Great XBox game for the CnC enthusiast
Customer Rating: 
As a big fan of Red Alert 2 and the Yuri's Revenge expansion pack, I was eager to try out Red Alert 3 when it came out. I played it on a friend's PC in Fall 2008, but wasn't too impressed by the overt use of multiple commands. Also, a major factor in putting off the purchase of the PC version was the SecuROM issue as mentioned by other reviewers.
However, after a friend loaned me his XBox 360, I decided to take the plunge and picked up the XBox 360 version of the game. Needless to say, I had a blast playing the game. Red Alert 3 uses the CommandStick interface, which basically allows you to access all the game functions from a rotary menu which pops up when you hold down the right toggle. It does take a little getting used to, but the tutorials presented by the Guardian Tank, Hammer Tank and the Tsunami Tank make it easy to learn the controls. Not to mention, you get a few points, and an achievement for completing the tutorial.
Red Alert is known for its over-the-top acting and fancy units, and Red Alert 3 is no different. Use the tutorials to get a feel for all the units and factions and get an idea of how to play the campaigns.
If you have played Red Alert 2/Yuri's Revenge, bear in mind that the technologies used by the different factions are quite different. Without going into too much detail, the Allies use a similar build technology as in Red Alert 2, the Soviets: something like what you'd find in an Age of Empires game, and the Empire "don't need no stinkin' build radius!". Each faction also has different methods of upgrading their technologies.
The campaigns (which I'm in the middle of), are challenging, but so far I haven't found any situations which were impossible to beat. The units seem more balanced than those in Red Alert 2 (at least, I can no longer execute an effective tank rush with just Guardian Tanks). One new (and odd) feature is that if your commando unit is killed on the field, you can simply retrain her. With Red Alert 2, if you lost your commando, the mission was a failure. I don't know if this is the same case for the AI commando. Regardless, this doesn't take away any of the fun.
I did try a skirmish mission but lost almost immediately to an easy AI. I'd probably chalk that up to my inexperience with the new units, but I did read an earlier review which blasted the AI. With that said, I can't say I know enough about the skirmish AI to complain about it. I'll update this review after I play (and win) some skirmishes.
Overall, Red Alert 3 is a good (if campy) game for the CnC enthusiast.
