|
Story Line
Command & Conquer is a huge franchise these days. Even bigger thanks to the welcoming reception that 360 players gave the game upon release. It was no surprise when the first expansion, Kane's Wrath, was announced though it was a bit of a surprise to hear all of the huge changes to the single player campaign and revamped 360 control scheme. EA VP and Executive Producer Mike Verdu and Associate Producer Jim Vessel were on hand to give us the run down of the product including the story, campaign structure, new units, and what to expect from the 360 control scheme in a game that will be released simultaneously for the PC and 360.
Kane's Three Wrathful Chapters
The campaign in Kane's Wrath spans 20 years in the Command & Conquer universe. It will begin at the end of Tiberian Sun and attempt to answer many of the questions still hanging in the air from the end of that second game in the Tiberium universe. If you're familiar, you'll probably remember Nod was in disarray and splintered into several factions, the fate of CABAL was unknown, and Kane himself had seemingly disappeared. We pick up right after the events of those games where Nod has been factionalized and marginalized on the global stage. You'll play the role of Kane's right hand man in the re-forging of Nod into the powerhouse that eventually rises up to nearly annihilate GDI at the beginning of the Third Tiberium War. "The first chapter in Kane's Wrath should provide a lot of connective tissue between the events of Tiberian Sun and C&C 3 that fans have been clamoring for ever since we announced C&C 3 and started talking about the story." Says Mike Verdu. "There's a lot of nostalgia value there. We'll have Kane in his old costume and a bunch of the stuff on the set for the FMV in that part of the game dates back to that era so fans will get to watch Kane transform through the three chapters of the story."
In the second chapter, the campaign will focus on the time of Command & Conquer 3 and the Third Tiberium War when Kane re-emerges to cast his bloody shadow over Earth yet again. EA is going to answer some of the questions that were left unanswered during the events of C&C 3 including what was going on with Killian. Some of the other mysterious events in that were hinted at but not resolved in C&C 3 will compliment new parts of the story of the Third Tiberium war.
Perhaps most exciting for fans who haven't been following the entire series will be the third chapter, which follows the events after C&C 3 ended. At the same time, long time fans will relish the return of the Tacitus and its mysteries. "The Tacitus played a role in C&C 3, but it's really central to the third chapter in the expansion pack," explains Verdu. "It has a lot of importance that ties in with the fact that there's a huge warp portal sitting on Earth after the events of C&C 3 and it appears to be a gateway to other star systems and the Tacitus is somehow bound up in the mystery of the Scrin, the portal, and Kane's mission to ascend." We still are a bit unclear about what Kane's ascension is all about, but the gateway should probably give everyone a clue what it has to do with. In any case, the third chapter is all about the question of what happened next and likely when we'll be introduced to many of the new toys.
As you can probably tell, the campaign is centered around Nod and their history since the second Tiberium War. Kane plays a central role in all that's happening here so we'll see plenty of Joe Kucan's face as he steps back into the evil robes of Earth's greatest evil. We'll also be treated to the same FMV cutscenes that we've come to love over the years though Joe will apparently be the only cast member back from C&C 3. EA isn't ready to spill the beans on the new cast quite yet so we'll have to get back to you with that info when it's announced. Either way, the story is locked and they'll begin filming soon.
__________________
|