With Marvel's Midnight Suns pushed back until late 2022, fans will have to wait a little longer to play this long-awaited Marvel strategy game. Though many will likely be tearing their hair out in anticipation, thankfully, there are some games to play in the meantime for fans of the strategy genre. 636c41

Real-Time Strategy games used to be one of the most popular categories of games. Titles like Age of Empires, Starcraft and Warcraft were huge in the  late 90's and early 2000's, but the genre has regressed in the past few years as other types of video game became more popular. There's a few notable titles which have released recently, like Manor Lords, but for the most part current titles haven't caught on with fans. Instead, groups have formed around older games, despite their outdated graphics and poor unit pathing.

The Command & Conquer strategy franchise spans three decades and more than two dozen officially released games and expansions. However, with that many successes, there is bound to be a few failures along the way, and more than a couple Command & Conquer games eneded up cancelled or unreleased.

It takes a truly delicate touch to take the Cold War and make it a campy, lighthearted romp. This is exactly what makes Red Alert, the Soviet-centric wing of the Command & Conquer Remastered collection has managed to do, in large part due to a mastery of tone. Rather than focus on the minutiae of politics and moral grey area, the game turns a tense situation into an overblown and exaggerated cartoonish affair, with gorgeous HD FMV cut scenes dedicated to mustachioed generals and Guile-esque marines bragging and bluffing with soap opera flair. While the gameplay is still tight and thoughtful, the presence of lightning-spewing Tesla Tanks and light-bending phase transports makes it clear that it is a sci-fi heavy joyride. The fact that the game holds up beyond its time is telling - even years after the setting it is based upon, Red Alert manages to remain playable, exciting, and undeniably whacky, whether players find themselves helping Tim Curry find his way to space or fending off hordes of irradiated ants.

In a year that is, to say the least, swamped under a surge of remakes and rereleases, it is easy to get a bad case of nostalgia blinders. Kids of the 90s and the aughts have been granted a digital childhood renaissance, able to relive the joys of a more pixelated era restored in brilliant HD. Recollective charm is the name of the game and, surprisingly, the grand champion of this may be the Command & Conquer Remastered Collection. Rising from the ashes of a closed studio, the landmark real-time strategy series has returned with equal care given to maintaining the sharp, strategic gameplay and to preserving the nostalgic campiness that defines the Command & Conquer series. Despite a premise that could be deadly serious, total war over scarce resources, and a struggle for survival, the game leans heavily into a soap opera tone, complete with fighting robots and now freshly restored FMV cut scenes. When a series ends up having Tim Curry as a communist proudly yelling "Space," it is clear that being taken too seriously was never the intention - a choice that is, by all s, an enduring and endearing success.

EA’s Command & Conquer Remastered Collection, developed through a partnership between Petroglyph Games and Lemon Sky Studios, revitalizes the popular real-time strategy series with a fresh coat of paint for fans old and new. Featuring both the original Command & Conquer and Command & Conquer: Red Alert for the mere price tag of $19.99 the collection brings back the iconic tactical RTS experience, complete with the original factions and the inherent ive abilities that make each of them stand out. While the touched-up aesthetic may not impress younger modern gamers, those who the original release will appreciate the improvements and authenticity, including enhanced visuals and audio, while reliving the familiar cheesy threats issued by the AI in skirmish battles.

Command & Conquer, a staple video game franchise of the '90s and early '00s and an iconic RTS series, hasn't been able to evolve with modern gaming. Failed relaunches and an awful mobile app hurt the brand more than helped it, so the new strategy is to look to the past.

Command & Conquer: Remastered will feature upscaled versions of the FMV cutscenes from the original game, thanks to some devoted detective work by lead producer Jim Vessella. The Command & Conquer: Remastered, a recreation of the first game in the iconic strategy series, has been in development since 2018.

Fans were concerned when Command & Conquer: Rivals was announced. First revealed at E3 2018, the potential for a return of the beloved Command & Conquer franchise was outdone in the eyes of gamers by the format of this new title. After all, Command & Conquer: Rivals moved the franchise into mobile gaming like Clash Royale, and therefore all the pitfalls that could potentially come with it.

Command & Conquer is making its way back to PC with remastered versions of Tiberian Dawn and Red Alert. A month ago, EA Games revealed plans to bring the franchise back, stating they were aware it was a direction fans wished them to go. Now they’ve made it official with the announcement that two games will be remastered for longtime fans of the series.