This original shooter in Command & Conquer universe has been annihilated by EA. Tiberium could have messed up the FPS market
At one time, Electronic Arts was going hard at refreshing the Command & Conquer franchise. One such attempt was Tiberium, an FPS with strategy elements, which ultimately didn't make it into players' hands.
Released in February 2002, Command & Conquer: Renegade is a game to which I have a peculiar sentiment. I learned about the existence of this title thanks to a review in a certain magazine, which wasn't particularly flattering. However, at that time, I didn't have my own computer for "learning," so most of the games I read about seemed like real wonders of the world to me.
A wave of nostalgia hit me when I found out that EA approved a new game set in the Command & Conquer universe called Tiberium. It immediately went on my wishlist. Unfortunately, the publisher didn't share my enthusiasm... but let's take it one step at a time.
Command & Conquer without C&C in the title
Let's start with the fact that although the action of Tiberium was supposed to take place in the Command & Conquer universe, Electronic Arts decided to hide this fact. Why? It's hard to say, although one might assume that the C&C franchise seemed so weak to them that it could drag the whole project down.
Another thing is that thanks to this, EA Los Angeles could stand on its own, and who knows - maybe in the future, it could carry the burden of maintaining a new, thriving brand on its own. In such a case, everyone would be satisfied, C&C fans, because they got another solid game set in this universe, and the rest, because they don't have to know the entire rich history of the Command & Conquer world to enjoy Tiberium.
The future in dark colors
Looking at Tiberium from today's perspective, it's fair to say that, visually, it didn't really stand out compared to other shooters from its time. In the announcements published by industry media, we could regularly come across comparisons with Resistance: Fall of Man or Gears of War. The devs created yet another dark, gloomy production, depicting the future in rather dark shades.
The main character of Tiberium was supposed to be Ricardo Vega, who would end up in the middle of the Italian Red Zone - one of the most contaminated areas of the globe, making it almost impossible to inhabit. That's where the battle would be raging between GDI (a futuristic military-political organization fighting global threats) and Scrin (an advanced alien race).
Throughout the missions, we would get to know not only the main character better, but also a bunch of other characters, like Tera Gallagher from the novel Command & Conquer: Tiberium Wars and a Nod priestess named Maja. And speaking of Nod (the fanatical paramilitary organization aiming to overthrow GDI) - at least at the beginning of the game, the group led by the charismatic Kane wouldn't be our main opponent.
FPS with a strategic edge
Tiberium wasn't supposed to be just a shooter. However, it's true that during the game, we'd watch the action from a first-person perspective, and pulling the trigger would be the main gameplay element. Nonetheless, the devs intended to implement a number of elements from strategy games in their title.
The project would allow us to give orders to entire units of soldiers. And I don't mean small groups consisting of two or three guys, but larger teams that we would command, giving them orders both with the help of contextual commands and in the classic, strategic top-down view.
The devs didn't want to neglect the shooting aspect of their work. The protagonist's equipment was supposed to include the GD-10 weapon, capable of transforming into various "guns," intended for fighting against enemy units, but also vehicles and machines. The icing on the cake would be the ability to summon orbital attacks, wreaking havoc in the ranks of the enemy.
Red light
Tiberium was announced in December 2007. Over the past few months, it seemed like everything was going according to plan, and the Electronic Arts Los Angeles project is on track for our computers and consoles (PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360). However, as it turned out less than a year later - nothing could be more wrong.
At the end of September, Electronic Arts announced that Tiberium had been canceled with immediate effect. As stated in a note to employees, which was published on Kotaku, by Mike Verdu - the creative director of EA LA:
It is with a heavy heart that I announce an end to all work on Tiberium effective immediately. I've consulted with Nick Earl and Frank Gibeau at the EA Games Label and together we have reached the conclusion that given the time and resources remaining, we will not be able to deliver this product to an appropriate level of quality. The game had fundamental design challenges from the start. We fought to correct the issues, but we were not successful; the game just isn't coming together well enough to meet our own quality expectations as well as those of our consumers.
Mariam Sughayer, who was the spokesperson for EA at the time, also added her two cents to the matter, stating bluntly that:
The game was not on track to meet the high quality standards set by the team and by the EA Games Label. A lower quality game is not in the best interest of the consumers and would not succeed in this market.
It seems like a well-known and beloved universe, a proven, gloomy style, and creative solutions wouldn't guarantee the success of Tiberium. So far, this was the last attempt to create an FPS in the Command & Conquer universe. The publisher tried to "maneuver" with the C&C franchise itself, considering developing a strategy under the title Command & Conquer, but over time, it met a similar fate. Time will tell if we will ever see a new title set in this world again.
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Author: Christian Pieniazek
Started working with Gamepressure.com in August 2016. Although the Game Encyclopedia has been his pride and joy from the beginning, he also writes for the Newsroom and the Editorial section. Gained professional experience through a now-defunct service, in which he worked for almost three years. Graduated in Cultural Studies at the AGH University of Krakow. Runs his own business, jogs, cycles, loves mountain hiking, is a fan of nu metal, is interested in space, and of course, enjoys playing games. Feels best in action games with an open world and RPGs, although won't turn down good racing or shooting games.
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