Command and Conquer: Generals is a real-time strategy game from EA in which three factions fight against each other in a near future conflict. Each faction has its own unique look and set of strengths and weaknesses.

The USA is a typical run-of-the-mill high tech faction whose units cost more, while China uses strength in numbers and the GLA is a low tech Middle Eastern terrorist group that uses hit and run tactics. Generals continues the CnC tradition of being over the top and makes no attempt to be politically correct; everything evokes common stereotypes.

Generals plays as your average strategy game with a rocks/paper/scissors formula. Each unit is strong against a specific type (infantry, vehicles, or aircraft) so the key is juggling around your units to counter whatever the enemy brings. And the enemy will bring everything from Dragon Tanks that shoot napalm to supersonic Aurora bombers.

In short, Generals is about getting the biggest and baddest weapons and going on the offensive. While base defenses are available, they won’t hold for long. It’s about unlocking higher tiered units and taking the battle to the enemy.

Generals also encourages carnage with Generals Abilities. They are special perks or abilities that a player can unlock after earning enough experience from destroying enemy units and buildings. The abilities slowly progress to become more powerful, and include everything from paratroopers to artillery barrages. They add an extra layer of depth to gameplay that can change the course of battle.

The expansion, Zero Hour, offers a new Challenge mode in which the player chooses one of nine Generals and fights the other eight, one at a time on maps designed for the opponent. These generals are the main feature in Zero Hour. Each faction has three subdivisions, each with slightly different abilities and units. For example the USA laser general has special laser tanks instead of regular tanks. EA did a good job including a general for every playing style.

Accessibility Review

Generally speaking, Generals is not incredibly accessible. Gamers with hearing problems might have some trouble with the game. While the game is playable without sound, the player will miss key hints. The objectives will always be viewable in a menu, although they are usually vague. The more specific hints don’t show up along with the warning on the top left hand corner.

For example on one map, when a train is coming to drop off enemy troops, or when the enemy is mounting a counter offensive, there is no visual warning. This can lead to unexpected surprises and a swift defeat. While the mission loading screens are full of awful voice acting, they contain helpful mission tips. There are pictures of the units the player is expected to use and mission briefing bullet points; however all the other tips are missing and the bullet points aren’t always the mission tips.

It is also easy to get caught up in something like a skirmish and miss the visual cues. It happens all too often that I am so engaged in a little skirmish and I come back only to find my base under attack and half destroyed. While an “under attack” warning will appear on the top left and a red triangle on the mini map to show the position of the attack, it can sometimes get overlooked.

The mini map is useful and almost a necessity, but may be hard to see for gamers with a form of colorblindness. It is a mix of green, red, and blue for the three different factions. Markers also appear on the map to indicate an attack, an objective, or something of note, however they all appear as a different color triangle, making them hard to distinguish. It would have been nice if they mixed up the shapes also.

While there is an extensive list of colors available in skirmishes, the campaign is limited. GLA is green, China is red and the USA is blue. Each faction has a distinct look to it making them easily differentiable from one another, but certain levels have the player use the enemy’s arsenal.

Another potential problem is with the General’s Abilities. The target markers can sometimes be hard to see. The markers come in different colors ranging from beige to yellow to red. Depending on the map and the location, they might be difficult to see.

The game is full of fast paced action, although it can be slowed down in skirmishes and custom games to about the speed of a laggy online match. It is upsetting to see that the campaign doesn’t have a game speed bar like the original Command and Conquer had.

It is also impossible to change the difficulty after the campaign has been started. There are also only three difficulties to choose from, easy, medium and hard. Each faction specific campaign is seven missions long and gets difficult quickly. While the medium level might be right for the first few missions, the last missions might be too difficult. With no way to change the difficulty, the player might be forced to re-play the campaign on an easier to difficulty in order to finish it.

Generals is accessible to gamers with the use of one hand. Generals can be played using only the mouse, but certain actions can’t be performed, like making groups. In the Zero Hour expansion there is a double click for guard feature. Double clicking the action key brings up the guard action but the button is always present in the HUD.

The game does require precision as it can be hard to select certain units amidst a crowd. Certain units are small, making them hard to select, although there is an extensive zoom function and the camera can be rotated 360°. Scrolling the mouse wheel up or down will zoom in or zoom out while holding it down will allow the player to rotate the camera and a simple click of the scroll wheel returns the camera to its default position. This feature eases the pain of having to find units that are hiding around a building.

Stealth units also pose a problem. They flash from full view to transparent, making them very hard to see and easy to lose track of them. Their dot on the mini map fades in and out of existence making it hard to see.

Overall, Generals is a great game for any strategy fan but it’s not accessible to everyone. The color and audio issues prevent Generals from being a truly accessible game and make it a hit or miss depending on your disability.

One Handed:

Players should encounter no major mobility problems with Generals. The game can be played using only the mouse. Certain actions require a keyboard press, but they aren’t essential to the gameplay. All essential actions have an icon.

Deaf Gamers
Players with hearing impairments should be wary. While it’s possible to play the game, it doesn't do a good job of conveying objectives well. Certain warnings are given via voice only, although the key information appears in text on the top left hand corner. Warnings like “Unit under attack” appear in the top left hand corner, but are easily missed in the frantic action.

Subtitles
Subtitles are absent from Generals. The verbal instructions and hints are usually audio only, however the mission goals are displayed in the menu.

Color Blind
The game relies heavily upon red, blue, and green. The mini-map is cluttered with those colors, and mini-map events use red (“under attack” warnings) or green (objective markers). It can also be difficult differentiating between different teams.

Checkpoint / Save System:
There is no auto save feature, but the player is able to save at any point during a mission or skirmish and name the file.

Precision
Selecting units can sometimes be difficult as the units are small and often require precision to pick certain units out of a crowd.