Strategy Informer has put up part 1 of a major preview. The majority of the article talks about James' impressions of and experience at EA's LA facility, but a large amount of info is divulged as well.



General Information:

* The new Apoc tank looks awesome, and you’ll be seeing its upgrades in the very near future. For now, know that it has a tractor beam and a giant generator (Magnetic Harpoon) on its back. Grinders go out side to side. The grinder eliminates any enemies that get in the Apoc’s way, chewing them up to nothing.

* Unit scale is highly unrealistic in gameplay, but it works. Dolphins may appear the size of submarines…but hey, you know it’s a dolphin.

* Ore does not deplete! Once “depleted” only 25% of the original resources can be attained.

* Heidleberg returns, and it looks great. Even has a park and beer gardens.

* Mcburger Kong returns.

* There are 12 different locales in the game, each one very different and very colorful.

* Weather effects are all present, but none of them actually take part in the gameplay. They are all purely aesthetic.

* Fog is now cleared downhill, but not uphill (meaning if units are on top of a hill, they can see far below, but units under a hill cannot see above it).

* Powers are introduced, and some are listed below. Powers are special abilities players can use over time to do a number of things, such as special attacks. They are illustrated by a number on the bottom left corner of the screen, where over time points are built up. Based on how well the game is going for the player, more points may be added over less time, meaning they have access to more power ups.

* Soviet Power ups include: Orbital Refuse, which drops satellites from the sky like bombs; Tractor Beam, which picks units off the battlefield and into space, to later drop them with Orbital Refuse; Time Bomb, which is just that.

* There is a third faction, which has been mentioned only as the “Empire of the Rising Sun.”


The Allies:

* Dolphins act just like real dolphins, meaning they can swim backwards if commanded, jump out of the water (out of the way of torpedoes or over electrical-based attacks).

* A support “Cryo Copter” aircraft shoots an ice beam, dubbed the “freeze beam” (ray would be better). This slows down enemies and, with enough time, freezes them in their tracks. They thaw out over time and no damage comes from this, but frozen enemies can be broken like ice. The Cryo Copter’s secondary ability is a shrink ray, which literally shrinks friendly or enemy units, making them function on cartoon physics, and of course prone to being run over by tanks.

* The Dog has been fixed. Instead of having the Dog and Bear be basically equal (and have horrid biting fights between them) the Dog has a secondary ability to bark loudly, stunning nearby enemies. It also can go in the IFE for an extended bark attack, having a larger radius of damage.

* Building walls are now included, meaning fortifications can be made for the Allies.


* Base hubs now share tech, meaning only one upgrade is needed for all buildings to produce higher level units or buildings. It also means that if the Command Center is destroyed, all buildings lose their upgrades.


The Soviets:

* The Czar Tank, otherwise known as the Hammer, can steal health and weapons from vehicles. Its rockets cannot be shot down anymore. The Hammer’s secondary weapon shoots smaller, scattered bombs.

* The Tesla tank is not returning to Multiplayer, but it will appear in specific missions for the Single Player campaign.

* The Dreadnaught’s secondary attack makes it shoot faster, but it takes damage while doing so.

* The Acula Submarine’s secondary weapon are dumbfire “super” missiles.

* The Bear is now amphibious, so it is equivalent to both the Dog and Dolphin (somewhat).