Ok, well over the last year or so I've been all about RTS's. Gaming seems to go with one genre for a few years, for the longest time I can remember PC gaming was all about FPS's with Quake, Doom, Unreal Tournament and Call of Duty, but recentally its been all about RTS's. So here's my list of most played and most loved RTS games.
5. Starcraft
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Now this dosn't go very high on my list for a number of reasons. Back in the day when this launched, and even with the launch of Brood War I never played SC. I'd heard of it but was too busy in FPS's and any RTS game I played was one of the many C&C games from Westwood. But with the recent anoucement of SC2, and the hype arround it I deceded to download SC and Brood War from the Blizzard store and have been playing through the single player. This was where I discovered that I'm really not about the single player RTS experiance anymore. While the single player missions where pretty good, pretty hard and long with the story being told with cut scenes and ingame voice over aswell as the breifing room I really just didn't care all that much and just wanted to see what crazy shit I could build. I tried the skirmish to try and check out the tech tree of each race, and it just was impossible for a n00b SC player to get anywhere as the AI will apprentally only attack you, and rush you at the soonest possible moment, which ends up being a very frustrating experiance. I've not played it online becasue without any friends that play it, I cant imagin I will do much better.
4. Command & Conqure 2: Tiberan Sun
This is again a pretty old game, but is one of the best RTS's out there, this shows off what Westwood could really do. Not only did they build on C&C1 they added countless new units and structures and the graphial jump was huge (although granted it was relised along time after C&C1). Its maps where huge and had bigger battles that alot of current RTS's have. Its one of the best looking 2D RTS's to date.
3. Dawn of War
Ok, I'm not a fan of DoW2 but DoW is one of the most fun RTS's out there. Its mechianic of capturing nodes was pretty fun and can be very fast paced. It also had a very low camera which meant it was very easy to micro manage huge forces in intence battles. Its also one of the best games to use races from Games Workshop which when I was a lad was all I cared about (sisters of battle hell yeah!). It even had an army painter which allowed you to make your side have the most repulsive battle colours, which was really... very cool.
2. Demigod
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This game rocks. It would be number one if it had more support. Yeah I know thats a little unfair as its a brand new IP from a company with a small gaming history but thats just how it is. This took the idea of DoTA and made it AWSOME. Every game is like an entire game of Diablo, but with co-op. AWSOME! I also love the fact that the game comes DRM free, and then when I got the Retail and download version of the game I got 2 serial keys so I can give it to a friend if I wanted! And I've not even mentioned the best bit... you can play as a massive upgradable castle with legs that can absorb buildings and thats armed with a massive hammer of dsetruction, a catapult, a light tower and a shoulder full of archers!..... AWSOME!
1. Red Alert 3
At first, I didn't like RA3 at all, infact I hated it and I hated EA for killing Westwood studios. But, the more and more I played it online co-op or 'deathmatches' the more I loved it. You really have to let it grown on you before you'll get it, and even more so if you liked RA2 (which I did, alot). EA and whats left of Westwood really have taken Red Alert where it needed to go, and instead of it being a C&C3 clone with diffrent units its a totally diffrent game thats heavily focused on the micro and small scale battles. But, if your handly with your reasouse managment you can still achive massive armies. Not only this but EA actually seem to give a shit about support, which from what I can tell, is a 1st! Who knows what the future brings for RA3, all I know is they keep making it more and more ballanced and keep on updating the C&C site, which is all good as far as I'm consered.
1. Rise of Nations
2. Sins of a Solar Empire
3. Age of Empires 3
4. Rise of Legends
5. Red Alert 2
Top 5
Honorable Mention:
(Note: I am only including "pure" RTS's on the list. Otherwise, you would see games like Demigod, Overlord, Dungeon Keeper 1 & 2, Startopia, Pax Imperia: Eminent Domain, and more...)
I still think the first KOHAN w/expansion is the best. Competitive AI, random expansion, clean interface. But then again I prefer to play co-op with friends rather than multiplayer death matches in RTS. I love DemiGod and play exclusively online but I don't consider it a RTS by convential standards.
1. Sins of a Solar Empire (and Entenchment)
2. Age of Empires 2 (and the Conquerers expansion)
3. Star Wars: Empire at War (and Forces of Corruption)
4. Rise of Nations
1. Supreme Commander - Forged Alliance
2. Total Annihilation
3. Dawn of War 2
4. Age of empires 2
Well if demigod counts as an RTS to you, I guess I shoulda put it in there as first or second, but oh well.
makes me sad to not see more people with TA and supcom at the top of this list
I can't play any RTS now that doesn't have strategic zoom. I only play TA occasionally because its still cool and hilarious to play on a lan with friends who don't have gaming computers.
I do like dawn of war 2 though, even if i do constantly keep trying to zoom out haha.
1. Homeworld
2. Homeworld Cataclysm
3. Men of War
4. Men of War
5. Men of War
....seriously...I am not playing anything other than Men of War at the moment. Please check the thread I created about Men of War here for a link to an in-depth review of the game by Tactical Gamer.
1. Supreme Commander FA
By far one of the greatest true RTS games I have ever played. The scope and scalablity of it is amazing. The bugs are actually surprisingly minimum, especially compared to many other games.
I thank this game everytime I hear Starcraft. This is what made RTS games great for me. It went away from the norm and is still an amazing piece of work. Unfortunately there are many unbalances to make competitive multiplayer a bit less fun. But no other game has created that sense of war as TA has. The number of modded units and total converstions is staggering as well. Not to mention the 5k and 50k unit limits that will almost run on modern computers now.
3. Homeworld (all)
The first fluid 3D space game that I know of and have played. I love being able to build on the run and attack from any direction. The campaign was very nice too.
4. Metal Fatigue
Who wouldn't love building customized giant mecha and sending them on a rampage across the map. Did I hear buzzsaws and jetpacks...yes and very yes. The ability to play on 3 seperate fields was also pretty interesting and enjoyable.
5. Earth 2160 series
Thinking about, I like the Earth 2160 series more than C&C. It had a lot of micro but it was slow well thought out micro. Where you could customize every single unit and building to have just what you needed for whatever role it was filling. Needed a radar jamming rocket bot? Just use a larger chassis with 2 weapon slots. Want shields? Just add those too. The terrain deformation is also unparalleled as far as I can tell. I always enjoyed surrounding my base with a large trench with a with bridges as choke points.
5. Command and Conquer (original)
This is what started RTS games for me and most others. The campaigns were great and so were the multiplayer matches. I still load this up every once in a while and play a few games.
I don't really see Demigod as an RTS. More like an action mini-RPG or something. Otherwise it would probably be high up on my list as well.
I don't consider RA3 even a real RA or C&C. It actually stopped being cool at RA2 when things started getting ridiculus.
Yep 2 gaming genres these day, we are spoilt for choice
Well I'm fairly certain that I could bring my gaming rig to its knees if I did make every effort to do that lol. We do tend to experience a bit slower game speeds when everyone in the game has a fleet of construction planes and my friends are playing on their laptops for school lol. They aren't hard core enough to care about game speed though
@ Haree
You have taken it the wrong way, What I meant by that is that sertain genre's seem to be popular for cetain periods of time... and atm it seems like the RTS is popular on the PC atm, with games like SC2, Ruse, SupCom2 and more just arround the corner...
1.) C&C Red Alert 2
2.) Earth 2150
3.) Imperium Galactica 2 (Why oh why did I manage to lose my copy??!)
4.) LOTR: Battle for Middle-Earth (1)
5.) C&C Red Alert (1)
Funny how the most popular games all seem to be about war and killing. Don't you think? (or not?)
Just goes to show - we are a product of our environment, more than a product of our souls. (Which we can change (the environment part, that is), if we so choose)
On the other hand - if we are more a product of our souls, we are in very deep sh*t.
Personally, one of my favs is SimCity. No war, no killing. Just make the best city/region for everyone.
With GalCiv2 I remain neutral but dominant. I won't declare war on anyone. But if you attack me, I'll exterminate you - down to the last man, woman, child, dog or cat, city, building or barn.
I guess that shows my dual nature. Leave me alone and I'll leave you alone.
Cross me violently, and you're deader than dead can be.
Live and let live - or live and make die. But I much prefer the live and let live method.
Sadly, that does not reflect the current generation. The current gen seems only to want the destruction of what they don't agree with, or understand. In my own country (USA), it seems it is our Constitution and what the 'Founding Fathers' intended.
But go ahead. Get into war and death and destruction all you want.
Those that live by the sword, shall die by the sword.
1. Rise of Nations - The best rts that has come out, in my opinion. So much depth on so many levels. If theres any reason to complain, its that the micro can become a little overwhelming late-game. Still, I think this game is the most well-put together rts that has ever been released.
2. Dawn of War - Very groundbreaking, I think. Paved the way for modern rts games. CoH was a further evolution, and DoW2 a refinement of that (though with arguably less depth). Too bad the campaign wasn't better.
3. Sins of a Solar Empire - Actually, I bought this game about 6 months ago but barely touched. Now that I have time during the summer I've dusted it off and gave it another go. Much better put together than I had originally thought. Just wish the games didn't take so damn long.
4. Homeworld - Best story for an rts, hands-down. Even Blizzard's major games haven't made me feel so strongly for the units I'm commanding. In a time filled with CnC and SC copies, this game was completely different. Plus, it had an awesome Yes song for the credits.
5. Starcraft - I don't think anyone needs to hear why this game is good. Though I think it is a bit overrated compared to the other games on my list, I still recognize that it is a truly incredible game. Plus, its pretty to have a gf (shes Korean) who can go toe-to-toe with me in a strategy game.
I recently went back and played some Earth 2150. I was a little disappointed, since I loved it so much when I was younger. I never realized how terrible the interface was, or how clunky it felt. Still, i'd be all for a (good) remake of this game.
Also, I played a lot of Imperium Galactica II, though i think that Sins make the gameplay feel a bit outdated. Still, I think that Sins really needs to look at its campaign structure and make something similar. It probably had the best dynamic campaign that I've ever played.
In response to the post above, I think that one of the biggest misconceptions about video games is that its all about killing. Its not about killing, its about winning. If you start thinking that people who play video games want to kill, but can't and so play video games than I believe that you're completely wrong. I'm a pacifist who has trouble even killing bugs, and yet I enjoy playing violent shooters and war games from time to time.
Well starcraft basicly pioneered the rts genre I still have more fun in starcraft or even space rangers then gal civ 2, which is ia deep game with a steep learning curve but once you get pass that is not very fun at all. Perhaps its lacking a multiplayer function or the action is just too slow many flaws and bugs that limit a players enjoyment, I can't count how many times the turn button gone missing even with the newest patch.
whoa gotta catch a train now but i'll list my games in a second
2. Shattered Galxy
3. Starcraft
4. Red alert 1
5. Casterls 2
Most of the newer RTS games are a huge fail in my mind, for a simple reason: they bring nothin new 10 years after the originals. I did not enjoy the newer C&C games as much as the old red alert.
I also must note that the only similar game above are red alert and starcraft, the rest are a defferent games.
I would like to hear if you guys think there is a new game that can actually compete with any of the above, please note that MoM graphics are good enough in my mind.
1) Warcraft III: An awe-inspiring game, truly one of the greats of history and to date the best RTS game I've ever played. Its powerful map editor clinches its position as one of the greats in the history of the genre. I've played dozens of RTS games since its release, but only a handful even deserve to sit on the same shelf as WC3.
2) Sins of a Solar Empire: The only title I've played over the past several years that can be compared to Warcraft III, Sins is a great masterpiece. It's a shining example of what developers should be creating, and shows that a little guy with some good ideas can rise to challenge a titan. Looking forward to what IC has in store for us in the future!
3) Age of Empires II: Whether it comes down to castles, knights, or mongol hordes, Age of Kings really nailed what it means to be a medieval RTS game. Striking a beautiful balance between being an empire builder and a streamlined game, it really holds a special place as one of those defining titles in the history of the genre.
4) Red Alert 2: the last true command and conquer game (I refuse to recognize the trash masquerading as sequals to this venerable franchise), RA2 took a silly premise and created an interesting, fast-paced, and streamlined RTS that was great fun.
5) Starcraft: does it really need introduction? Starcraft became the gold standard by which people measured their RTS titles. Its interface and basic mechanics have been copied extensively, and many of its core mechanics are so ingrained that diverting from them instantly makes a title new and innovative.
That's my top 5.
1. Rise of Nations - Easily the best cross-pollination of TBS and RTS gameplay elements ever. By far the RTS I've played most, and still installed on both my laptop AND desktop.The Conquer the World campaigns offer the best replayability of any RTS in single player that I've ever experienced. Oh, and RoN also features the best AI I've seen in a game of this genre.
2. Dawn of War: Dark Crusade - Captures the feel of my favorite miniatures game, forces the player to expand and actively play the entire board. The single player campaigns in Dark Crusade (and Soulstorm) are weaker than those in RoN, but a metamap campaign beats the tar out of a linear story based campaign any day of the week for long lasting single player enjoyment. The base AI is terrible, but the Skirmish AI mod puts it almost on par with that in RoN. Soulstorm's not here because of the bugs (largely fixed by the aptly named bugfix mod) and the flying units, but it still worthwhile. It's a real pity what they did with DoW 2.
3. Anno 1701 - A cross-pollination of an Impressions-type city builder and an RTS. It leans more towards the latter than the former, but is a joy to play, gorgeous to look at, and offers enough economic and strategic depth to qualify in this category IMO. Granted the combat is very weak compared to most RTS games, but it's nice to see a game balanced around the economic end of things now and again.
4. Warcraft 3 - This one gets a lot of hate, and the campaigns are useless, but the skirmish is challenging and an interesting mixture of RPG and RTS components and the mod community is SO good that it simply can't be overlooked. This is the game that gave us DoTA (which in turn gave you Demigod) and all its variants. It's responsible for the popularity of the tower defense genre, as well. Personally, even the basic game holds up well enough to be worthy replaying now and again.
5. Starcraft - Too good not to mention, even if it's so dated that it's now quite hard to play. Again, mods and again, enormously influential and important to the growth of the genre. If not for the now-awkward interface and the lack of decent resolutions I'm sure I'd still break it out now and again.
Someone mentioned Men of War, which by rights I should probably have on my list as well. I think of MoW as a spiritual successor to games like Close Combat and, as a result, tend to regard it as more of a pure tactical game than a real time strategy game. Regardless, don't take it's exclusion here as anything other than a narrow definition of RTS, it's a brilliant title in its own right.
1. Warcraft II
2. Earth 2150(inc. Moon Project, Lost Souls)
3. Perimeter
4. Star Trek: Armada
5. Sins of a Solar Empire(would of been higher with a story, campaign)
1. Homeworld (The music, story, graphics, and true 3d playing field, EPIC )
2. Homeworld Cataclysm ( same as 1, but prettier and moar story = win)
3. CnC Red Alert 2( ever since westwood became EA its never been the same , RA3 sucks! )
4. Company of Heroes ( 1.71 patch, everything after that just has not been the same... )
5. SoaSE
1:Company of Heroes (The original release, unpatched)
2:Sins of a soalr empire
3:RA2 & Yuri's Revenge (Go flying saucers sucking up all their power!)
4:ArmyMen 2 and every release afterwards (Aerosol can and choppers ftw!)
5:DoW
Can't make my own list seeing as how I've only had a computer for about a year and a half; gotta love a good rts on a console right? Unfortunate since this has been my genre of choice ever since simcity back in the early 90's. I'm not seeing much love for C&C 3, it's expansion, or Supreme Commander Forged Alliance. All three being fantastic games in my opinion. C&C for a quick fix and Forged Alliance for a more diverse experience. Also, I only played DOW soulstorm of the originals but I guess that pretty much covers all the previous installments. It was cool for another quick fix. Lot's of different factions but not much variety in it's maps, but boy did they drop the ball with DOW2. Looks great but no basebuilding or variety. Pretty much an RPG.
1) Homeworld/ Homeworld cataclysm
The music automatically puts it on the list , but the variety of units and storyline just makes it my top. Also it was my first true RTS. Cataclysm expands on the already great story and I might just add that it looks prettier. I couldnt decide on which was better so i put them both at the top mark.
There are no transmissions coming from anywhere in the system.....not even the beacons...
2) C&C Red Alert 2/ Yuri's Revenge
The sheer wackiness and plot of the Red Alert 2/ Yuri's Revenge games will make you laugh. It pokes fun at the cold war on a subtle level and draws you into the conflict.
No Premire Comarade, it has only begun
3) Sins of a Solar Empire / Soase Entrenchment
Although lacking much of a storyline or campaign mode, the ease of modability (hardcodes notwithstanding) and the replayability put it at the number 3 spot on my list.
Times of War are upon us
4) Star Control 2: The Ur-Quan Masters
This is on my RTS list because this is the first video game i had ever played. While not a true RTS, you still could command a fleet of ships, negotiate diplomacy, and fight battles. This game laid the groundwork for what we consider the modern RTS. P.S. the Vasari might be running from the Ur Quan Kohr Ah.
In the End, our task is simple. We Cleanse. You are the Filth.
5) Starcraft / Starcraft Bood Wars.
This game will immeadiaely show you why it has such a cult following. The variety of units (and eventual Upgrades and abilities) makes this game not for the faint of heart. While prone to the inevitable Rush (not just the zergling one) and geared toward expierenced veterans, it sure is playable. Dont forget the mods out for it.
You wanna piece of me boy?
My exact choice list!!!
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