Command & Conquer 1, 2, Red Alert 1 now free

[Cristopher Boyer]

<a href="http://thevirtualunderground.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Command-Conquer-Tiberian-Sun-Mod-Final-Sun_3.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://thevirtualunderground.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Command-Conquer-Tiberian-Sun-Mod-Final-Sun_3.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>

In a gesture of goodwill, as well as promotion for the upcoming Command and Conquer 4, Electronic Arts has been making earlier games in the series available as a free download for PC gamers.

Previously only the first game in the series, retroactively titled Tiberium Dawn, was available. But in the last few days, they've also placed Command &amp; Conquer: Tiberian Sun and the Firestorm add-on, as well as the original Red Alert on their <a href="http://www.commandandconquer.com/classic" target="_blank">classics page</a> for retro-minded gamers to get their hands on.

Both the first C&amp;C game as well as Red Alert come as .ISO files that you'll need to burn to CDs, but Tiberian Sun comes in a .RAR file you can just unpack to a folder and play. It's also worth noting that while the Westwood Online servers haven't been maintained over the years, it's apparently still possible to play Tiberian Sun online. Good luck finding a match, though.

It's pretty interesting to see a publisher, let alone a big one like EA, making older, unsupported games available for free. It's kind of like the idea behind the abandonware movement, except in this case, EA isn't going belly-up anytime soon. Still, no sense looking a gift horse in the mouth!

If anybody out there tries this out, let us know how they play! Do these classics still hold up today?

<a href="http://www.commandandconquer.com/classic" target="_blank">Command &amp; Conquer Classics page</a>

[Alex]

Cool, I'm not going to get any of those though, I would if it were Red Alert 2.

[fuzzay]

Fun fact! When I was around eight years old, me and my brother received Christmas gifts from my Aunt and Uncle. I can't remember what he got, but I definitely got Red Alert. Of course at the time, we didn't own a PC, but rather an old Mac Performa. So the game never worked and it just kind of rotted in the corner.

UNTIL NOW!

[DJ_Lae]

Downloaded them all and dumped them on my NAS. I'll play them eventually...

Actually, I own them all already and have played through them more than once. I didn't really need to download them.

God I love Red Alert.

[KittyKat]

^ me too! Red Alert rocked!

[Alex]

Who was that crazy lady with the two pistols? Natalia?