EA Announces Red Alert 3 with Details on Beta Keys

When Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars became both a critical and commercial success last year there was no doubt that a new Red Alert was in the making. Now it's official. Electronic Arts announced today the existence of Red Alert 3 and dropped some juicy details on what to expect from the game.

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Red Alert 3 plans to introduce a cooperative campaign to mix up the normal RTS multiplayer offerings as well as units like armored bears and transforming tanks. That sounds great and all but what I really want is an armored bear that transforms into a tank. I guess this'll have to do for now.

In addition to tiny details about the game the press release mentions that purchasing the Command & Conquer 3 expansion Kane's Wrath could net you a beta key for Red Alert 3.

"Command & Conquer fans eager to experience Red Alert 3 before anyone else can get early access to the beta (available for the PC only - an announcement about the Red Alert 3 beta dates will be made this summer) by picking up a copy of Command & Conquer™ 3: Kane’s Wrath later this year."

More details on the beta keys can be found here.

Can we expect more live-action cut scenes? I would wager on most definitely yes. The cut scenes from Command & Conquer 3 garnered much attention - although not all positive but attention none-the-less - and more cut scenes were filmed for Kane's Wrath adding sci-fi veteran Natasha Henstridge to the cast. I guess the big question is will they recast Agent Tanya or can we expect more of Kari Wuhrer?

The interesting bits from the press release are below.

Chertsey, UK – February 14, 2008 – After a seven-year hiatus, Electronic Arts today announces the return of Red Alert, one of the most beloved and best-selling real-time strategy franchises. Command & Conquer™: Red Alert™ 3, for the PC, Xbox 360TM video game and entertainment system and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, takes players on an epic adventure to a breathtaking alternate future spawned by time travel run amok. Developed by EA Los Angeles, Red Alert 3 breaks new ground in the RTS genre, featuring a fully co-operative campaign while bringing back the series’ light-hearted style and classic, action-oriented gameplay.

“The Red Alert games are known for challenging hardcore strategy gamers with depth, variety, and innovative gameplay. But they also belong to that rare breed of games that can draw in more casual players with their over-the-top stories, instantly accessible mechanics, and straight-to-the-fun design,” said Mike Verdu, general manager of EALA. “With Red Alert 3, our team is continuing that proud tradition by introducing genre-first features like co-operative campaign play, which rewards veterans and casual players alike. In Red Alert 3, friends and family can always have your back.”

“It’s been too long.” said Chris Corry, executive producer at EALA. “Fans have been waiting for a new Red Alert game for seven years, and we’re working hard to ensure its well worth the wait. The team is staying true to the series’ roots while adding new elements like a co-operatively played story-driven campaign, an astounding new faction that will shake-up the Red Alert universe as we know it, and units that will help make Red Alert 3 everything our fans have been waiting for. And by bringing naval combat into the heart of the game design, we’re transporting that fast, fun and fluid C&C gameplay to the high-seas in ways that you’ve never seen before.”

In Red Alert 3, the desperate leadership of a doomed Soviet Union travels back in time to change history and restore the glory of Mother Russia. The time travel mission goes awry, creating an alternate timeline where technology has followed an entirely different evolution, a new superpower has been thrust on to the world stage, and World War III is raging. The Empire of the Rising Sun has risen in the East, making World War III a three-way struggle between the Soviets, the Allies, and the Empire with armies fielding wacky and wonderful weapons and technologies like Tesla coils, heavily armed War Blimps, teleportation, armored bears, intelligent dolphins, floating island fortresses, and transforming tanks.

Red Alert 3 asks the question “What If?” What if every bizarre research project and technology experiment for the last 70 years had actually borne fruit? What if the Philadelphia Experiment, time travel theory, teleportation, invisibility, Tesla technology, and a hundred other intriguing research projects had all paid off and gone mainstream? What if the Soviet Union survived and thrived; what would it look like 10 years in the future? What if the Japanese Empire had never fallen and instead became the ultimate high-tech military superpower? The end result is an imaginative and playful vision of an alternate future filled with possibility.