the real thing." Vince Broady of GameSpot also commented on the saturation of real-time strategy games in the 1996 holiday shopping season and concluded Red Alert to clearly be the best choice. He praised the unit design and variety, particularly that "the units of the two opposing sides aren't mere copies of each other, but instead maintain a sort of karmic balance." Additionally complimenting the level design, cutscenes, graphics, sound effects, and music, he judged that, "Red Alert belongs in the same category as Civilization II and Quake, games that followed legendary predecessors and immediately eclipsed them." In a review for PC Games which was also published in its sister magazine GamePro, Rob Smith summarized, "The new units, the great story, and the variety of mission styles make up for the limited improvement in the A.I." He also noted that the control interface allows players to quickly and easily select units and order them into combat. Command & Conquer won the 1996 Spotlight Award for "Best Strategy/War Game" from the Game Developers Conference. Computer Gaming World gave it the Strategy Game of the Year award (Readers' Choice). The game was a finalist for Computer Gaming Worlds 1996 "Strategy Game of the Year" award, which ultimately went to Civilization II. The PlayStation version was also positively received, but generally not as enthusiastically as the PC original. IGN hailed it as "one of the best PC to PlayStation ports we've ever seen", citing the inclusion of PC version's entire content, the control with the PlayStation Mouse, and the PlayStation Link Cable support. Most reviewers, however, noted that the PlayStation Mouse was difficult to find at this time, and that control with the standard PlayStation controller takes a good deal of time and patience to master. In addition to its being even rarer than the PlayStation Mouse, they noted that the PlayStation Link Cable was not a practical option for most gamers. Some also found this version's inability to save mid-mission to be frustrating. GamePro ultimately recommended it, though only to those for whom the PC version is not an option, citing the addictive gameplay, engaging cutscenes, "both exciting and subtle" music, and improved A.I. over the PC version. GameSpot also recommended it, while advising that it is more of a tweaking and expansion of the original Command & Conquer than a "true sequel". Electronic Gaming Monthlys team of four reviewers all gave