Chris Corry grilled on C&C: Red Alert 3

Interview - EA's Producer talks naval battles, multiplayer, history and more

EA have only unveiled Red Alert 3 in the last month or so, but we were so keen to find out more about this eagerly awaited RTS sequel, that we cornered producer Chris Corry for a few questions on C&C's latest move.

Firstly, thank you for taking the time to chat to us about Red Alert 3, secondly, for how long have your team wanted to create a third Red Alert game, and what was EA's stance on this?

No problem! A return to Red Alert has always been in the cards and something our team has wanted to explore. If you remember, there was an announcement made a few years ago about Red Alert 3 when EALA began work on a previous iteration of the game. We eventually suspended that effort to concentrate on our Lord of the Rings games, and Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars. Even today, some of the work done back then continues to inform the current team.

How has the RTS genre evolved since 2000's Red Alert 2, and what impact on the new game will this have?

Real-time strategy games have progressed quite a way in the last eight or so years, and as fans, it's been great for us to see the recent variety within the genre. Between amazing games like Supreme Commander, World in Conflict, and Company of Heroes, there's really been something for everyone. As for Red Alert 3, we take most of our inspiration from Red Alert 2, of all games. It's arguably the most beloved of any in the Command & Conquer franchise, and we set out to create an RTS that's very much in the same vein of the last Red Alert game. That means live-action cinematics with humorous actors who take themselves perhaps a bit too seriously; units that are filled with characters and are a blast to use; as well as the signature fast and fluid gameplay of the series. We also looked for ways to improve upon that classic experience by dramatically expanding the naval interaction of units and structures, and by introducing the notion of an entirely cooperative campaign to the RTS genre.

How will the well-received most recent C&C outing influence Red Alert 3?

We dipped our toe back into the water with Command & Conquer 3, and it turned out great! Live-action cinematics, for example, are a part of the C&C DNA - for both the Tiberium games and the Red Alert games. C&C3 gave us confidence that we can produce the cinematics, stories, assets and the gameplay for Command & Conquer games at a high level of quality.

Knowing that, knowing that we did justice for the Tiberium Wars lore, and knowing that our fans can trust us to do right by them, all of that confidence comes from what we were able to accomplish with C&C3.

What's the premise that kicks-off RA3, and what can you tell us on the path we'll follow through the singleplayer mode?

At the beginning of the game, the Soviets are on the brink of defeat to the Allies - they are literally cowering behind the walls of the Kremlin. Out of desperation, they scramble to an underground lab deep below Moscow and activate a top secret time machine. Their mission? Find Albert Einstein, the father of modern physics and inventor of all technologies used by the Allies and erase him from history.

When the Soviets get back to the present, they find the Allies are no longer inching towards defeating them, though they are still formidable. However, their actions inadvertently spawned upon on the world's stage, the almighty technology cult of The Empire of the Rising Sun. Moscow and the Soviet Union may indeed be intact once again, but now the world finds itself at the beginning of a new Red Alert war with a deadly new foe threatening both the Allies and the Soviets.

Co-op play sounds like a major enhancement, how does this impact the gameplay and overall experience?

One of the major new features we're bringing to the table in Red Alert 3 is co-op throughout our entire storyline campaign. Every mission is being designed from the ground up with the assumption that you will always have an ally at your side. These missions will employ a whole range of mechanics that will require the player to coordinate their activities with their co-commander's army.

If you don't have any friends online, that's no problem - you can enlist an AI general to fight at your side (there are three for each faction). These generals have individual strengths and weaknesses, and very unique personalities and will become a fixture of the story-driven experience.

And because our campaign spans three factions with 8-10 missions per factions, the generals that you might choose to enlist as allies in one campaign can emerge as mortal enemies in another.