C&C Generals Preview

Following up on Friday's First Hours article, Gamespot has now posted a C&C Generals preview. The preview goes over the changes from the initial design concept, what the story line is like, how missions are split up, and how gameplay has changed. Also described in the preview are some of the Chinese and US units available in the game, and what the graphics engine in C&C Generals is like. New screenshots and other images from the game are included.

Generals has plenty of spectacular visual effects, even at this early stage. One of the most impressive aspects of the game is what Skaggs referred to as highlight moments. "One of the things we want to do is raise the intensity of the emotion of the people that will play the game," Skaggs said. "So we're going to show them these spectacular show-stopping effects." This effect is essentially the stop-camera motion from The Matrix. Blow up a gas station, for instance, and the action will freeze in mid-explosion, and the camera will quickly pan around the environment, revealing pieces of debris and shrapnel suspended in the air, before the action promptly resumes. Another impressive feature of the Sage technology is the way it renders smoke. While that might not seem like a big deal, seeing a city smoldering after an exhausting battle is a sight to behold.