Question about real time strategy games…

I have been playing Starcraft 2 (singleplayer) and to be honest when I look at some of these other RTS games SC2 just looks...I don't know...kinda weak really in almost every way.

Now maybe I'm wrong and it could be in part because I have not spent enough time with it yet but warhammer DOW 2 (for example) looks like a much deeper game and the art direction and graphics are a lot better as well from what I have seen.

I don't know...I didn't play the first Starcraft but to be honest this far it really does seem like SC2 is a bit overrated. And I love Blizzard games but I don't know....maybe I just need to learn the game a bit better but I do kinda feel that it's hype is somewhat based off of old school fans of the game.

Maybe I'm wrong....I don't know.

 

I'm a real rts noob - never really got to grips with the genre tbh - don;t think the old brain is wired for it...., have been trying to get into supreme commander but i can't even complete the 2nd level of the campaign on easy.... last night i uninstalled it out of temper :biggun:.....

 

I feel ya man, I get a bit annoyed with these games as well....

 

i started rts with AOE up until 3 where they lost the plot, COH was ace.. all of them, DOW2 also did it for me, any more suggestions after this? C&C series was great btw except for the last offering the beta turned me off.

 

Red Alert 1,2,3 BOOOM! Also settlers 7 is cool if you don't mind the annoying DRM!

 

Company of Heroes <-- WWII RTS with great graphics, everything can be destroyed, its great overall. Economy its obtained by gaining resources via doing war and controlling zones.

Dawn of war II <-- Only played campaign, its fine if you like going with 4-5 units and also leveling them and such, its nice. RTS with a few units vs 300enemies. No economy. Its about warhammer (i liked it and i didnt even know what was that b4 playing)

Age of empires 2 <-- Its old, but 2d graphics dont look outdated, they r fine, and you can play it online free, and buy it if u like it? (costs like 3€ if u buy it), campaigns are great and teach a lot about war history (medieval times). Economy its about building, villagers, getting resources etc.

Age of mythology /age of empires 3 <-- Aom its great with a nice campaign, aoe3 campaign sucks but multiplayer its nice, Mythology its about greece, egyptian and north tribes mythology and age of empires 3 its napoleon times. Economy its about building, villagers, getting resources etc.

Rise of nations <-- Didnt play this one much, its a little like age of empires but a little different, not so much famous but was fun i remember.

Warcraft 3 <-- Crappy graphics, its old, but imo graphics look worse than age of empires 2, campaign its good and warcraft its a great history. Its like starcraft 2, like 10villagers getting resources and buildings, 3 civilizations too, but you have heros that you increase level and they are like the main force of your army.

Empire earth I/II/III <-- First was fine and had a nice multiplayer at its time, dislike the second and didnt try or know if there is a third. They are like age of empires, many villagers and military. But they have like 20 ages and you go from the caves-age to the post-modern times with nuclear things.

BFME/BFME2 (Battle for the middle earth) <-- If you like lord of the rings, its great . Specially BFME and BFME2 with last expansion. Its all about military control and heroes. But its fun if you like LOTR.

Total war series <-- While this one can be considered a pure RTS, but it's best single player one imo, its like playing a very advanced risk on the campaign map and you play battles on a great 3d real time map with the troops you have on the "risk-style-turn-based-campaign-map"). roman, medieval and napoleonic times avaiable (last one has greatest graphics, medieval are nice, 3-years old and rome ones suck ). Medieval 2 total war has greats mods too, warhammer, lord of the rings based ones.... (Rome total war, old and outdated, Medieval 2 total war (staintless steel mod rocks, it doesnt change anything, just improve, nice graphics but not top nowadays, Napoleon total war, top graphics and newest, but those times sucky .) Next one coming its shogun II total war, about japanese samurais and such .

Age of empires series are the ones in which economy its very important and much of it's skill becomes between keeping a nice economy-militar balance, blizzard ones are much about doing a few villagers to keep resources and bambambam military, age of empires you have to do like 100villagers and distribute them on resources etc... Also they are the ones which have most civilizations. But many of them are like almost the same with special bonuses.
Also big economy = big macro requeriments, big military (generally blizzard games) = big micro requeriments generally, macro its controlling the whole map and knowning what happens on it, micro = how fast you are controlling small armies .
Total war its my most recomended for single player. Turn based campaign map with dynamic AI where each campaign its really different with great true and very realistic 3d battles (there was a national geographic program about war using this game to simulate battles).

Those are the ones i know and play, also played C&C3, its a little like sc2, but i dont like futurist games a lot, even sc2 its not that great for me, i see it as a big hype of marketing, i dont find it better than others specially for multiplayer (campaign was fine but well), but well, its all about korea :biggun:.

 

SC2 is the first RTS I've ever played. I played it on normal, got my a$$ kicked on mission two (LOL!) and uninstalled it. The next day, I reinstalled the game (cuz I'm a stubborn ba$tard). I played it for a week until finally finishing the 26th (last) mission, last night. I must say, my head was buzzing after that one.
After acclimating a bit, I started to enjoy the game. I feel, however, that I am far away from being any good at it, though. I don't really know how to utilize the different characteristics of each pawn and in the end it just comes down to how fast I can build a big army and use brute force to beat the bad guys. Honestly, I mean, I only used my mouse and the shift botton; how nooby is that? pffffff

Anyway, I don't think I'll put the time and effort into anymore RTS games. Just give me some cool FPS's.

 

its not so nooby, usually only groups and a few more keys are needed on RTS to play at high level. And we all start with only mouse .

Except crappy interface ones like starcraft 1 thats why you see koreans pressing hotkeys like mad, because controls sucked there lol (i mean mouse contrls). The game became a clicking-fest more than strategy.

Altho hotkeys do give advantage, you can survive with a few (around 10) in most games, i was top5 in age of empires 3 with that xP (altho in long games i was @ disadvantage versus people who used hotkeys for barracks/stable etc and build units, since it becomes a build units mindless to the war and backstab villagers, but very few games go that long ).

I never played starcraft 1 ( well did like 5months before in a university LAN room, but nothing serious) and i could do the campaign in hard in sc2, altho it was hard xP, normal seemed too easy, big jump imo. All RTS's are nearly the same, with different graphics or mechanics, but the same. Except total wars .

 

Good write up black ice. If you like age of empires I recommend you try out Empires: Dawn of the modern world.

 

will check, thanks.


saw images (now at work), looks great .