In the Forgotten base above, you can see the Training Grounds, created by Kane Nash. It will permit you to upgrade your infantry forces, the better to take the fight to the superpowers. You can see more images on our Media page.

Sometimes, missions, even missions with videos, aren't enough to give all the depth we'd like to our story. So for those of you interested in learning more about the mysterious Forgotten, we've begun a new series called "Forgotten Fiction." It's a series of artifacts from the time in which the mod takes place. The first one is the Morning Dawn Report, a short GDI Intelligence piece on an operation into the Red Zones and their encounters with the restless natives. Give it a look (PDF) if you want to learn more about our unique universe.

There is a musical term 'Leitmotif' which basically means a 'recurring tune associated with a person, place, thing, etc...' Tiberian Twilight uses leitmotif extensively. James had the task of coming up with the tunes for the two factions and the main characters in the game. The idea was for the tunes to say something about what they stood for. Then these themes could be orchestrated differently to represent different settings and moods.

GDI Theme
This ended up being the main theme for the game because the graphics in the main menu have a GDI styling. James actually wrote two where the main menu look and sound would differ depending on whether you were playing as GDI or NOD, however, not all great ideas always come to fruition.

The mood of the GDI theme is military and heroic, as you can hear from the big brass melody line. Like all the other GDI tracks, it uses just orchestra. No singing or electronic instruments. Here are some samples: (1) Is the 'basic' GDI theme as it appears in the main menu, (2) as it appears in the first movie of the GDI campaign underscoring the dialogue, (3) in a 'getting down to business' style as heard in the early missions of the game and (4) in a combat setting.

Pump up the volume and preview the Command & Conquer 4 Official Soundtrack. If you pre-order Command & Conquer 4 you will receive the soundtrack absolutely for free ($9.99 value!). The Command & Conquer 4 Soundtrack will also be available for purchase starting March 16th at $9.99 USD via iTunes, Amazon, and other select online retailers.

"It's great," Bass said of Blizzard's upcoming title, speaking to Gamasutra as part of a larger interview to be released in the coming weeks.

"Hopefully [StarCraft II] will sell a bazillion copies, and a bunch of people will become much more educated in modern RTS play, and get back online and start playing the games," he explained. "I think, in the end, it’s a good thing."

Along with WarCraft, which has in some ways been overshadowed by its MMO successor, StarCraft and Command & Conquer are arguably the most well-known RTS brands in the world -- so with both series seeing new entries this year, the genre is likely to generate more attention than it has in quite some time.

In fact, Bass pointed out, familiarity with Command & Conquer outstrips its actual player base. He said he frequently encounters gamers -- and even non-gamers -- who are aware of series mainstays like Joe Kucan's Kane character, but have not traditionally dipped their toes into RTS waters. That gives the C&C4 development team the chance to bring new audiences into the fold on the back of existing awareness.

EPISODE ONE - AN UNEXPECTED HERO. The year is 2068, and Tiberium has nearly destroyed our world. Christian Pierce, a young farmer and militiaman who is quickly losing his livelihood to the encroaching crystals, leaves his family and heads for the nearest GDI Blue Zone to find work. But what he finds there isn't just a job. It's destiny.

Avatars were initially equipped with four anti-tank cannons, one on each of its four arms, but the extra cost was deemed unnecessary and two of the arms were dropped from production. As conflicts over the TCN escalated, Nod removed some of the armor from the torso of the Avatar to add a third, more powerful cannon for extra firepower. Although the three cannon model is normally used for production, the Avatar retains its support braces for its extra arms, and commanders have been known add additional cannons to Avatars by salvaging enemy weapons in the field.