Red Alert 2 New Horizons Gains Hardcore Mode and Amphibious Vehicles
New Horizons mod for Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 continues to grow. The latest update brought hardcore mode and amphibious units.
Despite more than two decades on its neck, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 - Yuri's Revenge can still rely on the support of modders. The latest fruit of this has been the release of version 14-B of the New Horizons project, one of the most popular mods for the second part of the series.
There are quite a few new features and changes. The most important is the addition of Hardcore mode. It cuts off the factions' access to the most futuristic technologies (Prism for the Allies and Tesla for the Soviets), replacing them with more realistic solutions. The goal of this gameplay variant is to return to the traditional skirmishes known from the first Red Alert but with the improvements of the sequel. However, the author has added quite a few new elements, including expanded options for building base reinforcements. The source of inspiration was Warzone 2100 and the soundtrack of that game has been added as an optional soundtrack of choice.
Another new feature, available not only in Hardcore Mode but in the entire mod, is the addition of amphibious-type units, capable of traversing both land and water.
Overall New Horizons thoroughly reworks many elements of the game, so as to increase the realism of the gameplay, but at the same time maintain the specific style of Red Alert 2. Also implemented is a new campaign and a mass of standalone maps, both for anti-AI and multiplayer clashes. The mod also supports the fan-made CNCNet system, which restores the game's fully networked features.
The last several months have been fruitful for New Horizons. In May, update 14 was released, which added a new mission to the story campaign. In turn, last autumn the mod received a survival mode in a horrific climate.
