Each side, the US, China, and the GLA, have three Generals that are offshoots of the original sides that conform to some common playing styles.
Here you can pick one of 9 specialized generals and face off against them in a series of battle royals. All of these structures help in the long run and can make great spots to establish a new frontal a*ault base.The real meat of the game however is included in the brand new game mode, the Generals Challenge. The new artillery cannon acts as a land based static defense. While not enough to turn the tide of battle all at once, over time it can muster a force to be reckoned with it’s a great building to forget about and be surprised by later. The reinforcement pad will drop off a single unit approximately every two minutes. Repair facilities, like those featured in Red Alert 2, can be captured and slowly repair all your mechanical vehicles. These are of course a small number of the overall changes but the EA team really seems to have hit the mark on improving each side and keeping them distinctly different.The C&C staple of tech buildings has also seen several additions as well. These new features for the GLA make them even more of an unknown threat, especially in multiplayer matches. As always, the GLA remain the sneaky side with several additions such as the saboteur, which can disable buildings, and GPS scramble, which cloaks units.
The Chinese get a “two-birds with one stone” upgrade that resolves both the vulnerability of its secondary resource collectors and its previous recon liabilities with the new Internet Center. The American Avengers will swat enemy aircraft out of the sky with their powerful lasers.
Many of the new features play off of the already known strengths of each side and help patch up the weaknesses that were evident in Generals.The US side now has access to several more upgrades for its air power such as bunker buster bombs and countermeasure flares that make its Raptors and Auroras even more dangerous. Each side has been given a new compliment of units, buildings, and generals powers to wreak even more havoc on the battlefield.
While it is enjoyable to see them the first few times, players will get tired of being forced to watch them every time they start a mission an option to skip these once you play the level once would work wonders.In addition to the missions, Zero Hour adds a lot to the already splendid gameplay of Generals. They are pulled off just as well, if not better than the ones in Generals featuring excellent camera action. As was true in Generals, Zero Hour features a Hollywood-like action sequence at the beginning of each mission. While the news briefs are meant to be serious in nature, one can’t help but consider them a throwback to the campy style Westwood FMV sequences from past C&C titles. These news briefs play as each mission is loading and help to give the game a more international feeling. The campaign itself includes fifteen missions, five for each side, primarily based in Europe.The storyline is driven along by reporters representing each side. What loose storyline there is was obviously inspired by current events and while the Generals line lacks the immersive stories of the previous C&C franchises, the storyline is enough to satisfy most players. The GLA is fractured and the US is trying to mop up what’s left of the terrorist ranks.
With thirty new units, a mini-campaign, and a new gameplay mode, Zero Hour makes up in gameplay for what it lacks in depth.The story of Zero Hour picks up shortly after the events of Generals unfold. With a little more than seven months gone the boys at EA managed to crank out the first expansion pack, Zero Hour. It seems like only yesterday that Generals was released.