SingleplayerKane’s Wrath has a disappointingly short campaign, which feels fragmented and ends rather abruptly. The missions are diverse, with some being all out base assaults, and some that are commando-style. All, however, are fairly easy even on the hardest difficulty. The style of the cut scenes will feel similar to Tiberium Wars, but that odd feeling that something is missing is due to the singular stage setting and little more than Kane repeating the fact that you are awesome from one mission to the next. The bottom line is the campaign won’t make you feel tingly.
Despite the short campaign, the skirmish and World Domination modes will help you burn a few hours on a rainy day when a truck skids off the road and takes out your internet for a while.
MultiplayerMultiplayer is largely unchanged from Command and Conquer 3. The interface options are all the same, and Battlecasting looks the same as it was in Tiberium Wars. Connectivity seems to have improved, with considerably fewer connection failures than before. Interface lag is still a large issue, as is frequent freezing when fast forwarding through replays. Multiplayer is slightly better than Tiberium Wars, but it still leaves something to be desired.
Conclusion & SummaryIf you’re a hardcore multiplayer gamer, you’ll love the fact that most of the new units reward you for micromanagement, and that there are loads of new strategies and tactics that results from the new factions. You’ll also love the new economy harassment, and being able to sneak some pretty nasty stuff into your opponent’s base. What you’ll probably hate is the fact that the general feel of the game is largely unchanged from Tiberium Wars. Armies are still huge, there is still build order poker, and battles can feel more like Supreme Commander than Command and Conquer.
If you’re a casual player, you’ll hate the harassment even though countering it is as simple as making a few rocket soldiers and positioning them around your tiberium fields (hint hint wink wink nudge say no more). What you’ll love are the new factions and finding one that fits your play style, and you’ll definitely enjoy the new Global Domination meta game.
If you’re a singleplayer guru, this game probably isn’t for you. A short campaign with a fragmented and non-compelling story will leave you wondering whether the game is really over at the end of the last mission. You might enjoy the World Domination and skirmish modes, but if the thought of Kane and tiberium turn you on more than playing a Command and Conquer version of Risk, you’ll be disappointed.
Kane’s Wrath is definitely more than your average expansion pack. It adds lots of new gameplay content, lots more options, and coaxes more of the fun out of Command and Conquer 3’s gameplay. Unfortunately the spammy, frenetic nature of the game hurts precise tactical play from the finesse-style factions, and rewards the straight forward brute force factions a little too well. Despite this, there are enough small improvements to the gameplay to make the expansion pack worth looking into.
