EA Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight review

Tiberian Twilight continues the story of the warring Global Defense Initiative and Brotherhood of Nod in an RTS title that makes significant changes from previous instalments.

A mobile command and construction vehicle replaces the static base building of previous games. You're no longer responsible for managing your own power generation, which places the emphasis firmly on combat, dispensing with resource management. You have a certain number of build points, which can be invested in creating different units. If a unit is destroyed, you get your build points back to put into another. This puts a fixed limit on how many units you can field at any one time.

You can choose between offensive, defensive, and support oriented command vehicles; each has different units at its disposal. Offensive units are designed for heavy combat, while defensive play is based around infantry and tower defences. We favoured the support class, with its healing powers and fast-moving flying units.

You have to keep moving and carefully manage your forces moment by moment. A mission to get buses of refugees through a combat zone set us against overpowering numbers of opponents. We set units to defend the civilians while others drew fire but our eventual victory came at great cost and felt more like luck than judgement.

There's around nine hours of single-player gameplay for each interlinked storyline – playing as either GDI or Nod. More powerful units only become accessible as you gain experience points, so you'll spend a lot of time with an artificially limited arsenal. This didn't give us much time to play with our most powerful upgrades before the game ended.

There's a massive emphasis on the online multiplayer game; it's here that your ability to chose offensive, defensive or support roles finds its place as part of a cooperative team. Because of DRM, Tiberian Twilight won't run without a constant net connection.

The game's constantly moving battles and experience-based upgrade tree will be a shock to the system of long-running Command and Conquer fans. Though gamers who prefer their action pacey and intense should find plenty to like here.