Introduction

Developed by: Westwood
Estimated Release: Fall, 2000

Invasion USA

Bad Chuck Norris movies aside, the United States has been fortunate enough to avoid the ravages of war on its territory. If you ignore a the inconsequential Japanese occupations of a few outlying Aleutian islands, then the United States hasn't had a hostile foreign army on its soil since the War of 1812 with the British. That's all about to change, at least, if you buy into the fascinating storyline presented in Westwood's Red Alert series. Last week, Westwood announced Red Alert 2 at a press event in San Francisco. The game is fairly polished at this point, with Westwood employees bragging that they "play this game every day in the office."

Allied Rocketeer

Allied GI

Story

Getting back to the plot, Red Alert 2 picks up from where Red Alert 1 left off. For those of you who don't remember RA1, Einstein devised a time machine which he used to kill Adolf Hitler before he rose up to become the Fuhrer of the 3rd Reich. With a power vacuum in Eastern Europe, Stalin became the new world menace in WWII. In this alternate history, the US declined to enter the war, leaving the Western European allies to deal with Stalin. The Allies prevailed, leaving the Soviet Union as a broken wreck and the US as the world's only superpower.

Allied Chronosphere

Allied Weather Control Device

Stars and Stripes? Hammer and Sickle?

Fast forward to modern times, and the current Soviet country isn't very happy with things. It's time for some payback, and it's the US that's going to bear the brunt of the initial strike. Having quietly built up an army of high tech weapons and mind control devices, the Soviets knock out the American early warning systems and initiate a concerted attack on all major US cities. Soviet forces pour into San Francisco, New York, Washington DC, and across the desert border between Texas and the Soviet ally, Mexico. As the Soviets gain ground, they place mind control beacons in the cities, subverting some weaker minded American citizens to take up arms against their own country! Things look bleak for the US - they plead for the help of the European allies and turn to their own army to set things right.