LOS ANGELES – I went to Electronic Arts' Los Angeles studio last month in anticipation of E3 to play an early build of Command & Conquer Red Alert 3, and I'm still undecided as to how I feel about the game.

I can't decide whether its newfound focus on naval battles or the annoying sudden death mode annoy me because of my particular play style, or if series fans will agree that they are dubious additions at best.

I also don't know how fans will react to the new third faction. Robots are cool, but do transforming, anime-style mechas have a place alongside Tesla Troops?

One thing's for sure though: If EA doesn't change Tanya's hair back to brown, there will be riots.

The biggest addition to Red Alert 3 is obviously the third faction. Red Alert games have traditionally been about the tension between Soviet and Allied (read: American) forces, but Red Alert 3 branches out by adding a group called the Empire of the Rising Sun.

As you might expect from the name, the new faction is based heavily on a wide range of Japanese influences. From stereotypical Evangelion-style anime mechs, to ninjas, to efficient salarymen, the Empire covers every stereotype Americans have about our Eastern brethren. The Empire's engineer even mimics Dance Dance Revolution when left alone too long.

Befitting the Empire's hypertechnophilic slant, the faction relies almost entirely on machine-assisted, quick-expansion tactics. While the Japanese God-Emperor back story crafted for the game is reminiscent of the zealotry of Starcraft's Protoss, tactics for the group feel like a more colorful version of that same game's Zerg. Look for swarms of cheap Empire troops (particularly the transforming robotic Tengu jets) to fill early game rushes.

On the other hand, both the Allies and the Soviets remain largely unchanged, aside from minor balance tweaks to make sure the factions play nice with their new Asian counterparts. Many stalwart units remain largely unchanged from Red Alert 2, including homicidal (mysterious blonde) commando Tanya, the Allied attack dogs, Soviet Tesla Troops, Terror Drones and the mammoth Apocalypse Tank.

Of special note is the addition of Soviet anti-infantry units that, at least for the moment, are a bit too effective. To match the Allied attack dogs, the Soviets were given Attack Bears. Bizarrely, the bears themselves are less able in combat than the Allied dogs, but to EA's credit the company was quick to point out that the dogs were "very well trained."

Seemingly to counteract this deficient ursine problem, the Soviets are given robotic walkers called "Sickles" that simply destroy everything in front of them in the early game. A favorite tactic of players at the EA preview was to simply construct three Sickles, then let them loose in the middle of the opponent's base. As anti-infantry units, it's expected that they'd decimate troops, but as it stands they have no trouble ripping apart buildings and tanks either.

If it sounds like I'm focusing purely on the game's tier-one units, there's a good reason for that. It's not that the higher-power tier-two and -three units aren't cool – they are, particularly the Empire's gigantic King Oni mech – but you'll rarely see them in play. Most games are quickly decided with a few tanks or infantry units well before you have time to develop the upgrades necessary for the more expensive weaponry.

Aside from the Empire, RA3's focus on naval combat is its most glaring change. Every map we were shown had a large water component, and it's obvious from the number of units that can move on both land and water that the game is meant to depict equal parts land and sea battles. It's such a huge change that it's entirely possible to play the game on maps without any land. I can see why players looking for something, anything to set the game apart from other strategy titles would be excited by this, but honestly I have no special attachment to boats, so I'm apathetic at best to the naval direction.

Those who yearn for some hot boat-on-boat action will be pleased to hear that the game complements its new naval focus with the finest looking computer-generated water ever. Without any hyperbole or exaggeration I can say that the water in Red Alert 3 tops every previous effort. Realistically depicted wake, foam, flotsam and jetsam, and underwater wreckage is all present and at every level of magnification looks as near to the real thing as possible.

When boats are blown apart, they sink to the bottom where they remain visible. It's currently under debate how long this aquatic wreckage will remain on the map, but I'm hoping EA at least includes an option for it to linger permanently since it adds greatly to each map's ambiance.

I'm sure there's a design document saying naval battles would speed up gameplay – after all, more avenues of attack means more attacks – but right next to that design document is another one saying waterborne warfare just isn't enough.

EA's solution? The "Red Alert Button."

In the current build, the button lacks some necessary in-game explanation, but after asking a few of the developers about the flashing-Russian-text-emblazoned button that would continually pop up during gameplay, we were told it was something of a sudden death mode. After a mysterious set of circumstances are met, the button appears accompanied by flashing lights. Clicking the button sends your base into overdrive, and all your structures begin taking damage. During the five minutes until your base completely self-destructs, you're unable to build new structures or repair anything, but all units are almost free of charge and build almost instantly.

The goal is apparently to force players into epic battles before the button ends the game prematurely, but why anyone would intentionally destroy their base in an effort to speed up gameplay is sort of a question mark. Though I tried to get a clear explanation of what the impetus behind adding the button was, it doesn't seem like the team behind the game has a good answer for why it was added, aside from the obvious chaos it could cause.

Fans will enjoy the game. It's got enough of that classic Red Alert feel and pendulous balance between wacky and gritty to please those who've followed the series since its inception, and assuming they balance it correctly, it should offer enough fun additions to earn a following. The question now is whether or not they can balance the three factions.

I just don't know if EA has enough time before the game's October release date to fix everything.

Image: Electronic Arts

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