Top 10 rts games

[Zero]

Originally posted by Skanky Burns

Why they even BOTHER making SP for RTS/FPS/Fighter is beyond me. All it does is attract bunch of casual players and cause confusion and mayhem on how the game is supposed to be played anyway...

The studios care more about how many units they sell rather than how many hours their product is in use for. If adding the SP component of a game increases production costs by 10% but increases revenue by 50% due to all these casual gamers, that is a good deal.

meh u speak the truth, but 50% is recockulous. Significant amount but nowhere near 50%....

[bipolarbear]

Gamespy sux go to www.penny-arcade.com

[bakalov]

BLIZZZZZARRRRD !!!

[Panzeh]

Close Combat is the only good RTS game out there that isn't Paradox.

[Daz]

"harvest crap"

Was that a typo, Jamski?

Anyway, I agree. RTS sucks. It needs some serious freshening up... New ideas... like... make'em turn based...

[lord of the mark]

I must confess to enjoying Age of Empires. Not real strategic I suppose, but nice atmosphere. And of course I played it SP Ruined me for AOE MP maybe, but so what??

My impression is that AOK is more strategic - formations, etc. In fact Ive heard it said that AOK was pretty advanced for RTS' of its time.


AOE had some brilliant user created campaigns. Some of which were more illuminating about particular historical events than Civ scenarios.


POTM liked the peaceful scenarios in the Egypt learning campaign. Made me think it would be interested to have a "city builder" that focuses on the initial emergence from hunter gathering. Is Settlers like that?

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Verto
As if the RTS games aren't identical in all but graphics.

Might I mention Seven Kingdoms. I played the demo. Had an interesting model of "ethnic assimilation", and of trade IIRC (including the beloved camel ) I wasnt wild about the fantasy setting and didnt buy it. I might get it now.

Does anyone know if any later RTS's picked up any of its ideas???

[lord of the mark]

Another good Real time game is Sid Meiers Gettysburg. Shows how RT can be used seriously to model a historical battle. Strategy intensive, good atmosphere, etc. Of course it still compressed time, not true real time.

[DinoDoc]

Empire Earth shouldn't be on the list at all due to being total crap.

Shogun should be on the list instead of Medieval.

RoN is a worthy addition to the list. Though I would have put it lower than they did.

I never played the Close Combat series so I can not really comment on how good it is but my Sid bias compels me to say that Gettysburg should have gotten this spot.

Homeworld is a good addition to the list.

AoE II should have had this spot over the original because of it being more fun to play.

Warcraft III looks like a good addition to the list given how quickly its design was copied.

Red Alert should have been lower down on the list.

Starcraft should have been #1 on the list.

Total Annihilation was pure unadulterated crap.

[Sava]

1. Starcraft (DD )
2. Warcraft 2
3. Rise of Nations
4. Empire Earth
5. Warcraft 1
6. Command and Conquer
7. Red Alert

Beyond that, I'm not sure... RTS's are basically cookie cutters of the pioneering games. oh, and Warcraft 3 is terrible. That should be last on the list... absolutely last.

[DinoDoc]

Your list is decent Sava. Though I wouldn't have put in Warcraft 1 unless it's there because it pwnd Dune 2 by being the more entertaining game folowing the same exact design. I also think you should pick either C&C or Red Alert for your list but not both. They simply aren't different enough.

[Sava]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
Your list is decent Sava. Though I wouldn't have put in Warcraft 1 unless it's there because it pwnd Dune 2 by being the more entertaining game folowing the same exact design. I also think you should pick either C&C or Red Alert for your list but not both. They simply aren't different enough.

I have Warcraft 1 on there for sentimental value.

I agree with you about C&C and Red Alert, but they are two different games. Maybe I could just put like "C&C series" instead. About Empire Earth: I like the intro movie better than the actual game.

[pg]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
My impression is that AOK is more strategic - formations, etc. In fact Ive heard it said that AOK was pretty advanced for RTS' of its time.

aok was really great when it was first released. still is good imo.

POTM liked the peaceful scenarios in the Egypt learning campaign. Made me think it would be interested to have a "city builder" that focuses on the initial emergence from hunter gathering. Is Settlers like that?

you should try pharaoh(you can find it on kazaa). review - http://www.wargamer.com/reviews/pharaoh_main.asp

Might I mention Seven Kingdoms. I played the demo. Had an interesting model of "ethnic assimilation", and of trade IIRC (including the beloved camel ) I wasnt wild about the fantasy setting and didnt buy it. I might get it now.

Does anyone know if any later RTS's picked up any of its ideas???

there is seven kingdoms 2, and the first had an expansion pack. you used to be able to download 7k2 for free. i did a quick search but couldn't find it.

i've never been a serious rts gamer but my list would include, warcraft 3(w/ expansion), aok(w/ expansion), and warcraft 2 for multiplayer. single player rts is good but doesn't keep me entertained very long.

[DarkCloud]

How can you dare bash Total Annihilation! Chris Taylor's Cavedog Games was an innovator in the field of RTS with its downloadable units on the net and its free content and its online Universe at Cavedog where players competed in an online Universe for power with the Core versus the Arm units! Total Annihilation was most definately one of the best RTSes ever!

Hmm... their ratings for anyone who didn't have the time to load the pages:

Honorable Mention: Dune 2 (1991)
10th: Empire Earth (2001)
9th Medieval: Total War (2002)
8th Rise of Nations (2003)
7th Close Combat 2: A Bridge Too Far (1997)
6th Homeworld (1999)
5th Age of Empires (1997)
4th Warcraft III (2002)
3rd Red Alert (1997)
2nd Starcraft (1998)
1st Total Annihilation (1997)

---
My Personal list:

1- Age of Empires (1997)
Possibly the greatest RTS of all time; Age of Empires was addictive, it was historical, and it kept things going. It included an easily accessable cheat mode and could be edited. Its multiplayer mode was also most accessable and had a good and realtively stable server. The possibilities for playing against a moderately intelligent AI (except in endgames) was great. And for its time, it was perhaps the greatest game of them all.

2. Starcraft
Bold. Sci-Fi. One of the few well-done and well-balanced and interesting sci-fi games released in reccent ages. Starcraft had everything that a gamer could want- good balance, good AI, a good challenge, interesting scenarios, etc.

Although its scenario editor was subpar, its movie-acting was better than most and drew the player in... and its multiplayer was second to none.

3. Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns

A great and innovative hybrid of TBS-and RTS with its pausable gameplay and its concept of 'heroes' Kohan is truely one of the most innovative games to grace the face of computer gaming.

4. Command and Conquer: Red Alert (1997)

One of the first RTSes and one of the more addictive. C and C made good use of movies and had high production values that drew the player in. Its music was by far the most compelling of all RTSes. And although gameplay was trite, it had a reasonable AI and a good net community.

Sadly, however, the opportunity for modding was near nil.

Very campy and very fun.

5. Seven Kingdoms (1997)

An amazingly innovative games. Seven Kingdom's didn't really have much of a multiplayer experience. However, it introduced the 'area control' later utilized by Starcraft and Kohan... and also introduced a Heroes of Might and Magic like hybrid of RPG and RTS with its killing of monsters and 'quests'

6. Empire Earth

A major step forward in the realm of graphics and just sheer "selection" for warriors interested in playing in any of 14 epochs! Is there anything that Empire Earth didn't have?

7. Rise of Nations

Expanding on Empire Earth.

8. Shogun: Total War

The genesis of the Total War Series

9. Total Annihilation (1997)

Innovative. Full of many things. (see my notes at the top of this article.)

10. Close Combat 2 (1997)

Amazing game. I don't know why I was addicted, because I don't really play wargames, but I was... This game and Jagged Alliance have similar feels, strangely enough... despite their obvious disparities of a squad-based tactical game with mercs versus Close Combat's squad based tactical game with top-down control of entire battlefields... But frankly, I wouldn't even consider this an RTS except because Gamespy did so- since it really didn't seem to be too heavy on resource gathering and other cliche RTS requirements. But oh well, it's a good game and it rounds out my list

--
-Sadly, I dislike Warcraft III ad didn't think that II, or I were that innovative.


--
Overall, 1997 was a great year for games... as both the Gamespy list and mine declare, with four games apiece.

[bipolarbear]

Beyond that, I'm not sure... RTS's are basically cookie cutters of the pioneering games. oh, and Warcraft 3 is terrible. That should be last on the list... absolutely last.

It isn't thta bad. Isn't it the first RTS to have a friggin 3-d or whatever mode?
I loved AOE2, and I don't care what anybody says.