Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun - Firestorm

The original Command & Conquer had one and Red Alert bad two, so it was no surprise to hear Westwood has developed a mission pack tor the disappointing third C&C game, Tiberian Sun. If a game sells well, a mission pack is never far away.

Tiberian Sun really was a bit knobby. For non-strategy fans or those new to the wonderful world of PC games it was fine, but for the legions of Westwood fans brought up on an addictive diet of Dune 2, Tiberian Sun wasn't quite the fix we were hoping for.

It will come as no surprise to you then that, if like us, you fell asleep at the keyboard playing the game, there isn't really much in Firestorm to keep your eyelids from clamping shut while playing it some more. As is standard with add-ons, you'll find a clutch of new units, new campaigns for each side and a few enhancements to gameplay, most of which do more to expand the game's appeal than you might expect.

True to form, Westwood has managed to create a quality expansion - not in terms of gameplay, but in presentation. Rather than bundle together a loose collection of missions and link them with text messages or poorly delivered speech, Westwood has at least divided them up with its usual big-bucks high production video sequences, which for mission packs is pretty much unheard of. That aside, the missions themselves are, for the most part, plodding affairs, with the usual mix of en masse attacking and base building from scratch. The new units, seven in total, do add flavour to the bland proceedings and, though small in number, do require a rethink in overall strategy - in multiplayer games especially.

Some might find the balance of units off-kilter, but overall Westwood has create a fairly good mission pack for an average game. Those that loved Tiberian Sun really should acquire Firestorm - at half the content it almost doubles the fun. Those of you who loved the first C&C games should probably wait for Renegade.