[fatty]

Back in college, in the computer lab there were two games set up to be played on LAN - Quake and Warcraft 2. After experiencing WC2, I was hooked. To me, it was a combination of so many things that I loved, but all in one package:

• The strategy aspect - I have always loved chess. It is easy to learn but takes a lifetime to master, a good RTS game to me is like playing a game of blitz chess.
• Micro-machines - Something about these miniature toys I find fascinating. Collected them as a kid, but then seeing games like SimCity show this type of detail on a screen really gravitated me towards it. RTS games took this detail to another level.
• Competitiveness - There was something about playing Street Fighter 2 in the arcades, 1v1, and holding that machine while others would place their quarters on the screen bezel trying to take you out. PVP RTS is the only thing that I have played that has satisfied that same competitive itch.

Warcraft 2 was the first, but Starcraft was a game changer for me. The single player campaign was fantastic, and the online multiplayer was even better. I know some say that its sequel Starcraft 2 fell short of its predecessor, but I thought it was even better. Everything about it is so satisfying, I even watched some of the pro-league matches and how they would try to cheese into a win:



Anyways, life happened and I had to take a break but I plan to go back and finish the last campaign on SC2.

I'd like to know are there any RTS games that you have really liked, which stood out for you?

I'd like to go back and play some of the Command and Conquer Red Alert campaigns. That and Supreme Commander and Commandos interest me. Just want to finish SC2 and Warcraft 3 first (yeah, I know, what year is it??)

 

[Arkam]

Love me some RTS games. A large portion of my play these days is still RTS. I love skirmishes where I can test out different strategies. Use to love PVP matches, but I got old and slow. Now its just against the CPU.

My current favorite is still Wargame: Red Dragon. Its very long in the tooth, but just got a unit update pack last year. I have their newer game Warno, but it still feels liek Early Access, so I havent invested time in trying to transition.

My RTS Journey of games I played a whole lot:
WarCraft -> WarCraft2 -> C&C RedAlert -> Dune2000 -> AoE -> KKND2 -> SW Rebellion -> StarCraft -> AoE2 -> WarCraft3 -> StarCraft2 -> DEFCON -> WarGame

 

[Sean Mirrsen]

Total Annihilation was the go-to RTS for me. The lack of limits and.. well, basically guardrails, was extremely appealing compared to extremely rules-driven RTS games of the time like C&C and Starcraft/Warcraft. Coupled with a level of world simulation that I think is basically unmatched in modern RTS games that aren't direct descendants of TA, the game just felt like a joy to play.

And then there was Homeworld. And HW:Cataclysm.

 

[DonDonDonPata]

StarCraft, Stronghold, Total Annihilation, Total War franchise, Age of Empires 1 and 2, Command & Conquer, Dark Reign 2, Ground Control, Halo Wars, Homeworld, Rise of Nations, Age of Mythology, Empire Earth, War raft 3, Sins of a Solar Empire, Close Combat: A Bridge Too Far, Supreme Commander, AI War…. I've probably forgotten a few.

More recent RTSs I've gotten into are Age of Darkness, They Are Billions, and From Glory to Goo and I like em all.

Definitely one of my all time favorite genres.

 

[regawdless]

A long time since I played one, but always liked the genre. I bought the Starship Troopers one, didn't try it yet.

 

[Zeta Dragoon]

Age of Empires II Definitive Edition is amazing. Excited for Stronghold Crusader Definitive Edition and Endless Legend 2.

Glad I avoided Homeworld 3 due to warning signs, what a kick in the balls to fans.

Very hesitant about Civilization VII since it takes more from Humankind then prior Civilizations and you can no longer play as a single civilization, you must change civs with each Era change.

Still hoping for:

Battle for Middle Earth 1/2 Remasters since I never got to play them, Battle for Middle Earth 3/Lord of the Rings: Total War
/LotR CRPG.

Same with Rise of Legends.

Don't know why EA has not Remastered Command and Conquer Red Alert 2/Tiberium Sun after they Remastered Red Alert and Tiberium Dawn to a very positive reception. They probably considered it a mistake on their part.

 

[Pyrate]

I would just add to this thread that I'm patiently waiting for this to come out:





Hopefully before GTA 7 if we're lucky.

 

[HE1NZ]

I prefer the classic ones. Single player focus, base building, tight fast controls. There's no bigger dopamine rush than an RTS like C&C

 

[Arkam]

Total Annihilation was the go-to RTS for me. The lack of limits and.. well, basically guardrails, was extremely appealing compared to extremely rules-driven RTS games of the time like C&C and Starcraft/Warcraft. Coupled with a level of world simulation that I think is basically unmatched in modern RTS games that aren't direct descendants of TA, the game just felt like a joy to play.

And then there was Homeworld. And HW:Cataclysm.

You know, I dont remember why, but TA never clicked for me back in the day. I really need to go back and check it out again. I only played a demo from (I think) PC Gamer and decided it wasnt something I was going to buy.

 

[Sean Mirrsen]

You know, I dont remember why, but TA never clicked for me back in the day. I really need to go back and check it out again. I only played a demo from (I think) PC Gamer and decided it wasnt something I was going to buy.

The demo was probably some campaign missions, and the campaign is easily the weakest part of the whole thing. The campaign AI is weak (the AI is rather weak in the original game in general), the missions are kinda bland, and there's nothing like the cinematics of, say, Starcraft. So if you want to try it out nowadays, either stick to Skirmish, or go for the one true spiritual successor it has - BAR, Beyond All Reason. It's a skirmish and multiplayer only project (for now, or so the devs say), and it's the closest you can get to experiencing a proper modernized Total Annihilation.

 

[[Tact]]

Supreme Commander and Commandos interest me.

Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance is one of the best RTS games out there as far as I'm concerned. It's really great. The campaign kinda sucks though, the missions are very long and multi-staged, and you can die very easily. But still worth checking out. Every Spring I like to play some skirmish matches.

Planetary Annihilation is also a good choice, it's essentially SupCom in space with a fully simulated solar system. Very fun. The AI is also surprisingly good on higher difficulties.

Iron Harvest is also a decent RTS. It's not gonna blow your socks off or anything, but the campaign is fun and the units are cool. The skirmish AI is shockingly good as well, I can't tell if it knows how to play the game perfectly or it cheats, but it routinely crushed me.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Company of Heroes yet, also a fantastic game. Although a bit of a spin on the traditional formula. More tactics focused, has cover, about capturing and controlling territory.

I will second the Total War games like DonDonDonPata mentioned. But I will specifically recommend the Total War Warhammer games. Yes the DLC is atrocious, but the games are good despite that.

And I will also second Arkam's WarGame recommendation. I haven't played Red Dragon but I quite liked AirLand Battle.

 

[DonDonDonPata]

Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance is one of the best RTS games out there as far as I'm concerned. It's really great. The campaign kinda sucks though, the missions are very long and multi-staged, and you can die very easily. But still worth checking out. Every Spring I like to play some skirmish matches.

Planetary Annihilation is also a good choice, it's essentially SupCom in space with a fully simulated solar system. Very fun. The AI is also surprisingly good on higher difficulties.

Iron Harvest is also a decent RTS. It's not gonna blow your socks off or anything, but the campaign is fun and the units are cool. The skirmish AI is shockingly good as well, I can't tell if it knows how to play the game perfectly or it cheats, but it routinely crushed me.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Company of Heroes yet, also a fantastic game. Although a bit of a spin on the traditional formula. More tactics focused, has cover, about capturing and controlling territory.

I will second the Total War games like DonDonDonPata mentioned. But I will specifically recommend the Total War Warhammer games. Yes the DLC is atrocious, but the games are good despite that.

And I will also second Arkam's WarGame recommendation. I haven't played Red Dragon but I quite liked AirLand Battle.

Yeah I am an OG Total War fan who began with Shogun, and for my dollar I'd still recommend the Warhammer spinoff. It's not "realistic" like the other games but when I wanna put dudes on a map and watch them get killed, Warhammer Total War is my go-to.

I didn't get much into Planetary Annihilation even though I was a KS backer (lol). I have the newer Titan version that I've been meaning to try out

Personally I hated company of heroes and Dawn of War. The combat feels too MOBA-ish (capturing supply points and calling in reinforcements). The base-building is a major aspect in this genre — for my tastes — so the RTSs that are weak in that area aren't usually what I like.

 

[Zefah]

Pretty vanilla, I know, but my favorites will probably always be Warcraft II, Starcraft, and the earlier Command & Conquer games.

Age of Empires is pretty awesome as well.

 

[Asmonius]

Age of Empires II & III
Command & Conquer
Command & Conquer Generals
Command & Conquer Red Alert 1 & 2
Defcon
Rise of Nations
Supreme Commander 1 & 2
Warcraft 2 & 3
Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War I & II

Also love the Toy Soldiers series, even though it's an action/RTS hybrid.

 

[DonDonDonPata]

Also love the Toy Soldiers series, even though it's an action/RTS hybrid.

You ever try out Battalion Wars 1 or 2? Kinda similar.

 

[mcz117chief]

I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE RTS games since I was a wee lad. I still play games like Age of Empires 2, Shogun 2, Star Wars: Empire at War, C&C Generals, StarCraft 1 and 2... also a ton of turn based strategy games.

 

[Sean Mirrsen]

Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance is one of the best RTS games out there as far as I'm concerned. It's really great. The campaign kinda sucks though, the missions are very long and multi-staged, and you can die very easily. But still worth checking out. Every Spring I like to play some skirmish matches.

Planetary Annihilation is also a good choice, it's essentially SupCom in space with a fully simulated solar system. Very fun. The AI is also surprisingly good on higher difficulties.

I really recommend you check out BAR. It's the game Supreme Commander wishes it were.


I also really liked Submarine Titans from back in the day. A typical Starcraft-like RTS in most respects, but everything happens underwater and your units are submarines, and so there's a peculiar depth mechanic where every 'space' on the map has several levels of depth and units automatically change depth to avoid incoming fire. But if you jam too many units into one place at the same time, they'll clog all depth slots and won't be able to evade attacks. An odd sort of emergent balancing mechanic.

 

[[Tact]]

Yeah I am an OG Total War fan who began with Shogun, and for my dollar I'd still recommend the Warhammer spinoff. It's not "realistic" like the other games but when I wanna put dudes on a map and watch them get killed, Warhammer Total War is my go-to.

I didn't get much into Planetary Annihilation even though I was a KS backer (lol). I have the newer Titan version that I've been meaning to try out

Personally I hated company of heroes and Dawn of War. The combat feels too MOBA-ish (capturing supply points and calling in reinforcements). The base-building is a major aspect in this genre — for my tastes — so the RTSs that are weak in that area aren't usually what I like.

I think my favorite part of the Warhammer games is using the nuances of a particular faction to pull out insane victories against impossible odds. I had one game where I had a Small Dwarf army with an excess of ranged units and artillery get ambushed and cornered by a Skaven Army that outnumbered them to an insane degree. I managed to get an exceptionally good map with a choke point, and I held out and absolutely annihilated them. And I think I lost less than 200 Dwarfs and killed something insane like 10,000 Skaven. I want to say four or five units of melee plus my hero held the line so my archers, trebuchets, and cannons could go to town. So good.

PA: Titans is good, it's the better version of the game. It's not particularly deep or anything. But the spherical element to all the maps, and having to wage multiple wars across land, sea, air, and orbit, and on multiple planets makes that a blessing.

I enjoy Company of Heroes. It's not a traditional RTS by any means, but it's a unique take on it that I enjoy. I remember the campaigns being very good. Skirmish is okay. I recall CoH having base building, but not particularly in depth base building. But it helps since the game is rather micro focused.

I'm not a huge fan of the particularly fast micro heavy RTS games like Star Craft. But I also played them when I was young, and also very insecure about my skill level in games. So I sort of have a bias against them. I should give Star Craft another shot.

 

[Mickmrly]

While I don't play RTS games as much as I used to, I do like the genre.

My favourite ones would be Age of Empires 2, Halo Wars, Star Wars: Empire at War and LOTR: Battle for Middle Earth.

I have played a bit of Civilization as well, but I'm not super into the series.