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The Global Conquest battles are handled oddly, often compromising the core gameplay. All fog of war and stealth is lifted from the maps after a short delay, which, um, kind of breaks how some of the factions work. Hello? Did no one notice this? There's no way to adjust the game speed, which will be a problem for any of us who like our skirmishes to be a tad less frantic. There are plenty of weird drawn-out mismatches or simple rushes that you'll have to play because the auto-resolve option is so spotty.

The killing blow is the AI, which has no idea how to manage the strategic level or fight the battles in a larger context. It seems incapable of actually playing Global Conquest, much less pursuing victory conditions. Since there's no multiplayer support (another step backwards from EA's similar attempts in the Battle for Middle Earth games), Global Conquest is essentially dead on arrival. Once again: Hello? Did no one notice this?

At least you've got your revised Command & Conquer 3, courtesy of the fun toys in the big messy toy box and the careful gameplay redesign. That's worth the $30 price tag for how much it reinvigorates this already spirited RTS, but only if you're interested in skirmish against the AI or multiplayer games. Everyone else is stuck with a story fit for an 8-year-old and a broken strategic mode that has no business shipping in its current state. To paraphrase Shatner: "Kaaaaaaannnnneeee!"

This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.