencies, and in-app purchases that range all the way up to $99.99 per item. The actual gameplay is basically a tug of war between two people as they strategically send out similar troops to key focal points on a battlefield. Whoever can utilize whatever little rock-paper-scissors mechanics there are in this game may just gain the upper hand and win the match. More often than not those that pay for better troops will have the advantage, just like every other mobile game of this nature. Suffice to say, the gameplay gets stale very quickly, especially if you've played similar titles before.
Honestly, I'm not even shocked by EA's brazenness with this release. Not only is the company tarnishing a fan-favorite series, but it's doing it in such a way that it dumbs down everything that made the originals so great. There's also a clear pay-to-win structure in this competitive game, and even if you could ignore the monetized cheating, the loot crates, collectible cards, and tedious tug of war gameplay add up to yet another mobile game that does very little to differentiate itself from the majority of Clash Royale clones already on the Play Store. Command & Conquer: Rivals bears no resemblance to the C&C games you fondly remember, it's an endlessly monetized platform of greed wearing a shoddily put together Command & Conquer skin.
PRESS RELEASE
COMMAND & CONQUER: RIVALS LAUNCHES WORLDWIDE, BRINGS COMPETITVE REAL-TIME STRATEGY EXCITEMENT TO MOBILE
Dominate the Leaderboards with Skill and Strategy in Quick, Fast-Paced Battles
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – Dec. 4, 2018 – Commanders, the war for Tiberium is here! Today, Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) officially launched Command & Conquer™: Rivals, a fast-paced, real-time strategy (RTS) action game for Android and iOS devices worldwide. Built from the ground up specifically for mobile, Command & Conquer: Rivals offers innovative player versus player (PVP) gameplay, with intuitive controls that enable players to focus their efforts on strategy and skill as they face off in intense 1v1 battles.
“Over the past few months, we’ve made the world talk about Command & Conquer more and it has been really exciting to see,” said Michael Martinez, General Manager of Redwood Studios. “We’ve been playing Rivals every day with our community, working with them to make it as fun and balanced as it can be. Our goal was to bring something new to mobile players who play RTS games, giving them full control of their every move, to bring out their true competitive skill.”
In Command & Conquer: Rivals, players must lead their faction to victory, choosing between the hi-tech Global Defense Initiative or the faster-paced Brotherhood of Nod factions. It’s supreme Colonel Jackson vs the fan-favorite Kane. True to the iconic RTS series, planning and tactical execution are keys to winning. Moves are quick and frenetic, and each match requires a unique approach where players must create their best combination of infantry, tanks, aircraft, and behemoths in order to defend and out-maneuver an opponent.
Competition is at the heart of this game with Rivals Champions, an exclusive in-game weekend event available at launch. In Rivals Champions, players of all skill levels can compete in a unique matchmaking pool with different ranked tiers, and the better a player performs, the bigger the rewards. Next year, EA’s competitive gaming roster will expand with Command & Conquer: Rivals. Rivals Champions, modeled after the immensely popular FIFA Ultimate Team Champions in FIFA, is the signature competitive experience where the development team will work with the community to launch a multi-continent esports program in 2019.
Command & Conquer: Rivals is available to download on the App Store and Google Play. For more information and to stay up to date on the latest news, visit www.cncrivals.com or check out the game on Twitter, Discord and Reddit.
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) is a global leader in digital interactive entertainment. The Company develops and delivers games, content and online services for Internet-connected consoles, mobile devices and personal computers. EA has more than 300 million registered players around the world.
In fiscal year 2018, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $5.15 billion. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for a portfolio of critically acclaimed, high-quality brands such as The Sims™, Madden NFL, EA SPORTS™ FIFA, Battlefield™, Need for Speed™, Dragon Age™ and Plants vs. Zombies™. More information about EA is available at www.ea.com/news.
Command & Conquer, Maxis, EA SPORTS, Battlefield, The Sims, Need for Speed, Dragon Age, and Plants vs. Zombies are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. John Madden, NFL and FIFA are the property of their respective owners and used with permission.