Let’s make one thing clear: I wouldn’t play Command and Conquer 4 if it was the game on Earth. It’s just not “me.” So pardon my blase attitude while I drop this bombshell: the game uses the same stupid DRM that Ubisoft now uses, which I complained about on CNN. Add this to your list of games not to buy, then.

Yeah, so the game, which came out two days ago, requiresa constant Internet connection in order to be played. EA claims this isn’t DRM, but if that’s the case I’d like to know what they call it. A rose by another name and such.

Says EA:

First thing to be clear about, Command & Conquer 4 has NO DRM. Zip, zero, zilch, none. We already made this clear.

***

To play Command & Conquer 4, the computer needs to be connected to the internet. We’ve always made that clear as well.

EA does try to get on your good side by saying you don’t need to have the disc in the drive at all times in order to play, you can install and re-install the game as many times as you like, etc. So there is progress being made in The War on DRM.

So, we’ve just taken Toulon—let’s hope it doesn’t end at Waterloo.

Yes, I’m still on a Napoleon kick.

I don’t know, I’m pretty much a beaten man vis-à-vis fighting DRM. At this point I’m fully prepared to let the likes of Ubisoft send a man over every time I’d want to play one of their games. Not that I ever will again, but you know what I mean.

If you can get past the chunky, dated graphics and annoying installation requirements, these real-time strategy titles are a blast from the past.

Originally posted at The Cheapskate

We’re huge fans of Command & Conquer here at CrunchGear, and we just got a great tip sent in. EA is giving away away free downloads of some of the great classic C&C games that made the franchise such a long standing favorite. This is most likely to draw attention to the upcoming release of C&C 4: Tiberian Twilight, (which I’ve been playing in beta, and it’s a whole lot of fun).

You can download Tiberian Sun (with the Firestorm expansion), Tiberian Dawn, and the best of the old ones, Red Alert. If you’ve got a hankering for some classic RTS gaming, just head over to EA’s download page and pick them up. Maybe I’ll see you online.

Thanks to Ian for the tip.

There have only been a few games that I’ve been more excited about that Command & Conquer 4: Half-Life 2, Day of Defeat: Source, and Command & Conquer Red Alert 2. That’s it. C&C 4 should launch on March 16, 2010, but follow this quick guide ASAP and you’ll be able to see a bit of the game early through the beta program. But you better hurry. There is limit to the amount of keys they are giving out.

It seems like EA has teamed up with Gamespot for this program. Fine with me.

1. Head over to the Gamespot C&C4 page and either sign in or make a new account
2. There you’ll receive your key code and a link to C&C’s site
3. Follow the rabbit through the link and put in your key code.
4. It might make you sign up for a EA account. Do it. But you might have to go back to the Gamespot page and start again.
5. Agree to the terms and conditions to get the download link
6. Download the 1.4GB game and install.
7. Easy peasy

Forget Modern Warfare 2, the real action is coming out on March 16 when C&C 4 is released. Teasers and trailers have been slowly filtering out over the last few months but EA finally let released the launch date. I’m already making my construction paper chain to count down the days. Oh, and there’s good news if you’re going to pre-order the game.

Those that are willing to pay for the game before it’s released will be invited to the multiplayer beta, and given a bonus mission and the game’s official soundtrack. How cool is that? I mean, you’re going to buy the game anyway so you may as well score some extras. All the details are here.

I love the ’90s. And I love these classic games from the ’90s. But do I love them on my iPhone? To be honest, not as much as one might think.

Originally posted at iPhone Atlas