Shack: Why was the PC version not standalone as well?

Jim Vessella: The whole attachment to the base game is a formula that we've used for over a decade now with expansion packs. It was something that we were really comfortable with, we wanted to keep it that way for the PC.

It also allowed us to make some assumptions that these players would have played C&C3, so we could develop the campaign that way and tune some of that difficulty in that sense.

That's not to say--We're going to test the waters here with the Xbox 360 version as a standalone version. If the fans and the audience like that formula, then perhaps we'll investigate the standalone on PC in the future.

Shack: Is there a particular achievement the team is quite proud of?

Jim Vessella: One of our favorite achievements is one that none of us on the development team have ever got. That's the one we call "Oh, You're Good," which is to defeat a brutal AI in a one-on-one skirmish game.

The reason for it is because the brutal AI is really, really hard to beat. It actually kinda cheats a little bit, it has some extra money bonuses, resource bonuses that it gets.

It's just really tough, and none of us on the dev team are actually good enough to get that achievement. We're hoping that there's some community people out there who will be able to get that achievement and be able to brag about that.

Shack: Do you think there's anything that could make RTS games more accessible on consoles, such as some type of peripheral?

Jim Vessella: Right now, our goal is really to make it the best for the Xbox 360 controller. We don't want to spend a lot of time developing a system that so few people would be able to use with some kind of peripheral. We really want to master the control scheme on that Xbox 360 controller so we have confidence there's something everyone can use and have a good time with.

There are some accessories out there, like the Xbox 360 keyboard and of course there's also the voice headset, that some other developers are utilizing in games like [Ubisoft Shanghai's] EndWar.

I think there is an option to give more, to build upon the controller with some of those accessories, but I don't think that it's--we don't want to sacrifice development of using the controller as the main control device to cater towards one of those accessories.

We're going to continue trying to optimize for the controller and then we'll see what happens, especially when some of these other RTS games come out that are experimenting with control schemes like that.

Shack: And what about the future of the C&C franchise?

Jim Vessella: We have a few different universes in C&C, obviously Tiberium and Red Alert is under development right now. Of course, we have also the Generals universe, which we haven't touched in a while.

In terms of the Tiberium universe, Kane's Wrath is really setting the stage for something we might do in the future. As you play through Kane's Wrath and learn about the story, you can get some hints as to where we might be going.

Nothing to announce just yet, but I think there's a really bright future for Command & Conquer, especially the Tiberium universe.

Shack: One last question. Will there be a Red Alert 3 multiplayer beta for those that buy the Xbox 360 edition of Kane's Wrath?

Jim Vessella: That's not on the table right now. We don't have plans for a 360 version of the beta right now for RA3. We're looking forward to launching [the PC beta] soon.

Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath arrives on Xbox 360 next Tuesday, June 23. Command & Conquer 3 Red Alert follows on PC and Xbox 360 this fall.