Then two things happened. One, the commando character from C&C, who really only appears in Mission 6, became a kind of cult figure. All he ever said was, "I got a present for ya" and, "that was left handed" but that was enough to capture the imagination of the fans. Behind Kane, however, the Commando was the second most talked about character in the game.

(Here's a little known fact: Frank Klepacki, who has written almost all the music for every Westwood game since 1991, was the voice for the Commando. The guy has an amazing talent for voice acting.)

The second thing that happened was that action games went through a rebirth thanks to games like Doom and Quake and the emergence of 3D acceleration. Finally, the technology existed to truly do a C&C action game justice. We could bring that entire world alive in full three-dimensional splendour. The idea had finally found its opportunity. A small team of programmers started work on a 3D game engine about two and a half years ago. Game designs were written, then rewritten, then rewritten.

The Renegade production team officially came together in full around January of this year. They've been pounding away ever since, creating a world that until now we've only seen from on high, from a satellite's viewpoint. It's incredible to see it all spring to life. The Nod Temple is a huge imposing structure casting a shadow of evil across the landscape. Silos, like giant glass-domed swimming pools, burble with glowing liquefied Tiberium. Gigantic Harvesters trundle across the land, scraping up the toxic mineral.

And there's our Commando, carrying more weapons than a Texas gunshop, ready to battle the sinister forces of Nod. It will be spectacular.