"I can't build the Ion Cannon... I need to buy the full game immediately."
Only for historical curiosity. The full game is available on Steam (as part of the C&C Remastered Collection ). However, if you want to feel what 1995 felt like—the click of a mechanical mouse, the whir of a CD-ROM, and the shock of seeing live actors in a strategy game—find this demo.
Frank Klepacki’s industrial rock/metal soundtrack is legendary. Hearing "Act on Instinct" kick in as your Light Tanks rolled into a Nod base was pure adrenaline. The demo had the best tracks.
The demo often locked the Advanced Communication Center and the Ion Cannon. You could see the button, but you couldn't press it. That grayed-out Ion Cannon icon taunted a generation of kids.