Over the next three days, we'll introduce you to the factions from Red Alert 3, the upcoming alternate history real time strategy game in which Einstein went back in history and assassinated Hitler. Or some such thing. I'm a bit fuzzy on the details. The main point is that it's World War II minus Nazis, but with Tesla Coils.

For each faction, we'll break down how their base building works, and then we'll detail their infantry, vehicles, aircraft, ships, special powers called "protocols", and superweapons. Up today are the Allies. Come back tomorrow for an introduction to the Soviets, and on Wednesday for the debut of the new Japanese faction.

After the jump, meet the Allies.

Buildings
Allied base building is very Command & Conquer 3. Just order a building from the Construction Yard, then place it when it's ready. You can only place buildings within your area of control. To extend your area of control, you have to send out and deploy an expensive Prospector that would normally be carrying ore to your refinery.

Infantry
The Attack Dog has an Amplified Bark that stuns nearby enemy infantry. He's your basic cheap scout.

The Peacekeeper can toggle between a riot shield for heavy defense and a shotgun for heavy offense. A Peacekeeper with his shield up can't return fire and he moves so slowly that he won't get anywhere until Christmas.

The Javelin Soldier's missile toggles between self-guided for faster firing and laser-guided for greater damage.

In addition to capturing buildings and neutral locations, the Engineer can convert himself into a first-aid tent to heal friendly infantry units. At last these guys have something to do when you include them with your army.

By "attacking" an enemy unit, the Spy can disguise himself as that unit (beware enemy scouts, who see through the disguise). He can also bribe enemies and infiltrate buildings, which has various effects depending on the building.

Tanya is the Allied commando unit, very expensive but very powerful. Her time belt lets her rewind time a few seconds. I'm completely clueless as to how this is supposed to be useful, but someone should introduce her to Tim from Braid.

Vehicles
The amphibious Riptide ACV is good against infantry and ships, and it's how the Allies transport infantry over water.

The Multigunner IFV counters aircraft, but it can also carry a single infantry unit that will give it a special ability. For instance, sit an Attack Dog in the passenger seat and the IFV mounts speakers that radiate infantry-stunning dog barking sound waves.

The Guardian Tank can toggle between its main gun and a target painting laser than weakens enemy units.

The Athena Cannon fires an array of tracking lasers that call down an orbital bombardment especially effective against buildings. It's basically an artillery unit with a clever variation on the usual "lob a shell" animation. It can also fire off a temporary energy shield that protects nearby units from incoming fire.

A Mirage Tank looks like a tree when it's not moving. Alternatively, you can toggle on its Gap Generator, which cloaks nearby units. Beware the apparent lone incoming Mirage Tank.

Aircraft
The Vindicator is a ground attack aircraft that drops two bombs before heading home.

The Apollo Fighter is a dedicated anti-aircraft jet.

The Cryptocopter is a weird little fellow whose freeze beam doesn't seem very effective. However, you can't beat his Shrink Beam, which reduces units to tiny squeaking versions of themselves. Best shrink ray since Duke Nukem 3D!

The Century Bomber isn't just a strategic base-buster. While it's parked at an Airbase, you can load up ten infantry units who can be paradropped wherever you want them.

Ships
The Dolphin's sonic attack is effective against ships. It can also do a High Jump. As near as I can tell, this is only useful for impressing crowds at Sea World.

The Hydrofoil can toggle between its anti-air guns or a weapon jammer that locks down a single target and keeps it from firing. An excellent way to annoy your opponent by rendering his expensive ships useless.

Assault Destroyers can crawl out of the water to join armies. Activate their Black Hole armor to draw incoming fire, letting them "tank" for more frail units.

The Allied Aircraft Carrier is a powerful standoff unit that launches a continual supply of ground attack aircraft. It also has a Blackout Missile that can shut down power in a small area.

Protocols
As a game progresses, and especially as you fight battles, you earn points you can spend on protocols unique to each factions. Every protocol costs only a single point, but they're arranged in three branches of five protocols. In each branch, you have to purchase the first protocol before the second is available, and so on. Following are the three "branches" for the Allies:

Advanced Aeronautics improves Allied aircraft. The Surgical Strike calls in a precision bomber. Three stages of Time Bomb drop increasingly powerful packages at the target point that will explode after a countdown timer expire.

The Surveillance Sweep sends jets in a straight line, uncovering the fog of war (perfect for then dropping another protocol power). The Chrono Rift, then Chasm, then Fissure causes units in a small area to simply disappear for a while. Free Trade improves the efficiency of harvesting resources.

High Technology powers up the Attack Dog's bark, the Guardian Tank's laser painter, the Cryocopter's Shrink Beam, and the Aircraft Carrier's Blackout Missile. The Chrono Swap instantly exchanges the place of any two of your units. The Cryoshot, the Cryoblast, then Cryogeddon protocols freeze units and buildings in an area, making them more vulnerable to damage.

Superweapon
The Allied Chronosphere teleports units anywhere on the map. It's lethal to infantry, so make sure they're comfortably seated inside Riptide AFVs for sending them on a trip.