China

China
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Game(s) or modification(s)	Command & Conquer: Generals series
Combat style	Brute force, large numbers
Faction colour	Red

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China, in full the Chinese People's Liberation Army, is a playable faction in Command & Conquer: Generals and Command & Conquer: Generals - Zero Hour. The fictional side in the game is based on a futuristic version of the real-world People's Republic of China.

Gameplay Style

The Chinese army uses vast hordes of cheap and mass produced units to defeat their enemies. China's tactics can perhaps best be described as a 'steamroller doctrine'; it matters not if one unit dies in a Chinese army, because there are always more to take its place on the front line. Fielding the largest individual ground and air units China can brute force most opposition; this coupled with heavy artillery such as the slow and fragile but powerful Nuke Cannon makes any well formed Chinese army a sight to behold. China rewards a player for playing to its strengths of massing units with the Horde bonus; when a group of five or more of China's most common units (such as the Red Guard, Tank Hunter and Battlemaster) is formed, the units become 'more than the sum of their parts' in that as long as they stay in close proximity to each other, their firing rate will be increased. China also uses Propaganda to provide the game's only area-of-effect friendly buff power; units in range of a Speaker Tower, either the structure or built on an Overlord, will both fire faster and also heal themselves, providing invaluable support to a Chinese force.

China is also the only side to utilise nuclear technology. Their power is provided by Nuclear Reactors, which are initially more expensive but also produce twice as much power as the basic United States Cold Fusion Reactor, but are volatile when destroyed. China also utilises the tactical nuclear warhead firing Nuke Cannon as one of its iconic units, and its superweapon is the Nuclear Missile, which does the most damage of all the superweapons but all in a single hit, meaning that it does not destroy GLA Holes. All nuclear effects will leave a patch of radiation in their wake, which is lethal to infantry of any kind and will also destroy vehicles over time.

Iconic Units

Red Guard

Built in pairs for a price only very slightly higher than that of a single one of the basic infantry of either the USA or GLA, China's Red Guards epitomise the massive manpower that the People's Liberation Army draws on. Armed with a simple bolt-action rifle they are surprisingly lethal to enemy infantry, especially in groups, where they gain Horde bonuses which increase their rate of fire to quickly produce fusillades of fire. Easily massed in huge numbers for a bargain-basement price, Red Guards overwhelm positions with sheer numbers, providing a 'cannon fodder' shield. They also capture buildings as with any other basic infantry unit.

Overlord

The Overlord is the largest tank fielded by any side in the Generals conflict. This dual barrelled behemoth can literally roll over other tanks, crushing them under its tracks, and be upgraded with several add-ons, built on its turret. The player can, for a price, choose from a Gatling Cannon, which provides lethal anti-infantry and anti-air firepower; a propaganda speaker tower which heals nearby units; and a bunker with space for up to five infantry, who can engage the enemy with fireports. In this respect the Overlord represents effectively the only unit in Generals which is effective against all counters; Gatling Cannon-equipped models can chew through rocket infantry and make life difficult for attacking aircraft while Propaganda Towers provide healing and rate of fire improvements on the move. However, as a late-game unit, their hefty price and tech requirements make spamming of Overlords an impossible proposition in most games.

Overlords continue the tradition of large, double-barrelled heavy tanks in the Command & Conquer series, being analogous to the GDI's Mammoth Tank from the all games set in the Tiberium universe and the Soviet one from the original Red Alert, and the Soviet Apocalypse Tank from Red Alert 2 and Red Alert 3.

Nuke Cannon

The Nuke Cannon is the most powerful artillery piece in Generals, launching an unstoppable tactical nuclear shell from extreme range. Expensive, slow moving and thinly armoured, the Nuke Cannon should be escorted by a number of other units to prevent loss of this unit. If however it gets an enemy in its considerable range destruction is sure to follow; only a handful of shots are required to deal with any defence structure, and the shell's massive power and considerable area of effect ensure that infantry are literally sent flying, while all but the fastest tanks are sure to suffer some damage as well. As with the Overlord, the Nuke Cannon is a costly late-game unit, albeit one that requires considerably more skill to utilise correctly.

As a trivia note the Nuke Cannon is directly based on the real-life M65 'Atomic Annie', a United States large-calibre gun from which the first tests of shell-fired nuclear devices were conducted in the 1950s. Its cameo consists of a photo from the test in question, Upshot-Knothole.

Black Lotus

Black Lotus (aka Lotus) is an elite hacker for the Chinese forces. She has a number of skills including the ability to capture buildings from range, thus negating mines, disabling vehicles and buildings, and stealing funds from enemy supply depots. Like all heroes Black Lotus is stealthed, and can also detect stealth units. Black Lotus features in the Chinese campaign. Black Lotus is unique among the heroes of the three sides in that she is completely unarmed save for her laptop; however, in the hands of a skilled player she can be among the most devastating of all heroes, infiltrating the back of an enemy player's base unseen and swiftly capturing vital buildings, which are most often subsequently quickly sold to provide a player with easy cash and no chance for their recapture by the enemy.

Weaknesses

China has only a basic air force consisting of the napalm-equipped MiG fighter, meaning they cannot compete with the United States of America in the air, nor can they match the speed of the Global Liberation Army which leaves them vulnerable to hit and run tactics. China also lacks the scouting ability of the other two sides, with no reconnaissance power available and no dedicated scouting units. Zero Hour remedies both of these drawbacks somewhat by providing surveillance from Internet Centres and the Listening Outpost unit, as well as the powerful Helix helicopter.