Command & Conquer: Red Alert

Command & Conquer: Red Alert takes the real-time strategy formula of its predecessor and pushes it into an alternate-history setting where the Second World War went very differently. The result is a wonderfully entertaining mixture of tanks, infantry, naval forces, experimental technology and escalating military nonsense. The Allies and Soviets offer distinct approaches, while the campaign's live-action performances give the story a wonderfully theatrical flavour. Underneath the spectacle is a remarkably solid RTS, with base management and battlefield positioning remaining central to success. Red Alert is also one of those games where “just one more mission” has a suspicious tendency to turn into several hours, preferably accompanied by an unnecessarily large tank army.