Command & Conquer: Red Alert 1996

Released: November 22, 1996
Anniversary: Turns 30 on November 22
Genres: Real Time Strategy (RTS) · Strategy
Platforms: PlayStation 3 · PC · DOS · PlayStation · PlayStation Portable
Developer: Westwood Studios
More info: Wikipedia IGDB

Where to buy

In a collection: Command & Conquer: The Ultimate Collection

Steam
Physical: Search on Amazon

Affiliate links: GOG, Fanatical, Green Man Gaming, ININ Games and Amazon

Is it still worth playing?

Westwood Studios' 1996 real time strategy game for MS-DOS and Windows 95, later on the PlayStation. A prequel to the first Command & Conquer, it is set in an alternate history in which the Allies battle an aggressive Soviet Union for control of Europe. You mine ore and gems into credits, and power plants have to keep up, or radar and Tesla Coils stop, and engineers can capture damaged enemy buildings. The Allies and the Soviets differ: cheaper, faster Allied units against tougher, slower Soviet vehicles, with the Iron Curtain and the Chronosphere. You can queue commands and group units on number keys, most campaign missions have split routes, and live action cutscenes frame the story. Two sides built differently, and a power grid that doubles as a target, keep it distinct from other strategy games today.