The Halo Wars aren’t the only battles breaking out on the Xbox 360 this year as we prepare ourselves for the arrival of Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars next month.  The battle between the GDI (or Global Defense Initiative) and the Brotherhood of NOD has been raging for years now and ever since we first set an army of mammoth tanks across the battlefield in the PC original all those years back, we’ve been looking forward to Kane’s return.

The first Command & Conquer game was one of the defining strategy games of its day and the futuristic setting allowed for all sorts of crazy units to be born.  While the stars of the GDI arsenal were the nigh-unstoppable mammoth tank and the quick, vehicle-busting Orcas, the NOD forces had flame tanks to dispatch GDI infantry and the mighty Obelisk of Light to take down any unwelcome visitors to their bases.

The third generation of Command & Conquer marks a return for all that you loved about the original game and comes with an all-star cast.  The GDI have the man behind the voice of Sam Fisher and Starship Troopers legend Michael Ironside as well as Billy Dee Williams from Star Wars.  Meanwhile, Kane’s officers include Josh Holloway (or Sawyer from Lost as you may know him) and Tricia Helfer of Battlestar Galactica fame.

For the first time in a Command & Conquer game, Tiberium Wars comes with a third faction to wage war with – the alien Scrin. They’ve come to the planet to harvest the Tiberium that has had the GDI and NOD forces fighting for so long.  With entirely new units and a different style of play, they promise to be a tough new opponent.

One of the best things about C&C 3 comes thanks to the Live Vision Camera. In multiplayer games, you’ll be able to see your opponents streamed through live video feeds as you play.  At the end of a skirmish, the winner will get to show off their victory dance as they are granted 10 seconds of full-screen fame in front of their opposition. See for yourself with the Live Vision trailer out right now on Xbox Live Marketplace, or play the free demo to get a taste of one of the best real-time strategy games in years.

While we wait for Command & Conquer to invade our Xbox 360s, we’re busy saving the world from giant alien bugs and enormous robots in Earth Defence Force 2017.  Available now at a budget price, this sci-fi epic has you fighting off extra terrestrials left, right and centre as you tool up and take on some of the biggest enemies you’ll ever see in a game.  It’s simple fun, but gets more and more addictive as you take on huge creatures and the buildings they choose to crawl over with your trusty arsenal. Watch out for some epic battles here together with some rather unhappy mother ships intent on squashing you like an ant.

By Mark Eveleigh, Xbox.com Editor, Gamertag: Making Sparks