Command & Conquer: Red Alert - Counterstrike is an expansion for the 1997 Real Time Strategy game, requiring the base title. It enhances the core experience by adding 16 new single-player missions for both Allies and Soviets, alongside numerous new multiplayer maps designed by the original team. Its most distinctive feature is four secret missions where players face off against Giant Ants, a unique enemy faction not present in the main game, though new units are restricted to these campaign scenarios.
This expansion primarily focuses on delivering new scenarios and maps to extend the core gameplay experience. It includes a total of 16 new single-player missions, providing fresh tactical puzzles for both the Allied and Soviet campaigns. Furthermore, a significant number of new multiplayer maps were integrated, designed by the original creators of the base game, offering varied terrain and strategic layouts for competitive play.
While the expansion introduces new units, these additions are strictly limited to the context of the new campaign missions and are not available for use in standard skirmishes or multiplayer matches against the base game's factions.
The most distinct and memorable addition within this package is the inclusion of four secret missions centered around a unique, non-factional enemy: the Giant Ants. These missions introduce a completely different type of adversary, requiring players to adapt their established strategies to combat these unusual, swarming threats. This content offers a notable departure from the standard military engagements of the main game.
As an expansion pack, this content seamlessly integrates its new material into the existing framework of Command & Conquer: Red Alert. Players access the new single-player missions through the main game's interface, and the new multiplayer maps become available within the existing multiplayer lobby system. It serves to deepen the existing strategic gameplay rather than overhaul it.
The package provides substantial replayability through the addition of 16 new campaign scenarios and numerous multiplayer maps, extending the strategic depth available to players who already own the core RTS experience.