Yuri’s Revenge ( Westwood, M15 )

By PETER ELEY

Red Alert 2 fans will have noticed that the Russians' sinister scientist Yuri played an increasing role as the game wore on.

And you didn't need a degree in quantum theory (or School Cert home economics, for that matter) to work out that Yuri would be the focus of the inevitable expansion kit.

Such add-ons vary in quality from expensive rip-offs to almost complete new games.

Happily, Yuri's Revenge falls into the latter category and gives Red Alert 2 a new lease on life.

It does this by adding a third camp, Yuri, and equipping him with a set of totally new units which demand new strategies to deal with.

And these units aren't just rehashed Russian troops, vehicles and buildings. They are a cleverly structured hierarchy based on Yuri's ability to control minds and unleash psychic powers.

The most radical is the slave miner. Unlike Allied and Russian mining vehicles, this unit uses slave labour to mine ore and minerals and herds them around the map like sheep.

The slave miners take lots of hits to destroy, but when they finally disintegrate, the slaves rejoice, with one-liners like: "I'm free! Do I still need this shovel?"
Yuri's firepower is relatively weak in terms of explosive destruction, but many troops and vehicles have the ability to "turn" enemy units.

Yuri clones are the most effective ground troops and are backed up by virals, soldiers who fire a sort of deadly green goo.

The real trouble comes in the form of floating discs, which shut down your power while firing psychic radiation and shells. They can devastate a base in minutes.

Yuri's buildings look the part — sinister, Gothic structures which hint at the paranormal. Yuri's superweapons, the psychic destroyer and genetic gutator, don't seem as powerful as the Allies' weather storm and chronosphere, or the Russians' nuclear missile and Iron Curtain.

But the balance seems about right and a well-equipped Yuri base takes a lot of cunning and firepower to destroy.

The Allies have a few new units and vehicles to deal with Yuri. The most useful is a psychically resistant but lightly armoured tank.

The Russians have a powerful attack helicopter and Boris, a machine-gunning maniac who, again, is psychically resistant.

Yuri's Revenge adds 14 solo missions and 10 multiplayer missions and also updates the skirmishes. A nice touch in skirmish mode lets you choose which base to use.

* peter_eley@nzherald.co.nz