The Command & Conquer game series is undoubtedly one of the most popular Real Time Tactical and Strategy games that have survived through the years. The original game was released way back in 1995 by Westwood Studios and Virgin Interactive. To many gamers of the time, Command and Conquer (aka C&C) was the first RTTS-style game they got to play and experience. It was a building game as well since one had to build a base and continually upgrade it while planning a defense or attack and executing it. The game was fast-paced and immersive, as one had to set up the different structures of a base that had to produce specific units, whether for upkeep, maintenance, support, and front-line combat. Resources had to be gathered to keep things running, and defending the base while spearheading assaults on the enemy, had to be dealt with in an urgent and timely fashion. The enemy will wait for no one, especially you.

As the years moved on, this kind of strategy and tactical gameplay continued evolving and cementing itself in the overall strategy gaming environment. Also, the developer of the C&C game series (Westwood) started to release iteration after iteration of the main game and the game variants like C&C: Red Alert and the C&C: Generals series. If one has played a game (or several) in the C&C alternate game groups, one would have noticed that the games, despite slight changes in the presentation and flow of the games, follow the original C&C style of gameplay. However, as the series evolved through the years, the games' graphics, sounds, ambiance, and overall environment have undoubtedly improved a lot in the later iterations.

In 2003, the first Command & Conquer: Generals game was released. Of course, this would then be followed by Generals Zero Hour, as well as several updates and modifications to the game. This time around, Electronic Arts was the one who published this Westwood game. C&C: Generals is said to be the most well-received game in the overall C&C game series and the one gamers remember the most. It was also the first 3D RTTS game released under the C&C franchise. C&C: Generals (like the other C&C games) are both tactical and strategic. You plan a strategy using the overall map of the contested area and execute your strategy tactically with the units and weapons you deem most effective in neutralizing the enemy threat. The gameplay was a little bit different from the mainline C&C series though the core basis of the game was more or less the same and as immersive as ever.

C&C: Generals is also said to be an underrated RTS (RTTS) game for the reason that when compared to most of the other C&C series games, it mostly lacked the fun-fare and many features that made the other C&C games popular. The story of the game was very minimal, and the war between the three major factions involved, namely, the USA, Communist China, and the Middle Eastern Global Liberation Army, was a direct conflict. What's more, the absence of FMV (full-motion video) cuts scenes to detail and enlivens the game's storyline, which didn't help either. By today's standards, the 3D graphics look obsolete and, at times, grainy, though loyal fans of the game and C&C will point out the relevance of the so-called limitations with respect to the game's time period, which was the early 2000s.

To the gamers of today, the first C&C Generals game may look underrated. However, for gamers like yours indeed, who have been playing games since the 1980s, C&C Generals will always be one of the best and, if not the cheekiest RTTS games to ever hit the shelves. Also, despite the observed shortcomings, C&C Generals held itself and thus its popularity in the gaming world. Whether it was the near current day world situation presented in the game, the realistic combat units and weapons of mass destruction (Scud Launcher, Tomahawk Missile, ICBMs, etc.), the fast-paced action graphics and sound effects, the really funky and danceable soundtrack, and not to mention the tongue-in-cheek voice-overs and innuendos, it all came together into a cohesive masterpiece that made Command & Conquer: Generals a game worth remembering in the times to come. It was also downright hilarious, though at times with really dark overtones, which surprisingly endeared the game the more to those who played it. Where oh where can you find a bunch of Mad Bomber suicide terrorists with TNT strapped to their waists and hollering at the top of their voices as they run towards US troops. Yes, you'll laugh or chuckle at the hilarious sight, but this is real and happening to real US soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and wherever one can see it in the news.

Despite all the controversies and limitations of the game, C&C: Generals will go down in gaming history as the most remembered and closest to real-life RTTS game in the overall C&C franchise. The C&C: Generals game series isn't over yet, and although there have been several iterations that have followed, the old fans of the game, as well as the new ones, continue to 'Hope" for a new installment to the series to come out very soon, in the near future.