Last week, Electronic Arts — or more specifically, EALA — teased a big upcoming Command & Conquer announcement to be revealed in two weeks’ time. That would make the official announcement still just less than a week away, but this is the Internet, and nothing ever takes two weeks’ time. PC Gamer confirms, via a scan of its upcoming cover story, that the big reveal is in fact Red Alert 3.

The cover doesn’t provide many details, nor does the short story accompanying it, so there’s really not much news here besides confirmation of its existence. We can at least say that the Soviets will obviously be returning as one of the factions in the game. And judging by the stylized, propaganda-like artwork and facetious headline, it appears Red Alert 3 will likely retain the more lighthearted, goofy approach the past games were known for. We are, after all, talking about a series that has featured aquatic battles between mind-controlled squids and Navy-trained dolphins.

Many questions remain, though — will Red Alert 3 again be powered by the SAGE engine, previously used in Command & Conquer: Generals, the Battle for Middle-Earth games and Command & Conquer 3? Will we once again see the return of Yuri, the powerful psychic who played a major role in Red Alert 2’s storyline? Will Tanya once more be played by Kari Wuhrer? We await these revelations with bated breath.

Just a day after confirmation of Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3’s existence, Electronic Arts has revealed a number of new details. Set for release on the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Red Alert 3 brings back the Allies and the Soviets as well as a third Japanese faction, and introduces a fully co-operative campaign mode. And it seems the game is farther along in development than one would have expected, as invites to a private beta will be included in copies of the Command & Conquer 3 expansion pack, Kane’s Wrath.

More Details

EA seems to have two main focuses with Red Alert 3: a return to the goofy and playful nature of the past two entries in the series, and a greater focus on accessibility. “The Red Alert games are known for challenging hardcore strategy gamers with depth, variety, and innovative gameplay. But they also belong to that rare breed of games that can draw in more casual players with their over-the-top stories, instantly accessible mechanics, and straight-to-the-fun design,” said Mike Verdu, general manager of EALA. “With Red Alert 3, our team is continuing that proud tradition by introducing genre-first features like co-operative campaign play, which rewards veterans and casual players alike. In Red Alert 3, friends and family can always have your back.”

Red Alert 3 takes place after leaders in the Soviet Union go back in time to change history and set themselves on a course to world dominance. But as with all time-traveling science fiction, something goes terribly wrong, and they instead assure the rise of a new third faction: the Empire of the Rising Sun. This sets the stage for an alternate reality future where the Japanese Empire became a high-tech military super power, where the Soviet Union continues to thrive, and where the Allies enter this three-way struggle for hegemony.

The alternate reality setting also paves the way for the ridiculous units and technologies the Red Alert series is known for. Some old favorites return, such as Tesla coils, war blimps, trained dolphins, and teleportation devices, and new units and technologies include floating island fortresses, transforming tanks, invisibility, and best of all, armored bears. Naval combat will also get a greater focus this time, but no further details were announced.

Additionally, a special episode of the C&C BattleCast video podcast reveals a few more bits of information. Chris Corry, who was the senior development director for Command & Conquer 3, takes up the reigns for Red Alert 3. He assures that while the campaign will be built for co-operative play, you can make your way through it on your own by being teamed with custom AI generals with different personalities. Could these generals be playable in multiplayer games, like in Command & Conquer: Generals - Zero Hour? Hmm…

As for the beta, additional details can be found on the official C&C website, but the date of the beta won’t be revealed until this summer. Stay tuned for more details on that when they become available, and we’ll pass along anything else we can learn about Red Alert 3 in the meantime.