Oh brother – to go from excitement to heartache in just a matter of about a minute… man, EA really is taking the fun out of gaming lately, aren’t they? We all already believe that they are about the evilest, soul-crushing, sinister gaming companies around, but they sure aren’t doing anything to change that reputation with their decisions as of late. The latest news that has me reeling from the utter shock that it caused me was the announcement of a new Command & Conquer game – and then only to find out that the game, Command & Conquer: Rivals, will be a mobile game for smartphones and other mobile devices. What the actual fuck, EA? The last Command & Conquer game we got was that fan-made remake of Renegade, Renegade X, which was a mash between first and third person shooter gameplay with some RTS elements in it, and that was back in 2014. And the last true Command & Conquer game we got from EA was Tiberium Alliances from EA Phenomic back in 2012. 2012!!! Six bloody years ago. Fans have been waiting at least six years for another good Command & Conquer game for their PCs – hell, even consoles – only for EA to pull this crap and dump all over their fans… again.
You know, I’m all for giving gaming companies a chance… multiple times; but oh man, this is getting ridiculous with what EA is doing to the legacy of their games, games that fans fondly remember and that many employees under them worked hard on (or at least at one time they worked for them, because heavens know I wouldn’t blame them for moving on from that company years ago). They are crapping on everything that we fans have grown to love over the years and are shilling out the bare minimal that they can and expecting maximum return profits on their endeavors – because nothing says “quick cash grab” like slapping the name of a once beloved series on the digital markings of another cheaply produced mobile app and including tons of microtransactions in the game to further separate the player from their money. Sorry EA, but not this time. I may be a fan of the Command & Conquer series, but this is just another step too far for me.
To soil the name of a franchise that I used to consider my favorite RTS series of all time, even after both Warcraft and StarCraft entered the scene, and reduce it to a mobile app with no release for the PC or consoles – I’m done. Command & Conquer was my go-to RTS series. Even after I played Warcraft, even after I played StarCraft, even after my friends told me that games like Age of Empires, Rise of Nations, Total Annihilation, and Company of Heroes were better games, I still stuck to my favorite Command & Conquer games because I still thought they were superior RTS games that offered me a complete and total gameplay experience. All the way from the first Command & Conquer game in 1995 to Command & Conquer: Renegade in 2002 all the way until Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 in 2008 and Command & Conquer: Tiberium Alliances in 2012, I was still a huge fan of the series, I stuck with the series for twenty-three years, hoping, waiting, praying (and we all know how much I believe in bloody praying) that a new game would make its way onto PCs someday – soon – but no, what we get is the mobile Command & Conquer: Rivals game… with microtransactions. Well count me out, I’m done with the series if this is the new direction it’s going in. And screw you, EA. No, better yet, fuck you. I hope you bastards burn in hell.
