Dear EA Games

I hate what you did to C&C4.

No, this isn't dislike. This is actual hate. I've tried to like the game. I've liked the series for years - C&C was far superior to Warcraft. C&C2... eh. C&C3 rocked, and C&C4 - crash, burn. (Similar to Red Alert - 1 and 2 were great. 3 sucks, *hard.*)

I'd like to know what the hell you were thinking. OK, you're run by someone who thinks games shouldn't be fun. Mission fucking accomplished. I'm really hoping someone makes a good C&C3 mod to tell a better ending story.

Let's see, what's wrong with C&C4?

1. New engine.

Ok. Yeah, it's "not like other RTS games." Congrats. So give it a new series, one that can die in a fire somewhere if it sucks. Don't do this massive change to an existing IP and ignore your playerbase when, in beta, they tell you "This is not fun." The whole "No base, pop cap, limited resource" thing? It's as non-C&C it might as well be X&X. It hurts gameplay, and it hurt the story.

2. "Always online."

I'm sorry, but I hate this. I want to go through the single player stuff on my own. Yes, I CAN pick solo - but I STILL need an internet connection (unless I hunt down a crack and risk viruses and the like,) STILL need to see a chat room full of people babbling in 1337 "u sux" "i pwnt u lulz" to each other. Of course, now those rooms are DEAD because, well, nobody wants to deal with the game. I just want to hop in, play the campaign, maybe a skirmish, and go on about my business.

Oh, it's an anti-piracy measure? Guess what this boneheaded, dumbass move is encouraging as people go to find cracks for it - either just to use the game, or in lieu of buying it AT ALL. (I bought it. I'm regretting it.)

3. Persistent XP and leveling.

Oh. My. God. Who the HELL thought this was a good idea? Especially when, frankly, you *need* the Tier3 stuff in the last mission to beat that damn bomber. Guess what. I haven't unlocked it. The other games? By the time you've gotten there, you've been introduced to all your units. You just have to build through your tech tree, live, and win. It might be a hard fight, but it's doable. Here? You're not rewarded for being clever, sneaking people over to take over a base, for instance. Nope, that costs you XP. So, at level 11 on the last mission? I have no idea what I need to unlock Tier3. I get to *grind.* I don't like grind in MMOs. I Sure as *fuck* don't like it in my C&C.

4. No bases.

Look, I get the whole "wanting to keep combat fluid." And I actually kind of like control points affecting the game. But having to wander around in this damn "crawler," trying to spit out the units I'll need, not being able to set up defenses if I'm nto the right "kind" or make a backup to affect production, or any of the hundreds of other things you can do with a base - including what you can do to the *enemy's* base, like capture it and use his own weapons against him - ugh. This sucks.

5. No Tiberium.

No harvesting - just picking up crystals that, for some reason, are delivered to a battlefield... what? One of the linchpins of the game story has been the overtaking of Earth by Tiberium crystals. The economic warfare is a big part of the gameplay. You're telling me everything's scoured clean? No, I'm not buying it.

I thought "co-commanders" were irritating in RA3. C&C4? Makes RA3 look like a jewel by comparison.

EA, just go out of business already. If this is your "plan" for games? You don't deserve to be in the industry.