• Same game engine used to make Tiberian Sun, only in a lighter version to allow for fast-paced, in your face gaming action. Deformable terrain has been taken out.
• Larger maps than in Tiberian Sun.
• Many new units and structures added, along with numerous upgrades to some of the originals in Red Alert.
• Fight in the air, on the land, and in the sea.
• Multi-player support for up to 4 players via modem or 8 on lan connections.
• All new multi-player modes.
• Save feature in skirmish mode against the AI.
• Defend the United States against Soviet aggression with all new missions and storyline. You'll be playing missions in Washington, D.C., Chicago, New York City, the Florida Keys, Pearl Harbor, even Ohio. But there are global missions too. 
• Larger, more detailed units than in any previous Westwood RTS games. Units are 20-30% larger than previous CnC games.
• Infantry can garrison inside buildings now, making them much more powerful when under attack and less vulnerable.
• Interface sidebar now enhanced with tabs to help organize buildings, vehicles, infantry, etc.
• Queuing of units now possible.
• Planning mode where players can synchronize multi-pronged attacks on enemy bases.
• Unusually powerful weapons that add intensity to the game play.
• Support for resolutions of 800x600 up to 1024x768.

Air War: Similar to Naval War above but involves primarily air units.

Land War: Basic land war, very little ocean available if any.

Nuke War: All players have access to all super weapons but not to many other powerful units. A more realistic cold war that doesn't heat up, but rather, it melts down.

Meat Grinder: Only low tech stuff like infantry and tanks are available with this multiplayer mode. For those who want to relive the good old days of the original Red Alert!

Mega Wealth: Grab the Oil Derricks instead of harvesting for ore.

Co Op: Play through some simple AI games with a friend.

Global Domination: Players logged into Westwood Online will be able to participate in an ongoing struggle for control of a continent. This online feature was first introduced with the add-on mission pack Tiberian Sun:Firestorm.