Command & Conquer: Generals – Zero Hour
| Command & Conquer: Generals – Zero Hour | |
|---|---|
Cover art
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| Developer(s) |
EA Los Angeles Aspyr Media (Mac OS X) |
| Publisher(s) |
EA Games (Windows) MacSoft (Mac OS) Aspyr Media (Mac OS X) |
| Series | Command & Conquer |
| Engine | SAGE |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows Mac OS X |
| Release date(s) |
Microsoft Windows September 22, 2003 Mac OS X February 2005 Mac OS X re-release March 12, 2015 |
| Genre(s) | Real-time strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Command and Conquer: Generals – Zero Hour is the expansion pack for the 2003 video game Command & Conquer: Generals. Zero Hour added several new abilities and units to each side, and a new mode of play called Generals' Challenge.
Zero Hour also contains 3 new campaigns of five missions each, one for each side, with their chronological order being USA first, GLA second, and China last. Unlike the previous campaigns, which were noted by Command and Conquer fans for not having full motion video cinematic sequences during mission briefing, the Zero Hour campaigns return to that Command and Conquer tradition, each showing a live-action video of a news reporter of the respective side giving details about the situation behind the current mission. The plot behind the Zero Hour campaigns picks up where it left off at the end of the previous campaigns.
The beginning of the USA campaign relates to the GLA's success in the previous game. The GLA uses the Baikonur Cosmodrome to fire a toxin warhead at a US Naval Base in Northern Europe, prompting the USA to respond before another missile can be fired. A Chinese assault on the base had previously failed, so the USA utilises the powerful Chinese arsenal to overrun and destroy the missile silo using a B-2 Bomber. The USA then tasks itself with watching over the relief effort by the United Nations in Mogadishu, however GLA incursions make the relief mission difficult. A USA Carrier group in the region provides aerial cover as the USA storm a secret GLA base, unintentionally discovering documents relating to 'Dr. Thrax', a GLA General who through almost unlimited funds in Iran plans to develop Anthrax Gamma Toxins. The USA responds by invading the Oil Fields funding the program, but it is soon learnt that Dr. Thrax has already developed the agent and plans to fire missiles loaded with the toxin at major US cities. A US led assault on Dr. Thrax's complex, supported by disillusioned GLA separatists allows the USA to capture the launch sites before they can be launched. It is also implied that Dr. Thrax was killed in the assault.
The start of the GLA campaign begins with Dr. Thrax's second in command (it is implied that the player acts as this person) being pursued by the Americans through an unknown city in the Middle East. Despite intense Tomahawk bombardment by the Americans, the General manages to evade the American pursuers and escapes from the area in a plane. With the whereabouts of Dr. Thrax still unknown, the GLA command is in complete disarray resulting in several splinter cells being formed to seize power. One such General, Prince Kassad utilises stealth technology to which is vital to the GLA's war effort. Reluctant to share, the GLA loyalists attack Kassad's base in Egypt, acquiring the stealth technology and killing Kassad in the process. Now equipped with new technology, the GLA launches a series of covert operations in the Mediterranean, aimed at destroying the US Fleet based there, including the USS Ronald Reagan, a powerful super carrier. The GLA, remarkably achieves this feat, by utilising a captured Particle Cannon to sink the carrier. Shaken by the decisive victory, rumours begin to spread that the US is unwilling to continue its war against the GLA and will begin pulling troops from its bases in Europe. The GLA seize this chance, and land commandos on the US West Coast to steal toxins and US Army equipment from inside America. Jarmen Kell leads the attack, and ultimately succeeds in forcing the bulk of US forces back from Europe to defend the homeland. The GLA once again seizes at the chance of a weaker American presence in Europe, and launches an assault on US Central Command Base in Stuttgart using captured Chinese and American weaponry. The assault succeeds, and ushers in the period of GLA control over Europe.
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