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I know - RON is very unique and its hard to compare with such a great game, but recently, i was trying to find games that are like RON. Here is what I found, please add to the list.
Medieval: Total war
This is a great game - amazingly fun and maddeningly addictive. It is essentially the military section of RON, refined to near-perfection combined with an (over)simplified economic game. The game takes place in the Medieval ages (hence the title), and you take control of one of the many European countries. The game plays much like conquer-the-world, except, instead of building up a city in every RTS game, you have to build the infrastructure of the city in the turn-based portion of the game. Each territory has pro's and con's, with some beiing rich in metal, and some being rich in farmland. Eventually, you use the money accumulated from your provinces to build defensive castles and armies. You can buy a spearmen unit, and you recieve an army-marker - much like the armies in CTW are represented. The great thing tho - is that there is an unlimited amount of markers you can have in a province. So, theoretically, you could invade a province with 30000 spearmen, 4000 archers, 2000 knights, and 40 trebuchets - only to be met with a resistance of 20 peasants.
But what makes this game shine is the military aspect. Flanking and rear charges actually play a huge role in the manuevering of the armies, and win or lose the game. Morale also comes into effect, with some units staying in the battle to the last man, and some units running for their lives the moment they lose a man. The battlefield is amazingly realistic, and very fun. Although the economic part of the normal RTS game has been removed, the strategic depth to this game far surpasses RON. The only problem is that multiplayer is severly lacking, and there are a few glitches. My favorite part of the game would be the fact that, with use of the terrain, manuevering, and superior tactical thinking - i can win a battle where i am outnumbered 8 to 1. Its a hell of a lot of fun and i definately suggest you play it.
(side note: The expansion pack is out already, and the sequel is coming out soon. I have yet to play the expansion pack, and i know nothing of a demo for the sequel)
Empire Earth
Ok, this game was great for its time. It was age of empires on steroids, playing out alot like this game without all the "uniqueness." There are no borders, no generals, no taxation, no flanking, no libraries, no knowledge, and no rare resources (just to name a few). However, if you're looking for some return to the AOE age, then check this game out. Its a typical RTS which spans the course of time, but... the biggest thing that destroys this game is that the AI cheats. It doesn't get extra resources, or start with extra town cities or anything... oh, no... It spawns armies out of nowhere, it rebuilds buildings almost instantly, and it ignores fog of war. This can be seen easily with a few cheats, and is really frustrating - because raids, tactical attacks, suicide rushes, and surgical strikes don't do anything. They just make the human player feel important. The only real way to beat the computer is the take a huge army and mass it against the computer, and win a long string of battles really really quickly. Very boring, in my opinion. I never tried it online, and i'm sure it'd be better, but try this game out if you have some extra money and time.
Americas Army
Wait - this has nothign to do with real time strategy, or is nothing like RON. But that doesn't matter! Its amazing, and free! Go play it right now!! www.americasarmy.com! GO GO GO!
Well - does anyone else know of any other games? I'd love to hear of them.
Medieval: Total war
This is a great game - amazingly fun and maddeningly addictive. It is essentially the military section of RON, refined to near-perfection combined with an (over)simplified economic game. The game takes place in the Medieval ages (hence the title), and you take control of one of the many European countries. The game plays much like conquer-the-world, except, instead of building up a city in every RTS game, you have to build the infrastructure of the city in the turn-based portion of the game. Each territory has pro's and con's, with some beiing rich in metal, and some being rich in farmland. Eventually, you use the money accumulated from your provinces to build defensive castles and armies. You can buy a spearmen unit, and you recieve an army-marker - much like the armies in CTW are represented. The great thing tho - is that there is an unlimited amount of markers you can have in a province. So, theoretically, you could invade a province with 30000 spearmen, 4000 archers, 2000 knights, and 40 trebuchets - only to be met with a resistance of 20 peasants.
But what makes this game shine is the military aspect. Flanking and rear charges actually play a huge role in the manuevering of the armies, and win or lose the game. Morale also comes into effect, with some units staying in the battle to the last man, and some units running for their lives the moment they lose a man. The battlefield is amazingly realistic, and very fun. Although the economic part of the normal RTS game has been removed, the strategic depth to this game far surpasses RON. The only problem is that multiplayer is severly lacking, and there are a few glitches. My favorite part of the game would be the fact that, with use of the terrain, manuevering, and superior tactical thinking - i can win a battle where i am outnumbered 8 to 1. Its a hell of a lot of fun and i definately suggest you play it.
(side note: The expansion pack is out already, and the sequel is coming out soon. I have yet to play the expansion pack, and i know nothing of a demo for the sequel)
Empire Earth
Ok, this game was great for its time. It was age of empires on steroids, playing out alot like this game without all the "uniqueness." There are no borders, no generals, no taxation, no flanking, no libraries, no knowledge, and no rare resources (just to name a few). However, if you're looking for some return to the AOE age, then check this game out. Its a typical RTS which spans the course of time, but... the biggest thing that destroys this game is that the AI cheats. It doesn't get extra resources, or start with extra town cities or anything... oh, no... It spawns armies out of nowhere, it rebuilds buildings almost instantly, and it ignores fog of war. This can be seen easily with a few cheats, and is really frustrating - because raids, tactical attacks, suicide rushes, and surgical strikes don't do anything. They just make the human player feel important. The only real way to beat the computer is the take a huge army and mass it against the computer, and win a long string of battles really really quickly. Very boring, in my opinion. I never tried it online, and i'm sure it'd be better, but try this game out if you have some extra money and time.
Americas Army
Wait - this has nothign to do with real time strategy, or is nothing like RON. But that doesn't matter! Its amazing, and free! Go play it right now!! www.americasarmy.com! GO GO GO!
Well - does anyone else know of any other games? I'd love to hear of them.
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