Command and Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath (Xbox 360, PC) is getting its first update and EA wants to celebrate it this weekend. In addition to the enhanced online experience that Patch 1.01 will bring in, EA has lined up a bunch of cool activities for both Xbox 360 and PC players. Take a peek at the full article and get in on the details.

This just in: 11-year EA veteran Neil Young left his position in the company. Details were kept pretty vague, but the word is that he's out for a "new project." Why did he leave and who's going to take his place? Details after the jump.

Electronic Arts is pulling out all the stops for Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath. The upcoming expansion pack for Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (Xbox 360, Windows PC) will feature an all-star celebrity cast for its live-action video sequences.

Natasha Henstridge, best known for her roles in the Species movie trilogy, will play the part of Alexa, while Alias' Carl Lumbly will play Marcion. Command & Conquer veteran Joe Kucan will reprise the role of the megalomaniacal Kane.

Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath will introduce six new sub-factions as well as new units, structures, and powers to the armies of the Global Defense Initiative, the Brotherhood of Nod, and the alien Scrin. The game's Xbox 360 version will debut a new radial interface designed specifically for console gamers.

EALA's Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath will ship in Spring 2008.

 

Together with the official debut of "Command & Conquer Battlecast Primetime", Electronic Arts LA (EALA) has opened up avenues into new developments of the Command & Conquer lineage. Among many community featurettes, EALA has revealed three important things: a new expansion to Command & Conquer 3, an official modding SDK, and an experimental Battlecast Viewer.

Rumors of the C&C3 expansion began when a mysterious screenshot (see image to the right; do click on the thumbnail) was discovered by the community. But in the first episode of the Battlecast Primetime, it was revealed to be a capture of the expansion to Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (Xbox 360, Windows PC on DVD) officially announced as Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath.

Expansion facts were highlighted as follows:

• Domination meta-game: a RISK-style mode "on steroids," where units can be moved strategically on a global scale; encounters move to the classic C&C tactical mode for skirmishes
• A story dating back to the Second Tiberium War, extending past the Third Tiberium War
• New characters to accompany Joe Kucan (Kane)
• Additional units and content
• New selection interface (featured in mystery screenshot) for Xbox 360 gamers
• Expansion to release simultaneously on Xbox 360 and PC
  

Patch 1.07 should be coming soon in August, which, aside from solving more balance issues with game units, will also break down walls in modding restrictions. An exclusive modding software development kit (SDK) will provide modders with the ability to create their own units, customize them, and integrate them to the core game easily.

And lastly, the Battlecast Viewer was also announced to be in the works. Even without a copy of the game, fans will be able to watch recorded battles from anywhere in the world. Platform details are sketchy, but the Viewer will be available for download on the official Command & Conquer website once its ready.

Keep your eyes glued to this space: more developments in the C&C scene as they come rampaging by.

Buy: [Command & Conquer 3 (Xbox 360)]
Buy: [Command & Conquer 3 (PC)]

Granted, the video game console is rapidly becoming saturated with the same genres: shooters, action, sports, sandbox. Innovation did happen, but a lot of it was stove-piped, locked within the genre rather than in the greater world of console gaming itself.

Brave is a title that bucks conventions and is willing to take risks. One more recent development was bringing the traditionally PC-centric real-time strategy genre to consoles, which until games like Full Spectrum Warrior and Battle for Middle-Earth II, were rather clunky and painful affairs. But now, we have Command & Conquer 3, and Ensemble is spinning Halo Wars up to speed.

In the same vein I'm taking another PC-centric game genre and looking at its chances in console gaming. Except this time, unlike RTS games, I'm less confident about its chances - not because it can't be done, but out of the fear that just like innovation, interests in console gaming are rather stove-piped as well. And for the most part, the console is locked to shooters, action, sports, and sandbox.

Pity, really. Consoles could be a potential breakout ground for the submarine simulator.

Thar she blows up, Cap'n. Appreciation - and cynicism - for console subsims after the jump.

The latest iteration of the Medal of Honor series - Medal of Honor: Airborne - is slated to land Europe on August 31. Electronic Arts (EA) will be releasing the game on three different platforms: the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and the PC.

The installment is considered significantly different from previous MOA games. It's billed to have free-roaming gameplay style which offers players more options on where to stage their assault. The game also boasts of five different operations such as Operation Husky and Operation Market Garden in which the American airborne division of the time took part in. EALA">Neil Young, Vice President and General Manager of EALA, has this to say about their game:

Medal of Honor: Airborne is a new direction for the franchise introducing innovations that redefine the series as well as impact the FPS genre as a whole. We can’t wait for August when everyone can experience the new Medal of Honor, the first WWII game that allows the player to land anywhere and truly fight the way they want to.

So far the game has not yet been rated by PEGI or the USK, so we're not sure (although we doubt) that young children should be allowed to play the game. Fans of the series should really be watching out for this, because this may mark a turning point for the series.

Electronic Arts Los Angeles (EALA) dropped us an email today stating that the PC version of Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars has finally shipped to retail stores across North America and will be available for US$ 49.99 on March 28. The Xbox 360 version of the video game is expected to ship as well in the next couple of months.

EALA VP and Executive Producer Mike Verdu is quite proud of Tiberium Wars, and he should be. The game features a fluid gameplay, an exciting single player campaign, online battles transforming into a spectator sport, and full-motion video sequences. Even the 360 version is compatible with the console's Live Vision camera. Verdu stated,

We've taken the mix of explosive action, deep strategy, and rich storytelling that sparked a genre to the next level. Even better, the series is returning to its roots in the Tiberium universe. players can take command of the futuristic armies of the Global Defense Initiative, fight for Kane and the Brotherhood of Nod, or control the alien hordes of our third new faction, the Scrin. I can't wait for people to get their hands on this game.

Aside from Joe Kucan, who plays the the baddest bald dude ever known as Kane, a lot of other Hollywood actors and actresses will be appearing in the said live action video sequences. Some of these people came from acclaimed movies like "Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back" and "The Return of the Jedi", "Battlestar Galactica", "Starship Troopers", and even TV series "LOST".

Finally, you might want to know that there is a collector's edition for Tiberium Wars (Kane Edition) that contains a bonus DVD featuring several content like behind-the-scenes documentary, deleted scenes, blooper reel, and a series of gameplay strategy videos among others. The supply for the Kane Edition is rather limited and it will be priced for US$ 59.99.

Kane must be feeling generous. WorthPlaying has nine new screens of Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (PC, Xbox 360) from Electronic Arts Los Angeles (EALA), some of which show off the RTS-as-a-sport Telestrator feature. With this, observers can provide running commentary on RTS battles, using on-screen pens to highlight areas of interests or demonstrate specific concepts.

You know, just like John Madden does with football games. Except that the Mammoth Tanks weigh a hell of a load more than the average linebacker. And Kane's bald head can double as a football helmet (I mean, come on, have we seen the guy actually be really killed off for good? After getting hit by an Ion Cannon and stabbed by McNeil, he still keeps on ticking...).

Mess around with and criticize the other screens after the jump.

If there's any proof that Command & Conquer is one of the most heavily modded titles around, just look at all the number of times we've messed with the Red Alert *.ini files. All those user-created "fan-xpansion" packs for RA2, Generals, and Battle for Middle-Earth. That canned HaloGen mod.

Electronic Arts Los Angeles (EALA) promises that Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars will continue the tradition. EALA Predator writes in the official forums for C&C3:

I've said this many times, modding is extremely important to me, to Mike Verdu, to Amer Ajami, and to the EALA studio. We've turned over a new leaf this past year with our first MOD SDK release and granted its not perfect, its certainly got a lot to offer.

We are absolutely committed to creating a new MOD SDK for Command & Conquer 3 and getting that in your hands in as efficient timeline as possible with our resources. Our development team is currently rotating on vacations now that the game is gold, we need some breathing room and a break after a long-hard project! But, work has already started on the SDK, and that simply means starting to analyze how we can open up the new build pipeline to you guys with something accessible and easy to understand.

The new mod SDK is required because unlike the past games, Tiberium Wars uses XML and not *.ini protocols to govern the game. The result is a faster game as the end product, but now requiring a new approach to modding. Just hang in there, he tells the community. This is not going to be an indefinite-release thing.

Predator ain't dissing the efforts of independent modders out there to create their own tools for modding C&C3; "A lot of tools modders create are not officially sanctioned and otherwise would not be created by us...BUT...that does not mean we cannot verbally support and promote them if they are viable and safe, which most often I've found them to be."

Electronic Arts Los Angeles (EALA) Lead Designer Jason Bender's latest interview, this time with Play.tm, covers a lot of old ground on Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (PC, Xbox 360) we've walked through before: enemy AI, Cylon-studded and Splinter Cell-infiltrated full motion videos, and so forth.

So we'll highlight some of the new (or at least newer) stuff he reveals to Play.tm, a couple of which you might have noticed while playing the demo.

Smart: while Jason's revealed how bad you can make the enemy AI before, with enough play time on the demo, you may have noticed that unit AI is also improved. Jason mentions that the infantry squads you build are smart enough to jump to nearby cover as they find it. For example, positioning the squad near a building will cause them to take cover in its shadow, granting them an armor bonus.

Aggressive: Jason mentions that the average multiplayer battle lasts closer to 20 minutes now (which actually makes it perfect for the Xbox 360, when you think about it). That is some aggression. The observation was that old Command & Conquers matches would take up to an hour to complete (especially in Generals) if both players were skilled enough.

Resource (Tiberium) distribution in multiplayer maps are more dispersed: "there simply aren't enough resources in your starting base to win by turtling up." The drive to acquire resource patches will guarantee a fight for Tiberium fields and positions on the map.

Snarky: you've seen the Live Vision camera demo for Tiberium Wars, part of what Bender calls the BattleCast system of Command & Conquer with ESPN commentary and coverage. The skittish among us begged that it be an optional shut-off feature (just because the 15 seconds of fame can easily become 15 seconds of agonizing insults).

Well, it has its uses. Unless the commentary happens to come from (a) a noob, or (b) a complete and total a-hole to begin with, Bender says we can look forward to professional analysis of multiplayer tactics and video walkthroughs. Noobs can learn much from these commentaries, while veterans can use them to know their enemy as well as themselves. Ask the Korean pro gamers - they do that a lot.

Of course, criticism could also get downright snarky. It's already bad enough we lost - just don't rub our faces in it.