Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

The Tech Deck

This week’s free games: ‘Command and Conquer’ series

Wikipedia image of Command and Conquer: Red Alert box art from 1996. (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia image of Command and Conquer: Red Alert box art from 1996. (Wikipedia)

Are you a gamer? Do you like free things? Of course you do!

We here at the Tech Deck are just like you: poor gamers looking for cheap entertainment. And nothing's cheaper than cost-free gaming. Each week, we'll bring you a title (or two or three) you can legally play at home without plopping down a single dollar. If you see games you think we should be featuring on the blog, email us at dang@spokesman.com or kiph@spokesman.com.

This week, we're plunging you back into the heyday of the real time strategy genre with the classic Command and Conquer, Red Alert and Tiberian Dawn games. The link below will take you to downloads for the three games, released as freeware between 2007 and 2010.

In-game screenshot of Command and Conquer: Red Alert
Click here to download Command and Conquer games. Image from The Iso Zone.

Go inside the blog to learn more about Westwood Studio's genre-defining RTS experience.

Command and Conquer launched in 1995, developed by Westwood Studios and published by Virgin Interactive. The series wasn't the first to tackle real time strategy, base-building gameplay, but it took the ideas of the Dune series and set it in the modern day with addictive multiplayer and now-infamous full motion video (FMV) sequences.

Red Alert takes the series in a larger-than-life direction, casting Adolf Hitler, Albert Einstein and other historical figures in an alternate history where the Allied Powers square off against the Soviets. Red Alert built on the mechanics of the original game, allowing you to queue up units for construction and adding a robust online multiplayer suite.

Tiberian Sun would follow in 1999, once again returning to the battles between the Brotherhood of Nod and the Global Defense Initiative.

Command and Conquer and Tiberian Sun are available for Windows. Red Alert is also available on Mac gaming rigs. Check each of their download pages for system requirements and installation instructions, and be sure to leave us comments about your favorite real-time strategy experiences below! 



Kip Hill
Kip Hill joined The Spokesman-Review in 2013. He currently is a correspondent for the City Desk.

Follow Kip online: