Tempest Rising already promises to be the Command and Conquer sequel that we’re seemingly not getting from EA any time soon, and it just got a whole lot better. Publisher 3D Realms reveals that C&C legend Frank Klepacki, responsible for many of the series’ most iconic soundtracks, is composing music for its upcoming game.
If you’re not up to speed on Tempest Rising, it comes from Developer Slipgate Ironworks, which includes several long-time faces from the Command and Conquer scene, including Tempest Rising’s lead designer Brandon Casteel. It’s a game that wears its heart on its sleeve, calling back to the heyday of the best RTS games – and C&C in particular.
Now, the studio reveals that it has secured the talents of one of the most important names for any game looking to emulate Command and Conquer – at least in my mind. Frank Klepacki has worked as a composer on almost every game in the long-running series, from the very first through the days of Red Alert, Yuri’s Revenge, Tiberian Sun, and more. His thumping, driving tunes are the very essence of its whole rhythm; the beating heart at C&C’s core.
Watching (and listening to) the reveal trailer announcing his involvement, then, instantly transports me back to the mid-noughties, with three of us crammed into a tiny bedroom playing multiplayer sessions of Yuri’s Revenge together. It stirs my very soul. Hearing just a small glimpse, I can already feel my fingers twitching to crank out those tanks and get to work.
“A lot of you have speculated, and we at 3D Realms are here to confirm: the legendary composer of Command and Conquer Frank Klepacki is with us to work on the Tempest Rising official soundtrack,” the team shares as part of a Realms Deep presentation.
Klepacki himself says that he’s grateful to the community for putting his name forward as something they wanted to see. “Thanks for kicking off the conversation to make this happen,” he remarks, “because I think that was a big catalyst for my involvement with this product, I’m very excited to be doing this, so thank you.”
Tempest Rising is listed as ‘coming soon’ on Steam – there’s currently no set release date, but you can already try it courtesy of a free demo if you want to get to grips with it for yourself.
If you’re in the mood for even more strategizing then, well, quite frankly it’s going to be tough to top the best strategy games on PC. For those of you just after the thrill of battle, we’ve also picked out all the best war games for all your virtual conflict needs.