This is this is the first strategy game I have ever liked that I played, so maybe I'm partial to it ... but I love it!  I don't understand why some  people are so crushed when their "favorite" game series puts out  a bad game.  It's not that big of a deal.  For all you Red Alert buffs, Red  Alert 2 will be out soon so chill out for a minute.  There are a ton of  different strategies to play this game with so it becomes extremely  addictive.  Once you get the basics down ... the sky is pretty much the  limit on strategies you can use so this adds replay value to the game.  It  will definitely keep you busy until the next installment by Westwood.  The  online play is great and easy to use.  I haven't even played the single  player game because I just can't get enough of the online play.  So unlike  the other people who are saying they hate it (but they probably still play  it often), I like it an awful lot.