Call it an inevitability, eternal reoccurrence, or whatever the technical term is for when video game karma comes spinning back after the passing of so many years. Some games, like anything you'll find in a Williams/Namco/Midway/etc. Arcade Treasure collection, just have a knack for coming back. EA has decided to jump onto the anthology bandwagon by releasing Command & Conquer: The First Decade, a collection of all the Command & Conquer games, starting with the original. The anthology also includes the spin-off title, Renegade. While C&C wasn't the first real-time strategy ever made (that was Dune II, also developed by Westwood Studios), it is considered by many to be the first to make the genre wildly popular, inspiring a multitude of RTS games.

When I first heard that EA was releasing the collection, I thought to myself, "Who is this intended for?" That's when I really felt the silence. I looked around and ducked my head. I could feel the heat from EA's ion cannon on me while of Franz Ferdinand sung, "I'm just a crosshair... I'm just a shot, then we can die."

There could be no doubt. I was their statistic. Whoever it was at EA who poured over the number of potential customers, I was part of their equation. Yes, despite having owned all the C&C games already, including the gold version of the original, remastered for Windows 95, there was little doubt that I would be among the first people to say, "What if I could have them all on one disc?" And why not? It's not like we're talking about a random smattering of games here... we're talking about the entire collection, starting with what fans call Tiberian Dawn and ending with Generals: Zero Hour. These are games that not only defined a genre, kept players up all night, but spawned a whole new philosophy and outlook toward life. Take this snippet from my life as an example:

Friend: "So, there's this girl who's sending me mixed signals. She flirts with me all the time, then ignores me. I don't know what to do."

Me: "Blow up her construction yard."

Friend: "What?"

Me: "Blow up her construction yard. Do whatever it takes. It doesn't matter if you're sneaky or be bold, just get it done. Use all the forces you have at your disposal. Get rid of that, then destroy her vehicle factory... Then it'll just be a matter of time before you wear down the remainder of her defenses and she'll be forced to surrender to you."

Friend: "Huh?"

Me: "In the very least, it will get her angry enough to come running after you, and you'll have a clever trap ready..."

Ah yes, those were simpler times. When C&C was as valuable as the I Ching to help guide one through life's obstacles. Another hard lesson learned was that doing a halfway decent dance and rendition of "Mechanical Man" (the C&C theme most likely to get stuck in people's heads) doesn't impress as many women as one might think. However, finding one of those small handful of women who not only find it amusing, but actually recognize the theme, means that you might have found The One. Did the advice work? I have no idea. My friend ignored me, calling my C&C outlook on life a load of nonsense. The fool.

How could I miss out on this call? This collection was not only an homage to games of past, but it was a working testament to the evolutionary changes the C&C series itself went through. Not to mention, there are few temptations greater than the opportunity to play an old favorite that has been updated to take advantage of some of the latest technologies. That's where things go wrong. I learned that there were no changes and my spirits quickly fell. Unlike the conversion from the DOS version of C&C to the Gold version, making it native to Windows 95, nothing has been updated in this case to match the times.

Why should I want changes? One might ask. No one needed changes made to the old classic 8-bit games that get stuffed onto Arcade Treasure collections. Well, those 8-bit games didn't include full-motion video and network gameplay either. The full-motion video, a true hallmark of the C&C series, used to be on the cutting edge of technology back in the day. Today it looks pixilated and bland, despite the fact that the anthology comes on a dual-layer DVD. While network play is still possible, internet play for the original game remains far out of reach for most people. The installer will ask that you install the Westwood Chat client, a service that is not only no longer in use, but not present on the DVD. Being the average C&C fan, I would expect these relatively minor changes made to a supposed homage to a game that helped to define a genre.

Of course, no one expects miracles when it comes to these kinds of things. Everyone knows that playing the original C&C would be nothing less than being stuck on Gilligan's Island. "Not a single luxury... like Robinson Caruso, it's primitive as can be..." With weak pathfinding capabilities and a system that barely passes for artificial intelligence by today's standards, the true challenge playing this classic comes from giving up all the modern features we've become accustomed to. But when it comes right down to it, do I really want to purchase this product so that it can show me how archaic the game actually is? Not to mention, the anthology serves as a subtle reminder that Westwood Studios is no more - its employees either absorbed into the ranks of EA or scattered to the wind?

So, I've decided to put together a proper homage to the series, covering the Tiberian and Red Alert titles by sharing some of the life wisdom and experiences the series has brought. The anthology also includes Renegade, a fairly decent attempt to bring the C&C world into the FPS genre, but it isn't truly part of the series. Also, while Generals may carry the Command & Conquer name, it is so far divergent from the rest of the series that it cannot be discussed here.