Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2

The main objective of the game is to defeat enemy commanders, played by AI or human opponents, by destroying their bases to the point of enemy capitulation. Players must also work to defend their own bases to maintain their ability to collect money and produce units, both of which are essential in achieving the main objective. Once all enemy commanders have been defeated, a winner is declared.

Every aspect of gameplay in the game is based on the collection of money. In the game, money can be collected by several means. The most common is using miner trucks to gather ore and/or gems and transport them to a refinery. A player can also gain a lasting income by capturing oil derricks (neutral buildings that are present in some maps).

Like previous Command & Conquer real-time strategy games, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 contains two separate campaigns with distinct story lines, one for each playable faction.

Red Alert 2 is set in the same alternative history universe as Red Alert in which Adolf Hitler was erased from history by Albert Einstein who travelled to the past through a Time Machine. However, although Hitler is gone, the Soviet Union has taken place of Nazi Germany to launch World War II. Joseph Stalin attempted to conquer Europe, but was defeated by the Allied nations and their military destroyed. Fearing that a regime change would cause mass unrest in the Soviet Union, the victorious Allies installed Alexander Romanov, a distant relative of Tsar Nicholas II, as the puppet Soviet Premier. Romanov acquiesces to the Allies' demands at first, though he builds up the Soviet military for "defense purposes" – a cover for an intended invasion of the United States.

Unlike previous entries in the franchise, Red Alert 2 was developed by Westwood Pacific. Westwood Studios, the original developers of the Command & Conquer franchise were involved in a collaborative role due to other commitments at the time. Despite its limited involvement, only Westwood Studios' name appeared on the packaging for the game.

In the United States, Red Alert 2 debuted at No. 1 on PC Data's computer game sales chart for the October 22–28 period. Holding the position in its second week, the title became October's ninth-biggest computer game seller, according to PC Data. It proceeded to maintain an unbroken streak in the firm's weekly top 10 through the end of 2000, and to claim No.

1 and No. 7 for the overall months of November and December, respectively. 2 million. PC Data ultimately named it the United States' 13th-best-selling computer title of 2000.