When I previously reviewed C&C Generals I made a point of saying that although it courted controversy with some of the content it was still a good RTS title that any fan of the series should immediately go out and buy. I then went on to say that if you were new to the C&C series then you should start with Red Alert 2. I would like to take this point to stand up and say that in those statements I was wrong, yes you read that right a critic saying he made a mistake! Generals is one of the best, if not the best, RTS games I have ever played, proven by the fact that in the eight months since its release I have not stopped playing it. Eight months of play from a game that I completed in the first four days, that alone must stand for something. If you are new to the C&C series, and that alone is something out of the ordinary, then bother with no other title; Generals is the one you want. Especially since EA have just outdone themselves and released Command & Conquer: Generals - Zero Hour, an expansion pack that not only adds content to an already pretty stocked game but reinvents the Generals experience.

As you would expect, Zero Hour doesn't add anything in the way of graphical or audio improvements, it would be unusual for an expansion pack to alter the original game engine. What it does add though is bags of units to play with. The back of the case says thirty new units, which is a bit of a white lie; there are thirty new units if you count variations of original units but in total there are only really fifteen to twenty new units. Each side also receives some new buildings to play with or new upgrades to improve both units and buildings.

The USA gets some more powerful air units in the King Raptor and new defensive buildings and unit suck as the EMP patriot launcher and sentry drones. China is given an Internet Centre to house its hackers improving their speed and level ups, an upgraded Overlord and Neutron mines. The GLA have been given stealthier and sneakier play options with camo netting for Stinger Sites and Tunnel Networks, a dirt bike to zoom about the map on and many new upgrades and research options at their buildings. The most surprising aspect of all these new additions to your forces is that the balance that was present at every step of the way through Generals is maintained totally. It remains the constant game of paper, rock, scissors and this is something that EA should feel proud of.

There are of course new maps to play over and an extension to the original single player campaign with five new missions for each side. Five is not a big number and not worth the twenty pounds for the expansion pack alone I hear you cry - and truth be told it's not, but bear in mind that Zero Hour is aimed almost entirely at the multiplayer market. Either way, the single player missions included do offer a chance to get to see some of the new units and buildings in action and provide a good starting point to the learning curve present in Zero Hour. After this brief schooling, it's graduation to the multiplayer game and the core of the expansion pack, which is also the reason why this is such a must have for all Generals players. This time around you get more choice than just the three races to command; you also get to the chance to further specialise and refine your tactical play, with individual generals each having their own unique approach.

The USA gets an air force general, a laser general and a super weapon general. Each has limitations in the units they can build, such as the air force general not being able to build tanks other than Humvee's, but each receives unique units and upgrades. China is lead buy tank, infantry or nuke generals and no one should dismiss the infantry general just because it doesn't sound as powerful as the others. Finally, GLA sports a toxin, stealth and demolition general, each building on strengths from one particular aspect of the GLA. These new aspects of each army, represented by each new general, force players to re-evaluate their play and look for new ways of overcoming old problems and also look to new tactics and new possibilities that will begin to emerge as they go through the learning curve. The reason that Zero Hour is such a great expansion is that this improvement cannot be defined in any one area more than in any other. It improves the way the game is played, the way you select your army but more than anything it improves the overall enjoyment of the game and the entire experience of Generals.

Last, but in no ways least, is possibly the biggest surprise to befall me in an RTS game since I reviewed Atrox; the AI actually gives the impression of being intelligent. The previous Generals AI was very fast, competent and none to bright. It would happily send wave after wave of tanks or even men against a fortified defensive line that it couldn't hope of breaching without long range support with scant disregard for the losses to its forces or it resources. In fact, the AI would do a number of silly things such as blow up anything you capture rather than recapture it, even if it was its oil derrick and its only source of income. It would never use long range attacks other than super weapons and Generals upgrades like the artillery barrage.

This time round the AI does just about everything you wish it wouldn't because it's just so damn effective at it. It uses air power, it uses long range attacks, it will take over oil derricks and the other tech buildings, it can and will use hero characters to devastating effect, it will attack with rebel ambushes and then do something with them, it does make use of stealth technology, it does use all of the general upgrades and powers and can wield them in a way that is not funny to be on the receiving end of. In fact, this AI is nothing short of the best AI I have ever played against. Yes, it does make mistakes and yes it will still fall into predictable patterns but we can forgive this because it provides so much of a challenge. Even on medium levels of difficulty you will find enough of challenge to keep you gaming for ages; in fact I would rather face human players than the AI in Zero Hour set at brutal.

At the end of the battle and taking time to see the lay of the land after the dust settles and the fog of war lifts, it has to be said that Command & Conquer: Generals - Zero Hour completes the Generals game experience rather than being a simple expansion pack. After eight months of play and still going strong, Generals seemed to be a game that I might never bore of but with Zero Hour now accompanying it I can say that I really will never bore of it. Yes, you can play too much of anything but I guarantee that you will come back to this time and time again. Go out and buy this right now, request it for Christmas, beg, borrow or steal but get this expansion; Generals is not complete without it. And if you don't have Generals then you need to get them both!

Reviewed by AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).