History VideoGame / CommandAndConquerTiberianSeries

** In-universe, this is the reason GDI switched from walkers to tracked vehicles in ''Tiberium Wars". While the legs offered an advantage on rough terrain, they were also slow on every other type of terrain and an absolute pain to keep maintained. Also, GDI commandos found that they could easily disable the walkers by planting explosives on the joints... and realized that if they could do it, so could Nod.

** In-universe, this is the reason GDI switched from walkers to tracked vehicles in ''Tiberium Wars". While the legs offered an advantage on rough terrain, they were also slow on every other type of terrain and an absolute pain to keep maintained. Also, GDI commandos found that they could easily disable the walkers by planting explosives on the joints... and realized that if they could do it, so could NOD.

There is an upcoming game released for mobile phones called ''Command & Conquer: Rivals,'' set between 3 and 4.

* GotTheWholeWorldInMyHand: The Hand of Nod (in all but ''Tiberian Sun'' incarnations), the Brotherhood's infantry-producing structure, takes the form of a giant metal hand usually clutching a globe.

* JokerInmunity: Kane survives from the 1950s to the 1990s without aging, survives an Ion Cannon strike, a metal pole to the chest, and all the while manipulates the Scrin into invading Earth. He never stays dead for long, which his followers take as proof of his divinity. Even after the series' end a news report shows how people are unconvinced he's gone for good.

* StrangeBedfellows: GDI and Nod team up in ''Firestorm'' to fight CABAL, and briefly team up in ''Tiberium Wars'' to hold off the Scrin.

** The original Commando unit is basically "Macho Man" RandySavage with a headband and high-powered rifle, leaving a trail of demolished buildings and slaughtered infantry in his wake... and [[IAmNotLeftHanded that was left-handed]]. [[CripplingOverspecialization Just don't ask him to deal with vehicles]].

** There are ''many'' references in the series to [[Literature/TheBible Biblical lore]], most obviously the BiblicalBadGuy Kane/Cain. Then there's the Brotherhood of Nod itself, referring to the Land of Nod where Cain and his descendants were forced to live after the murder of his brother; Seth, Cain and Abel's brother; Kane as a MessianicArchetype; referring to the followers of Nod as "the chosen people"; and others. Kane's speech at the end of ''Tiberian Sun'' where he declares Tiberium to be "the way and the life" almost directly mirrors one of {{Jesus}}'s statements: "I am the truth and the way and the life".

* CrystalLandscape: Tiberium fields. In ''Tiberium Wars'', whole countries are covered in the stuff.

The first game, later given the subtitle '''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianDawn Tiberian Dawn]]''', was set TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture with a smattering of sci-fi elements such as alien crystals, stealth technology, and orbital lasers. A terrorist organization operating from various Third World nations known as the Brotherhood of Nod harnesses the power of Tiberium to challenge the rest of the world on equal footing, under the leadership of the charismatic and enigmatic Kane. The UN-backed Global Defense Initiative, a military coalition dedicated to restoring order and containing the spread of Tiberium, manages to hold the line and defeat Nod, killing Kane in the process. The game was followed by a plot-free expansion pack, ''The Covert Operations'', a multiplayer-only sequel named ''Sole Survivor'', and '''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRenegade Renegade]]''', an FPS that boasts an active modding community and a small but dedicated fanbase.

'''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSun Tiberian Sun]]''', the second installment in the series, is set in 2030. Tiberium is now spreading unchecked, forcing humanity to flee to the arctic or desert regions that can at least slow the substance's progress. As governments break down and GDI does its best to bring order from the chaos, Kane [[NotQuiteDead reappears]] to lead a reunified and invigorated Nod into battle once more. A crashed alien spaceship and an extraterrestrial artifact called the Tacitus hint at a larger purpose behind Tiberium, but ultimately Kane's attempt to use a missile to increase Tiberium's spread is thwarted with the man's death (again). The game was followed by the ''Firestorm'' expansion, in which Nod's battle AI, [=CABAL=], revolts and leads a cyborg uprising, forcing GDI and the remnants of Nod to unite to defeat him.

'''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberiumWars Tiberium Wars]]''' is set seventeen years later in a starkly stratified world. GDI has succeeded in containing Tiberium in areas dubbed Blue Zones, which are bastions of civilization and relative paradises compared to the rest of the planet. Yellow Zones are lawless wastelands where daily life is a struggle and Nod is seen as the last hope of the common man. Red Zones, meanwhile, have been wholly xenoformed by Tiberium and are stormwracked hells lethal to humans. Kane reemerges once more to launch a surprise attack on a complacent GDI, whose retaliation has an unintended side effect - an alien race called the Scrin suddenly invades, seeking to harvest Earth's Tiberium bounty. The aliens are narrowly driven off, while Kane succeeds in his plan to acquire their technology. An expansion pack, ''Kane's Wrath'', introduced sub-factions to the three sides and had a Nod-centric campaign telling the story between ''Firestorm'' and ''Tiberium Wars'', and what came after. It also details Kane's reacquisition of the Tacitus artifact from GDI, who had taken possession of it in ''Tiberian Sun''.

The fourth and final installment, '''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianTwilight Tiberian Twilight]]''', is set in 2077. In the aftermath of the Third Tiberium War, the alien crystal mutates and becomes almost impossible to stop. Faced with human extinction, Kane and GDI struck an unholy alliance to build a "Tiberium Control Network", using information from Kane's Tacitus. Though this brings about an uneasy peace, contains Tiberium's spread and begins a new stage of harnessing its potential, GDI reactionaries and Nod separatists once more plunge the world into conflict. The story ends with a triumphant Kane finally achieving his millenia-old ambitions and the Tiberium menace ended once and for all.

* IAmNotLeftHanded: But the commandos shoot with that arm anyway, being BadAss and all. Referenced in ''Renegade'', when asked if he's gonna fight against the whole ship's crew all by himself, Havoc casually replies, "Just don't seem fair, does it? Maybe I'll shoot left-handed."

* ContractualImmortality: Kane never stays dead for long, which his followers take as proof of his divinity. Even after the series' end a news report shows how people are unconvinced he's gone for good.

* {{Badass}}: Commandos in all games.
** The original Commando unit is basically "Macho Man" RandySavage with a headband and high-powered rifle, [[OneManArmy leaving a trail of demolished buildings and slaughtered infantry in his wake]]... and [[IAmNotLeftHanded that was left-handed]]. [[CripplingOverspecialization Just don't ask him to deal with vehicles]].
** In Tiberian Sun both sides get a Commando-like character (Ghost Stalker for GDI, the Cyborg Commando for Nod), both of whom annihilate anything that isn't airborne, and regenerate health in tiberium.
** The ''Tiberium Wars'' versions lose their anti-vehicle strength, but are still deadly against infantry and buildings. Nod's one is also ''stealthed''. It carries over to the other games as well; basically, there's very little that can stand against a heroic Commando in ''C&C3''... and the Black Hand can train ''two'' of them at once.
** Havoc, the OneManArmy player character from ''Renegade''.

* ThemedCursor: When you have an unit selected, your cursor becomes a sonar-like pattern when hovering over passable terrain, a "no" symbol when over impassable terrain and a crosshair when over enemies.

The ''Tiberium'' saga is the "main" ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' series, the continuation of the story introduced in 1995 involving the multinational Global Defense Initiative, the shadowy Brotherhood of Nod, and an alien substance known as Tiberium, which arrived to Earth in a meteor crash in Italy, 1995, and began spreading throughout the world; it's rich energy properties and ability to leech minerals out of the ground make it a highly valuable asset.

** The ''Tiberium'' saga's signature Mammoth Tanks are typically a waste of time and resources better spent on smaller, more cost-effective tanks.

* MobileFactory: The Mobile Construction Vehicle from ''DuneII'' was imported to the series. The Expansion Pack for the second game also added a Mobile War Factory to both factions. This was finally taken to a conclusion in ''Tiberian Twilight'', where the entire base became a mobile factory.

* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy / HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Yeah, so, the Black Hand, Nod's elite special forces group? They're most likely the same Black Hand that had [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne Archduke Franz Ferdinand]] assassinated. The Brotherhood itself claims to be around since the dawn of makind itself (which is actually plausible).

* ColdSniper:
** Umagon in ''Tiberian Sun''.
** Sakura and Hotwire in ''Renegade''. Sydney Mobius to a lesser extent.
** Nod's commando in ''Tiberium Wars''.

* GreenRocks: Tiberium, one of the original [[TropeCodifier Green Rocks]], is a particularly nightmarish example. For one thing, it can turn ''you'' into a green rock if you get too close.

** In ''Tiberian Sun''' Umagon