Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun

Real Time Strategy (RTS)Strategy

Time to beat: about 22 hours

Overview

Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun is a 1999 real-time strategy video game developed by Westwood Studios, published by Electronic Arts, and released exclusively for Windows in August 1999. The game is the sequel to the 1995 game Command & Conquer. It featured new semi-3D graphics, a more futuristic sci-fi setting, and new gameplay features such as vehicles capable of hovering or burrowing. The main story of the game focuses on a second war between the UN-backed Global Defense Initiative (GDI) and the cult-like Brotherhood of Nod, both seeking to rule over an Earth which is undergoing rapid ecological collapse.

Tiberian Sun was one of the most anticipated games of 1999. Its development suffered numerous delays, with several features being cut before release. However, it was a commercial success and received positive reviews from critics, despite some of the technical bugs in the game. The dark atmosphere, foreboding soundtrack, and slow-paced gameplay of Tiberian Sun received a mixed reception from fans upon release. Its story of a military, industrial complex preoccupied with terrorism rather than environmental failure has been hailed as a metaphor for modern times. Several additional features were added to the game with the Firestorm expansion pack, including new units and a multiplayer global war mode. The game was later succeeded by the 2007 sequel Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, and was later licensed by Electronic Arts as freeware on February 12, 2010, with a Steam release on March 7, 2024.