The contest has ended, and the winners are posted below along with their winning essays.

Contest Prizes:

• FIRST PLACE - RA3 Prima Game Guide, Red Alert 2 special Collector's Edition game, RA2 Prima Strategy Guide.

• SECOND PLACE - One copy of RA3 Prima Game Guide.

• THIRD PLACE - One copy of RA3 Prima Game Guide.

Rob D., USA  (1st place winner)

The entire Red Alert Universe delivers unparalleled RTS game play that has kept me "glued" to the seat of my computer chair for the past decade. RA's alternate-universe take on RTS warfare is the fabric that holds the entire RA universe together. Combine this with the campy and sometimes cheesy FMVs and RA really separates itself from other games in the genre, and you have a "feel good" RTS series you can really connect with. From Cybernetic dogs to Tanya, the RA universe delivers in terms of gameplay, story, strategy, and FUN! Red Alert was the first RTS game we used for LAN parties at school.

As a noob player, back in the day, I really appreciated the Prima strategy guides to help me through those "difficult" missions. Heck, I even used the strategy guides as "intel" to plan my attacks for each mission. Red Alert brings back fond memories of days gone by when computer hardware was lame and expensive and the graphics weren't all that great, but the gameplay was as addicting as an illegal drug and the local pizzerias were doing well, especially with their late night deliveries. Yes Virginia, there's a lot to love in the RA universe and RA 3 adds another jewel in EA's crown as one of the gaming developer's RTS leaders!

Ben S., UK   (2nd place winner)

Why do I love the Red Alert universe? I love it because it broke rules. It strove to be what other's were not, and to redefine the real-time strategy genre. From it's beginnings, it wove a deft story; it's developer's saw the project as not a money-spinner, but as close as they could reach to a true work of fiction in the games industry.

In a system where games had always been seen as sideshows to “classier” forms of entertainment such as film and novels, Westwood Studios made a game with acted, and at least passably written live-action sequences, and set a new standard for game producers. Perhaps it was Red Alert's attention to detail and awesome filmography which inspired Konami to create Metal Gear Solid, a game that felt almost like a film in it's playing...

Where other real-time strategies had felt repetitive, following either clichéd themes of aliens or world wars, Red Alert created it's own timeline, with M.A.D tanks and Chronospheres, and produced a fresh experience from the oh-so-often miry swamp of games production. It took basic decisions from the genius of Command and Conquer, such as having left click as an order control, and added to them the spice of a world which felt just close enough to home to give a real tingle of familiarity as you played, while still giving you the thrill of wielding zany technology, and the grins of a just so tongue-in-cheek storyline.

Red Alert was what I grew up with. It was the flesh on the bones of video games, and it gave me some awesome times with cousins and friends alike, as we wasted many an hour blasting commie swine into dust, or grinding puny ore miners beneath the merciless rain of Kirov Airships. Red Alert knew no bounds in searching for perfection, and it constantly delivered the definitive experience in quality gaming.

Chris D., USA  (3rd place winner)

I was first introduced to Command and Conquer a few years ago with Red Alert: Retaliation on the Playstation. It was totally different than anything I had ever seen before, and I fell in love with it. A friend and I spent hours playing multiplayer battles with kick-ass units like Tesla tanks, M.A.D. tanks, and Chronotanks. Red Alert 1 gave me all of this weird technology to use, and that made it totally awesome. For some reason, I loved watching a Tesla Coil fry some pathetic infantry unit an saying "Dude, you just got owned!"

Some time later I found Red Alert 2, and it remains my favorite game to this day. I loved all the wacky new units it gave me, and the fast paced nature of the game. I also liked how it didn't take itself too seriously. The atmosphere of the game is almost like "Hey, the Soviets are invading. Should we do something about it?" It was also unpredictable. You could be winning for a good part of a match, only to find 20 or so Kirovs laying waste to your base. The explosions were awesome, too (especially the Nuke). My favorite end-game strategy was to totally destroy my opponent, then drop a superweapon on his last remaining Powerplant or Refinery, just to let him know he was beaten.

Red Alert 3 was both an improvement and somewhat of a disappointment to me. I love the new units and gameplay, which is better than the earlier Red Alert games. The problem is, EA tried to re-create Red Alert 2's atmosphere, and failed. It's a great game in itself, but cannot compete with Red Alert 2.

I've played all of the Command and Conquer games, and the Red Alert Universe is by far my favorite of them, because the Tiberium Universe is way too serious, and Generals needs a better story (though it does have excellent gameplay).