'Red Alert 3' Gets New China Faction Courtesy of Modders
"Red Alert 3" just got its most recent update, nearly a decade after it was launched in October of 2008. The eternal struggle between the Japan, the Allies, and the Soviet Union has seen a new contender enter the field, China.
Unlike most game updates, this wasn't an official expansion but rather a community-made one. The Chinese faction was created by modders from, not coincidentally, China.
It's a pretty good mod too, considering that it feels as if it was included in the game all along. The faction comes with its own unique buildings and units rather than superimpose the new aesthetics on existing buildings and units from other factions.
For example, Chinese buildings are not built but rather dropped from the sky. The units also fancy anti-matter weaponry instead of the standard machine guns and cannons. In fact, the mod is so well-made the faction is dubbed and even has its own intro videos.
The Eastern Loong mod was first released back in 2012 and was available exclusively in Chinese. The modders took years to finish creating the faction and add their own country to "Red Alert 3."
The team behind the mod has recently announced that they are working on an English version of the mod for other players. Fans of the game can follow their progress on this website.
While there are some who are happy with the addition of a new faction, others see it as more of blatant Chinese nationalism. Still others say it doesn't belong in the game given that China itself is hardly a power in the game's universe.
With the Soviet Union and Imperial Japan both becoming superpowers, China has been under threat from both countries. It would be very unlikely that the country can contest the other three great factions in the world of "Red Alert 3."
