Command and Conquer: Rivals Review


Disclosure: I was never a big original universe C&C fan even though I do love strategy games and I grew up playing other Westwood Studios titles (I loved and played Red Alert series to death). But, there was just something overly generic and appealing about the basic Command and Conquer series that always allowed to miss out on the same releases. This is the reason why I took on Command and Conquer: Rivals without any preconceptions or thoughts about how the game is impacting this strategy series. Placing the whole deal in a mobile-based F2P PvP? Sure, no objections here. That’s the way I started playing the game for the first time, which you can see here:

What is my take on the game? It’s something heavily influenced by both Clash Royale and the endless history of the C&C games (especially buildings and units) in the RTS genre setting. This mixture actually works pretty well, at least in the beginning, even though it is more than saturated with purchase opportunities (but, what is not these days). I’m betting there will be plenty of Command and Conquer: Rivals best decks videos and how-to guides if the game manages to bring in a stable audience (which won’t be easy having in mind that the fans of the series are now not the youngest gaming crowd in the world).

The game is fast and mobile-friendly, but it did keep the feel of the original games (as far as I can tell), which is why labeling Command and Conquer: Rivals as a strategy seems right. The whole rush to the center of the map and the nuclear bomb is intuitive and opens a lot of possibilities soon after (movement and unit-on-unit combos), while the meta game is driven by the cards and upgrades. Most importantly, all feels polished and up to mobile AAA standards. As an F2P game that is all-in with its PvP mode… well, that’s the best you can get with the current state of mobile gaming.

Takeaway:

Command and Conquer does Clash Royale. Download the game right here!