Game by game

Tiberian Dawn

In Tiberian Dawn, the only female character (apart from the journalists) is Colonel Maria Olivia Morelli. The fact that this character is a woman is used solely to illustrate that 10 to 15 per cent of the personnel in Western armed forces are women. Far removed from the stereotypes used in certain instalments – particularly Red Alert 3 – these women lend a certain realism, just as the characters’ diverse backgrounds and nationalities do.

Red Alert

In Red Alert, there are two female characters (apart from the journalists): Tanya Adams (see key figures) and Nadia Zalenkov, who is a powerful figure – she is a director at the Ministry of Truth – and is prepared to do anything for her cause: she is Stalin’s mistress simply so that she can help the Brotherhood of Nod.

Tiberian Sun

In Tiberian Sun, there are four female characters (excluding journalists): Brink, Umagaan, Oxanna Kristos and Gabriela Boudreau.

¤ Brink: A Kodiak pilot, she plays a role similar to that of Colonel Morelli, highlighting the presence of women in the GDI army.

¤ Umagaan: This mutant takes on a role somewhat similar to Tanya’s: independent and determined. Westwood adds that Cdr. McNeil (the character you play in the GDI campaign) is not immune to her charms.

¤ Oxanna Kristos: Like most of the female characters in Nod, she uses her powers of seduction whilst remaining focused on her goal.

¤ Gabriela Boudreau: A scientist who is passionate about her work but also a great communicator: undoubtedly one of the most believable female characters in the Saga.

Red Alert 2

In Red Alert 2, Tanya Adams is back. In addition to the journalists, the film features the characters of Eva, Zofia and the British Prime Minister.

¤ Tanya Adams:

¤ Eva: A liaison officer with certain Miss Moneypenny (James Bond) traits, competing with Tanya to win over the Commander (your character).

¤ Zofia: The Soviet liaison officer whose personality is similar to that of Agent EVA.

¤ British Prime Minister: his character is included as a nod to the ‘Iron Lady’.

¤ and another nod to a ‘historic’ character:

Renegade

In Renegade, there are six female characters of varying importance:

¤ Sakura Obata: A mercenary and Havoc’s (our character) ex-girlfriend, Sakura seems interested only in money.

¤ Sydney Mobius: A scientist and the daughter of Dr Mobius, she has a strong personality… One sometimes wonders whether Havoc (our character) wouldn’t actually prefer to leave her in Nod’s captivity rather than having to rescue her.

¤ Elena Petrova: Westwood turns the conventions on their head by casting a woman in the role of the mad scientist, thereby providing a brilliant twist in the plot of Renegade.

¤ Shai “Hotwire” Aviv, Adriana Maus, Lola Merkova: A member of the Dead-6 Commando unit, an aide-de-camp and a member of the resistance – these three female characters add to the game’s realism.

Generals

In Generals, three female characters appear alongside the journalists: Alexis Alexander (US General), Black Lotus (Chinese Commando) and Leang. The lack of cutscenes in the game and the desire for a high degree of realism mean these three characters are of little interest for this feature. However, it is worth noting that the EA Pacific team chose a woman of Chinese origin (Leang) to be the ‘final boss’ General in the Zero Hour Generals challenge.

In Tiberium Wars, there are four female characters apart from the journalists and the scientist Emel Ibrahiim (the new Doctor Mobius). There is nothing in particular to add about them, other than that Kane seems to surround himself with women and entrusts them with important roles.

¤ Killian Qatar:

¤ Alexa Kovacs:

¤ Sandra Telfair:

¤ Kirce James:

Red Alert 3

In Red Alert 3, there is a host of female characters: EA actually relies heavily on them in the game’s promotion; for example, Natasha appears only very briefly in a single video scene from the game, even though she was thethe subject of 3–4 trailers. Otherwise, the game makes numerous nods to Red Alert 2, such as the same ‘battle’ between Tanya and Eva for the Commander’s favour...

¤ The commandos – Tanya Adams, Natasha Volkova, Yuriko Omega and Izumi.

¤ Liaison officers – Eva McKenna, Dasha Fedorovich, Takara Sato and Kelly Weaver.

¤ The Commanders – Lissette Hanley, Lydia Winters, Zhana Agonskaya, Vera Belova, Naomi Shirada, Suki Toyama.

Tiberium Twilight

Following the madness of Red Alert 3, Command & Conquer: Tiberium Twilight returns to something more realistic with these four female characters: Alyssa, Evelyne Rios, Louise James and Lilly Parker. The development team has, however, broken with convention by giving us a female character: Lilly.

Battlecast PrimeTime

The Battlecast PrimeTime Aftermath programme also played the ‘Babes’ card, with a different co-presenter for Drew in each episode (five episodes in total): Amy, Nathalie, Andrea and Sarah, Arielle, Kristin.