EA turns Command and Conquer into a Facebook game -

It is true, they are turning Command and Conquer into a Facebook game.

First they came for Dungeon Keeper
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Dungeon Keeper fan.

Then they came for the Syndicate series
and I didn’t speak out because I didn’t think I could make a difference.

Then they came for the Battlefield series
and I didn’t speak out because I was alright with Battlefield 2142.

Then they came for Command and Conquer
and it was time to speak before there were no decent games left.

A slap in the face to the fans.

In several interviews with Eurogamer, EA games VP of strategy games Van Canegham has hinted at bringing a “direct-to-consumer” approach to C&C 5. What does this mean? They’re essentially going to make it a Facebook game, and as anyone who has played them knows, those are universally terrible.

We can only guess that this move was caused by EA’s absolutely horrific handling of C&C 4. With a nonsensical story that basically destroys the saga of Kane, and gameplay that is shoddy at best, they didn’t exactly put their best foot forward. Therefore they’re going to take the easy way out by making it a Facebook game, thus not requiring it to be any good.

Need more evidence? “What you’re seeing with all the social gamers on Facebook… they are actually already playing strategy games whether they know it or not,” Says Van Canegham. So this means that either it will be a Facebook game or at least heavily, heavily integrated.

Build blob of tanks, attack enemy. Anyone who played this knows the truth.

While this may very well turn the franchise back into a money making game, it will certainly leave a bad taste in the mouths of devoted fans such as myself. But then, EA has never seen that as a problem. Of course, we could get unbelievably lucky and this will be the only good Facebook game ever, but don’t hold your breath. EA has however opened a forum for feedback on the new game here.

Will EA listen to the fans and turn this around, or turn the game into a casual disaster? Well, let’s all just keep our fingers crossed for some very good luck.