Command & Conquer: Tiberium Alliances blows up browsers for free

Should Facebook-based strategy games be worried? Not so fast, but the competition undoubtedly just heated up. Publisher EA and Frankfurt, Germany-based developer EA Phenomic have announced their free-to-play (F2P), browser-based strategy game, Command & Conquer: Tiberium Alliances, is now available for all to play in an open beta. (In layman's terms, it's live.)

Command & Conquer is one of the most acclaimed series in strategy gaming, and this is the first time it's been available to players for zero dollars. Of course, like all F2P games, Tiberium Alliances is supported by microtransactions, so a lot rides upon whether hardcore fans go for the distribution model. The game was developed using HTML5, meaning no download is needed--a likely boon for fans and newbies alike.

This is also the first time that the Command & Conquer series has gone the route of massively multiplayer online, or MMO. And because the game is HTML5-based, it's accessible through computers, smartphones and tablets. The game seems to play out much like established, Facebook-based strategy games, but with much higher production values. But EA made a point of telling Gamasutra that this is not a Facebook game. Regardless, we're sure both sides are already taking notes.

Click here to play Command & Conquer: Tiberium Alliances Now >

[Via Gamasutra]

Are you psyched for EA and Phenomic's browser-based strategy game? Can Tiberium Alliances do without Facebook, and what about its use of HTML5? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.