Tempest Rising is a dream RTS for Command & Conquer vets, and you can try it now

EA has spent years squandering one of its most legendary properties: Command & Conquer. Four years ago, it finally did something with it, giving us the excellent Remastered Collection, but since then? Oof. EA has simply wheeled out the corpse of the series, shoving «iconic units» into another mobile game, Command & Conquer: Legions, to fill its coffers with microtransactions. No wonder, then, that I'm so excited about Tempest Rising. 

This brisk RTS is «inspired by RTS greats of the '90s and 2000s», but it's a lot more specific than that. This is, at its heart, a modern C&C. Or at least it's aiming to be. It was meant to be in our hands in 2023, but it's hit some speed bumps and we've not really heard much from the team for a while. No new release date has been announced, but it ain't dead, at least. Indeed, you can take it for a spin right now. 

I did exactly this, because I have an intense craving for firefights over fields of weird sci-fi resources, explosive base rushes and shouty units. It is, I am happy to report, a very good time. Sadly, it's also merely the briefest of tastes—a little nibble of the campaign, with no skirmishes or multiplayer. And it's going to be over in a few days. Still, it's enough to get your blood pumping, and your heart beating to the rhythm of the aggressive industrial soundtrack. And yes, C&C alumnus and rocktronic maestro Frank Klepacki is one of the composers. 

OK, the setup: World War 3 kicked off after the Cuban Missile crisis, the Cold War turned hot and everything went to hell. Humanity survived the nuclear war, but it set the scene for a new conflict. It's now 1997, and in the radioactive fallout a new plant has been appearing: tempest. Basically, it's tiberium. Fighting for control over tempest are the Global Defense Force and the Tempest Dynasty, who are not identical to but are certainly analogues of C&C's GDI and Brotherhood of Nod. A third faction is also waiting in the wings, but has yet to be revealed. 

I kicked things