Having achieved success porting the PC real time strategy game, The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II to the Xbox 360, Electronic Arts has finally unleashed Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars on the system. The game retains all of the content from the PC hit while incorporating achievements and Xbox Live support for up to four players. The extreme difficulty (even on easy) will throttle most people, but those willing to look past the near endless waves of enemies will discover an accessible and engaging RTS.

Command & Conquer 3 continues the war between the Global Defense Initiative (GDI) and the evil Brotherhood of Nod. Both parties seek to control the Earth while at the same time harness the power of Tiberium, a strange substance that has made most of the planet uninhabitable. Each side features a distinctive campaign, told through high definition video featuring the excellent acting efforts of real actors including Michael Ironside (from Starship Troopers), Jennifer Morrison (from House), Grace Park (from Battlestar Galactica) and Billy Dee Williams (The Empire Strikes Back), among other famous faces. In addition, the videos look amazing on high HDTV's.

At first, gamers can only play the GDI campaign. Later, they unlock the Nod adventure as well as a mini campaign centered around the Scrin, mysterious aliens that invade midway through the game and cause havoc. This variety extends C&C 3's replay value, especially since gamers will be treated to different endings.

In bringing the game to the Xbox 360, EA fell back on the critically acclaimed The Battle for Middle-earth II control scheme, offering players an accessible way to navigate the battlefield and command units. To pan the camera, they maneuver the left analog stick, and to zoom, they move the right one. They select units by dragging a cursor over them and pressing A, and pressing and holding the left trigger brings up the very useful command bar. From here, they can build and place various structures including a power plant, barracks or airfield, as well as create different types of infantry. PC enthusiasts will argue that a mouse and a keyboard work better (and they may be right), but console owners needn't worry. The Xbox 360 version's control scheme offers games a user-friendly setup, designed to thrust them into battles (and create armies) in minutes.

Completing the missions, on the other hand, proves more difficult. C&C 3's narrator barks out orders and provides helpful tips, but sometimes these occur within seconds of each other. As a result, gamers may become lost, struggling to complete the first objective while oblivious to the second until their troops get decimated. Furthermore, the game packs quite a challenge with a seemingly endless wave of bad guys. However, and to its credit, C&C 3 is a thinking person's game, and players need to plan strategies instead of blindly assaulting a Nod/GDI base. Of course, when things get crazy, gamers can sometimes fall back on GDI's Ion Cannon, which vaporizes enemies with one shot.