Back in the day, Red Alert 2 was pretty much the best RTS around, even giving Starcraft's cage a damned good rattle. So we're ridiculously excited to hear that Red Alert 3 is in the pipeline. The game will feature a three-way showdown between the Allies, the Soviets and the Empire of the Rising Sun - or, as we like to call them, Japan.  The game appears to be continuing the Red Alert tradition of chuckle-inducing weaponry, promising such toys as War Blimps, armoured bears, smart dolphins and all the Tesla coil technology you can eat.

If you want to get in on the PC beta, you'll have to get yourself a copy of the upcoming Commander and Conquer 3 expansion, Kane's Wrath. Whether that means the beta code will be packed onto the DVD, or you'll just need a valid serial number to gain access, who knows? Besides, we'd rather just wait for the full game to hit the shelves on the yet-to-be-announced released date. It's slated to appear on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, so we are once again compelled to declare that "RTS games need a mouse and keyboard". Unless, of course, you enjoy group-selecting units with a thumbstick. Showofff.