Mind control is exercising influence over the will of another; in effect turning an enemy unit into a puppet of your forces. While this ability is associated with psychic powers (which was until recently was considered fanciful), mental conditioning or chemicals can also subvert units.
In the Command & Conquer series, mind control abilities appeared in the Tiberium and Red Alert universes.
Tiberium universe
The Brotherhood of Nod excelled in eluding their enemies, extracting information and persuading the masses. However, it was not until the Second Tiberium War that they would develop weaponry that would, at least temporarily, directly submit enemies to their will. Their toxin soldiers fired darts with psychotropic agents, which were used upon civilians to lure Tiberium lifeforms from the so-called Genesis Pit to a Global Defense Initiative base to destroy it.
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The following is based on the Nod campaign of Tiberian Sun and might contradict canon. |
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In the non-canon timeline, toxin soldiers used these weapons to capture Jake McNeil and bring him to Oxanna Kristos for interrogation.
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End of information based on the Nod campaign for Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun. |
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By the time of the Third Tiberium War, the Scrin were able to completely and permanently control the minds of their targets. Their special commandos, dubbed Masterminds, could control a single unit or structure and retreat to a safe distance. The Traveler-59 sect perfected this ability, with their mutated human cultists able to do the same (albeit only with non-Epic units), and prodigies also possessing the ability to control multiple targets in a small area for a short duration of time.
The Brotherhood of Nod still resorted to temporary measures, such as hallucinogenic grenades thrown by Confessors and the Rage Generator attached to Redeemers, which caused enemy forces to temporarily see their comrades as enemies and fire upon them.
No mind control abilities were seen during the Ascension Conflict.
Red Alert universe
Under the rule of Joseph Stalin, the Psychic Corps was formed. This secret branch of the Soviet armed forces was led by the man known only as Yuri, who developed mind control technologies such as the headpieces used by himself and Psi-Corps troopers, and mass control devices like the psychic beacon, psychic amplifier and Psychic Dominator. After the Soviet Union was defeated in the first iteration of the Third World War, Yuri used his own secret army to control the world. In the second iteration of the war caused by time travel, his plans were exposed and he was forced to fight on his own earlier than expected. Still, almost all the mind control technologies he had previously designed were available to him. Despite this, he was defeated, with the Allies placing him in a unique chamber which blocked his personal mind control powers, guarded by soldiers with headpieces presumably protecting them from this as well.
When the timeline was altered again, mind control abilities were not seen in major conflicts. However, the Japanese supersoldier program gave its subjects immense psionic powers, including mind control. Yuriko Omega made use of this power in her escape from the Shiro Sanitarium. Despite this, she was given a psychic dampener which, among else, prevented her from controlling minds.
Gameplay
Red Alert Universe
Red Alert 2 is the first game to introduce mind-control as a game mechanic. When a unit is mind-controlled, its color scheme switches to that of the controlling faction. The mind-controlled unit will have rippling concentric circles above the voxel, and when selected there is an arc connecting the controlled unit to the entity that it's controlled by. The commander can give the commands to the mind-controlled unit until the source unit/structure has been eliminated, in which it will return the unit back to its original owner. Most units only mind-control one unit at a time.
When a unit is mind-controlled, a pulsing sound is played. When a unit is freed from it, a ringing noise is played.
Tiberium Universe
Tiberium Wars & Kane's Wrath
Tiberium Wars is the next game to utilize the concept of mind control after Red Alert 2. However, the system experienced some changes - far fewer units are capable of utilizing it, and it is relegated to being a unit ability, and is thus subject to a cooldown. This means that such units can control enemies at slower intervals than their Red Alert 2 counterparts (whose main attack was replaced with the control ability). Additionally, these abilities are almost only found on the Scrin's commando units, which makes this weapon a rare (but still dangerous) sight to behold. Like in Red Alert 2, however, if either a controlled unit or the controlling unit is selected by any player, an arc will appear which indicates the unit on the other end of the connection. Additionally, as with normal mind-control rules, the unit will be released if the controller is killed. Standard immunity rules apply; commando units (and their newly introduced vehicular counterparts, Epic units) were immune to the effect, at least in theory, though the reality is slightly different due to a coding oversight.
The Brotherhood of Nod's hallucinogenic grenades and their advanced Rage Generator could be called a form a mind control, as it warped the minds of their enemies to the commander's advantage, though these abilities did not actually afford any control over the affected units. Additionally, personnel within structures were immune to the effects of these weapons (as were vehicle crews to the hallucinogenic grenades).
List of Mind Control Technologies
Tiberium Universe
Tiberian Sun
Tiberium Wars
- Mastermind - Can mind-control structures.
Kane's Wrath
Red Alert Universe
Red Alert 2
- Psi-Corps trooper - Can mind-control units.
- Psi commando - Can mind-control units.
- Yuri Prime - Can mind-control units and structures.
- Psychic beacon - Can mind-control over a large area. Campaign only.
- Psychic amplifier - Can mind-control over a massive area. Campaign only.
Yuri's Revenge
- Yuri clone - Can mind-control units.
- Yuri Prime - Can mind-control structures.
- Mastermind - Can safely mind-control 3 units.
- Psychic tower - Max 3 units.
- Psychic dominator - Max 9 units in a 3x3. Units cannot be liberated from a Psychic dominator's mind-control.
Uprising
- Yuriko Omega (mini-campaign only)
Cut content
Trivia
- In the Generals universe, China was to have access to the Defector support power, which can convert units controlled by opponents, in a similar vein to mind control and the Spy's bribe ability in Red Alert 3. However, the POW system associated with its activation was extremely difficult to implement and it was cut.
- It can still be re-implemented into a faction via proper INI editing.
- If a unit is mind-controlled by another player, the unit will become neutral if it is released after the original owner has been defeated. This is typically the only way neutral units can be seen in normal skirmishes.