Note: This expansion requires the base game to work, which is obtainable on Steam in the same bundle as this game. It will be reviewed on the content made available via expansion only, see the base game review for that content. Multiplayer will be touched on but was not extensively tested since it requires third-party software. The player will want to find fan patches to make single-player beatable, the balance is completely unfair by default, more in review. This review is based on the latest versions of this title released only on Steam and EA Play.


Some games are good on their own but leave players with more questions than answers, feeling a lot was missing to explain the plot. Expansions are often made for this very purpose. Command and Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath is a quite successful attempt to follow up on its prior title for this goal.

CNC 3: Tiberium Wars had a lot of gaps. It's explained partially that GDI and Nod backed away from cyborg tech and that Nod crawled back from the fallout of the Tiberian Sun era, but not how. Kane's survival of the second Tiberium War is glossed over (given the state he was left in at the end of that), and even the events of Tiberium Wars don't cover how Kane seemingly planned it all. It was a fine game with a technically complete story, but one that begged for further explanation.

CNC3: Kane's Wrath delivers. Starting sometime after the events of Tiberian Sun: Firestorm, it elaborates more on the time before CNC3: Tiberium Wars, explaining how Nod and Kane became what they were in Tebierium Wars. They jump to later after this, showing how Kane stage-managed the events of the Tiberium Wars to achieve the ending conditions he sought in that conflict. Finally, they also cover the aftermath of those events, as a bridge to the finale that would come after.

Like all its predecessors, Kane's Wrath is a real-time strategy game. You have to order and direct forces in real-time, building bases, sortieing forces, defending key positions, and deploying superior tactics and strategy to achieve your campaign goals. Given it's an expansion to Tiberium Wars, it uses the same engine and assets and presumes basic knowledge of that game.

On top of the campaign mode dedicated to Nod, the skirmish and multiplayer modes are interesting, dedicated to new factions of the canon sides of CNC3: Tiberium Wars. For example, the Steel Talons are a GDI force that still retains a lot of the tech from Tiberian Sun, while the Marked of Kane are a remnant of the cyborg forces Nod largely abandoned after the events of the Tiberian Sun expansion Firestorm. These new sub-factions, some of which are covered in the campaign itself, offer new ways to fight against the other sides and provide new strengths and weaknesses relative to their "base" faction.

Unfortunately, much like Tiberium Wars, EA's patches made the bizarre decision to balance the single-player mode with the multiplayer balance, which makes single-player borderline impossible in many missions. Those wanting to play the campaign are advised to look into fan patches to fix this (several are listed on the page for this game at PCGamingWiki).

Graphically, this game retains the full 3D models and mix of contrasts as Tiberium Wars. Divided much like the game does, the Blue Zones of the world look all nice and futuristic, the Yellow Zones look like post-apocalyptic areas to some greater or lesser extent, and the lethal Red Zones as nigh sterile crystalline death zones incapable of supporting unaided mortal life. The new factions also incorporate some fun touches, like repurposing Tiberian Sun-era art in 3D model form or making gnarly updates to existing canon forces with new additions to existing units. On max settings, this game looks pretty incredible, still using a massively updated version of the SAGE engine that debuted in Command & Conquer Generals.

The music is in just as fine fettle as the last game, even featuring some returning classics from Frank Klepacki, such as the epic remix of the first game's "Act on Instinct" as Nod makes clear it's far from defeated. Voiceovers retain their similar high quality, with Joe Kucan as Kane inhaling the scenery with his classic bombast especially. Sound effects are largely retained from Tiberium Wars, with the few new ones feeling completely natural to the setting.

Like the previous Tiberium Wars, this game requires a mouse and keyboard, though it will run on Steam Deck with minor hassles at best. The user interface is generally easy to learn and understand, though this game does presume you've already played Tiberium Wars and are familiar with the controls from that. Game stability is pretty high, though I did notice it does have a once-off crash after resetting the quality settings (they start at the lowest settings the first time you start up the game), but subsequently, the game is okay on all later startups. That one weird bit aside, the game is fairly solid and runs well. It is rated Playable on Steam Deck and runs fairly well on Linux via Steam Proton.

Online will require third-party tools to function, and the stock settings are not functional anymore. There are multiple guides for getting this set up and active fan communities still host servers should the player want to get into that.

Morally, there are some obvious issues with this title.

Violence is real-time strategy style, albeit devoid of explicit blood and gore in the game, though cutscenes will show some blood, especially since you play as Nod and they aren't averse to execution scenes. Given you play as Nod in the story, they also show an utter disregard for civilians and commit war crimes on the regular as their stock in trade, including setting off in-universe WMDs. While you won't see anything too graphic, it's clear they have and will commit several slaughters of both military targets (GDI) and others.

Language is about mild Teen level. Some mild words like d*mn, h*ll, and a rare b**t**d. Sexuality is pretty nonexistent, most to all characters wear formal military outfits or are otherwise sensibly dressed.

This is set in a pretty hard sci-fi universe, but the Brotherhood of Nod is an in-universe cult dedicated to their Prophet Kane. Preaching pseudo-ascensional rhetoric, they are a full-blown religion (for all intents and purposes) that meets military/terrorist superpower. Like always, Kane is also implied to be the Biblical Cain, per series tradition.

Morally, I won't mince words, the story is one long villain's campaign, essentially filling in blanks after Tiberian Sun: Firestorm (serving as a leadup to the third game), explains some elements of Tiberium Wars by providing greater context on certain events (and running parallel to that game) and also covers events after Tiberium Wars to lead into the finale game after. You will play as Nod more or less the entire time, seeing all events from their perspective. Given they are the series villains, the main campaign is one where you will get your hands dirty. Mostly against military targets like GDI, but you will be forced by the plot to commit more than one atrocity.

Technically speaking, this is a pretty good expansion. It fills in some blanks in the story as mentioned and provides more multiplayer depth with new Nod and GDI subfactions. Morally, the main campaign has its issues, being a villain's campaign-only mode. It requires the third game to work since it runs atop its base engine, but you can get it cheap on Steam in a bundle and it's worth getting if you are a Command and Conquer fan.