Command & Conquer Alliances Wants You To Waste Time At Work

While I was ecstatic to learn that EA is making a sequel to one of my all-time favorite RTS titles with C&C Generals 2 I was a bit confused as to why, days before that announcement, they'd register a series of domain names for a different Command & Conquer title.  Well, those questions were laid to rest today as EA announced Command & Conquer Alliances and it's definitely not what you expect.

Alliances takes place in the middle of the Tiberium Wars, perhaps sometime before or after Tiberium Sun.  A browser-based MMORTS, Alliances has you playing for either the GDI or the Brotherhood of Nod competing for territory in Africa and apparently across the world.  The game is being developed by Phenomic, a studio acquired by EA in 2006 that previously made last year's Lord of Ultima and Battleforge.  This new entry into the tiberium universe is a free-to-play title as well but, knowing EA these days, they'll probably tag on a premium for a stealth tank or visceroids.

One thing you'll notice about the trailer (which I've posted below) is the game's art style.  Despite being a game made today it uses the classic C&C art style from the 90s with sprites and limited animation.  Perhaps this is meant to make the game run better in a web browser but when we live in an age in which you can play Quake III Arena in a browser you'd expect at least Tiberium Sun quality graphics.

The game will serve as a hold over for those anticipating Generals 2 however which is slated for 2013.  Alliances enters closed beta tomorrow, December 15th and you can sign up for it at the game's website.