Best strategy (RTS)

[JeanLuc]

I knew my comments wouldn't go down well with some of you but I stand by what I said, the real time battles in Total War are just in a different league to what games like Starcraft can offer. When I first started playing RTS games I always thought developers of these types of games were always aiming to get the genre to the level of intricate detail that Total War offers.

 

[SnareSpectre]

Really depends on what kind of game you're looking for, I think. I played a little bit of Total War and didn't like it at all - for me the appeal of Starcraft is how utterly simple it is with each of the units' abilities, and yet the way they each complement each other is outstanding. Also I've always been more of a fan of close-up units. I'd rather control like 20 units effectively than try to manage hundreds of units. Warcraft 3 was heavy on the micro...I just didn't like how long it took for units to die.

Oh well, the C&C series is decent, loved RA2 but I think RA3 is a little disappointing. Anyone ever played "Armies of Exigo?" It's like the most blatant rip-off of any video game (WC3 in this case) that I've ever seen/played.

 

[SnareSpectre]

Oh and I guess we should, in "memory" of Rob Wright, mention Company of Heroes, because it definitely was a good strategy game. I think on numerous occasions he mentioned that game in ST and here on the forums because he loved it so much. I'm more of a "collect resources, build base, build army, destroy enemy" guy than I am a tactics guy, but that game was still a lot of fun.

 

[tallguy1618]

Company of Heroes is the best RTS out there, no question. You really can't go wrong with CnC either, they're all very fun. Get the first decade (collection of all the originals) over CnC3 or RA3. Tiberian Sun is my favorite out of all of them. As stated earlier, I'm a little biased because the first game I ever played was Dune 2000 (grandfather of CnC), but who cares they're still fun.

 

[mcmonsterkill]

IMO, if you want RTS StarCraft is the only game worth playing. If you want more strategy you should try a turn based game like civilization.

 

[Pershing121]

empires dawn of the modern world for online play, emprie earth 1 for missions.

 

[terr281]

RTS: Starcraft, Age of Empires 1

Turn Based: Railrood Tycoon 1, Master of Orion 2, Galatic Civilizations 2, Civilization 4 CTP (requiring Warlords expansion), Civilization: Call to Power 1 (yes, the Activision ripoff...I liked it)

(Been too long for play time, but good memories playing): Imperium Galatica
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I've been playing games too long I believe... I have the opinion that "the older games were much better."

 

[wh3resmycar]

IMO, if you want RTS StarCraft is the only game worth playing. If you want more strategy you should try a turn based game like civilization.

or he could try a blend of both, total war games.

 

[Scynte]

Civ 4, Total Annihilation, Starcraft or Warcraft...

 

[West1252]

I love World in Conflict, Medeval Total War, and Lord of the Rings II Conquest.

 

[nottheking]

My personal favorite RTS remains StarCraft. Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War is pretty nice as well, as is Age of Empires 2, but I still feel that neither came out as well as StarCraft did. I guess I've not played all that much Supreme Commander, so I'll withhold my opinion on that, though I'll admit I wasn't exactly impressed by its spiritual predecessor, Total Annihilation, so I guess my opinion might be a tad tainted. Sins of a Solar Empire, though... I kinda liked the idea on paper, but IMO, it's far too slow and tedious for an RTS. If I wanted 4X scale, I'd play a 4X game. (and yes, I play a lot of 4X titles; I'm a long-time fan of both the original Master of Orion and Master of Magic)

I had a look on Play.com (the biggest UK online retailer for video games) and the up and coming Empire: Total War is taking more pre orders then ‘Starcraft’ which IMO is little more then a Sci-Fi C&C clone. I’m sure it’s better then C&C but lets face it Starcraft hardly pushes the boundaries of RTS games like Total War does.

Two problems here:
■StarCraft is as much a Command & Conquer clone as C&C is a Dune clone. Also, WarCraft: Humans & Orcs, pre-dated the entire Command & Conquer series.
■The Total War games are NOT RTS titles. They are Real-Time TACTICS titles. There is no actual strategy involved in the real-time portions; in the TW games, you have the turn-based parts outside of battle, which are strategic in scale, while the real-time battles are the tactical portion. I will agree it does this very well, but again, it's a different type of strategy/warfare game, really as distinct as 4X games are.

 

[Guest]

1.LOTR BFME II Hands Down
2.StarCraft
3.AOE II

(AOE III Blows)

 

[Devastator_uk]

-Total Annihilation is abrilliant game, very old but very good gameplay (with the right expansion packs). Don't go for Supreme Commander instead, it's crap.

-AoE II was good too (AoE III was not so good).

-StarCraft has earned it's place in the list too.

-Dawn of War can be fun but not massively stratigic.

-Soldiers: Heroes of WWII is fun too, especially in cooperative multiplayer with 3-4 players.

 

[crusoe74]

Nobody else has mentioned it, but I used to love Rise of Nations, and still play it from time to time.

 

[gamerk316]

After playing for a bit, Sins of a Solar Empire has jumped CoH on my above list. Its like a real time Civilization game...

 

[bonanzaguy]

Hands down: StarCraft.

Rise of Nations was also pretty fun. It's similar to Age of Empires but better.

 

[ApartmentsEstepona]

Anyone who's played a decent amount of starcraft will find no joy in any other RTS out there unfortunately (not even Warcraft 3).

Starcraft 2 we await thee...

 

[ovaltineplease]

Company of Heroes is by far the best RTS released since starcraft.

Theres nothing wrong with Starcraft either, however it doesn't hold a candle to CoH anymore - CoH just has a great deal more depth.

I bet Starcraft 2 and Dawn of War 2 are really going to raise the bar.

 

[Devastator_uk]

Nobody else has mentioned it, but I used to love Rise of Nations, and still play it from time to time.

Forgot about that, was quite good but felt there was something missing.