I believe Red Alert is one of the few games of the mid-nineties that stood the test of time and that is still immensely enjoyable so many years after it's release.

Red Alert was released only year after the original C&C, having started out as a expansion pack but somewhere along the line Westwood decided to convert it into a full sequel. This shows because the 2 games have similar game-play, graphics and most of the units in Red Alert are exact copies from C&C. However where Red Alert manages to surpass it's predecessor is with the addition of much more interesting story lines, campaigns with lots of twists and turns, improved cinematic sequences and also a few interesting air and sea units which improves game-play.

The player can choose between the Soviets and Allied campaign, each side have different strengths and weaknesses, requiring the player to adjust his strategy to the suit his side's particular strength and weaknesses. The Soviet units are generally stronger, but more expensive and slower than the Allied units. The Allied units are quicker and cheaper, but lack the firepower of the Soviet units. The game is difficult enough to challenge the casual gamer and keep you entertained for hours without being frustratingly difficult.

An area where I believe the developers got it wrong was with the balance of strengths and weaknesses of the Allied and Soviet sides, the Allied units are simply not cheap nor fast enough to make up for their lack of firepower, a large Soviet tank rush would usually easily wipe their Allied opponents off the map. The dumb AI is also not much of an improvement from the previous game, and is actually quite easy to beat once you've got the hang of the game.

Criticisms aside, If you are a RTS game fan and never got round to play this game (which is highly unlikely) or just want to go for a trip down memory lane, this game will still be worth your money and time.