Rise of the Reds – or ROTR for short – improves upon the C&C Generals formula while also adding its own distinct elements to it. Most notably, the mod adds two completely new factions, the tank-heavy Russian Federation and the defence-oriented European Continental Alliance. In addition, the three original factions China, USA and GLA have been greatly expanded and redesigned in a variety of ways, with several new units, buildings, powers and abilities to explore and combine in your in-game tactics.
Rise of the Reds 1.7 Beta ****: It Has Been A Red Dawn:
Probably one of the most highly anticipated Zero Hour mods since Shock-wave, Rise of the Reds takes on the monumental task of adding new units, new game-play, new graphics and most importantly new factions to Command and Conquer Zero Hour. Currently, the only new faction for 1.7 is the Russian Federation, but one can't help notice the extensive changes done to the other factions, especially the GLA.
Firstly, new Russian Federation is a good all-rounded faction, having good armour, good aircraft and good base defenses. They have a "jack-of-all-trades" feel, allowing them to be a relatively simple faction to use (and difficult to fight). The same cannot be said however, for the ROTR GLA, who is now very much focused on movement and Guerrilla tactics. The GLA suffer from poor units and poor static defenses, but through careful tactics, they become a deadly enemy. Graphically, all new buildings and units have been superbly crafted, as one would expect from such a dedicated team
The other two factions more or less play as their old selves, China relies on masses of units to overwhelm the enemy and the USA relies on air-power and fragile, but powerful, specialist units to achieve victory.
Many new tech structures have been added but the most striking additions to ROTR is the implementation of Naval Combat, a modification that was long thought impossible by much of the community. Naval units are accessed on special maps by capturing Naval yards to produce warships, who support the efforts of your ground forces, adding a new dynamic to battles.
The mod does however lack an implemented Generals selection system, meaning each faction only plays to a particular style, unlike in Zero Hour where different generals catered to different strengths. This is however a small gripe as ROTR promises this and more in future releases. To conclude, ROTR is definitely worth the download and I look forward to future releases.