When Command & Conquer: Generals 2 was first announced it was planned to be a full retail game. This promised lots of improvements on the older two titles of Generals games (C&C Generals & Zero Hour) including one of the best features for a Command & Conquer game… Frostbite 2.
Originally the game was supposed to be following a similar line as its predecessors however this has all been changed.. well mostly. EA have announced that the Generals 2 will not be a full retail game anymore and that it has moved its focus to the free to play genre, now will this mean micro-transactions? I think its highly likely that we will be seeing some interesting purchase options inside the game. This news is not particularly new, however it has been poorly publicized and I am sure that only followers of the franchise may potentially have already known about it.
Details haven’t been very clear until recently when I visited the generals website and was greeted by the message: “Generals 2 has evolved to something new - A free AAA Command & Conquer Service. ” - Generals Website. Now this has me slightly worried about the game and how it is going to pan out, some of you may be aware that there is currently another game trying to pull off this tactic (Warface) although in the first person shooter genre.
Looking at it there should be a closed BETA for Generals 2 which you are able to register your interest for by going to their website and using your Origin account details (The same as your battle-log credentials from BF3) so this may spark my interest once again in Generals providing it is executed perfectly in the concept. Obviously there will be bugs, that’s what the BETA tries to test for but if the underlying game mechanics are there then it may still be an option.
Take a look at this video which was played when the original version was announced last year and let us know what you think the game will look like now its free to play and not going full retail. The game will no longer officially be called Generals 2, the new title for this game will just be purely “Command & Conquer”
There are some answers to questions at the Generals 2 website, but here is a quick low-down from the EA team:
Will Generals 2 be a browser game? - No, Command & Conquer is a full standalone client . a high quality game powered by Frostbite 2.
What happens to Generals 2? - The Generals 2 universe will be the first of many free offerings that we will deliver with Command & Conquer. The content that we have already created will be part of this new free-to-play experience.
When will the BETA take place? - We have not set a date yet for a consumer beta, but sign up now to be among the first to enter the beta at www.CommandandConquer.com/free.
Will Generals 2 be available on consoles? - We’re fully focused on delivering a high quality experience on PC at launch.
After watching their trailer and seeing some of their promises, what’s your viewpoint on this massive change in direction from Generals 2 to just a free to play Command & Conquer with a Frostbite 2 engine?
