Oh this could turn into a really good discussion :3 People are not looking for the same things in an RTS to begin with But I guess Ill place my top 5.
1) Company of Heroes
2) Starcraft (2)
3) Homeworld
4) Dawn of War
5) KKnd
I have playied alot of RTS games in my time, I started with the obligatory Dune 2 (for obvious reasons) which I back then found pretty good.
Then came Warcraft 2, I really liked that game, and I still prefer it over WC3 (which to me felt more like a reskinned 3d version of Starcraft, with heros and leveling thrown in, I did not care for that one)
I playied Total Anihilation, but at that time KKND came out aswell, Which I found the better game, the game was the first I think that had 2 pretty diverse factions fighting it out, and a really cool world to boot. So TA never got as much attention in the long run.
A year later Starcraft came along, I liked it, but I was beginning to grow a bit tired of the same formula they all had since Dune2 (TA none withstanding)
Then in 2003 I think (2 years late to the party) I playied Homeworld, it was the first Relic game I ever playeid I think, and It was quite different, it had a different focus, and what I still consider the beststory in an RTS game.Homeworld 2 let me down a bit.
Around that time I playied Generals aswell, it was the first C&C game I really liked, it seemed alot more diverse and had alot more different tactics avaiable then the real C&C games, the setting and the polish all hit home with me.
A year later Dawn of War came along, this is a notable game for me, I had stopped playing RTS games, mainly due to the same formula that had been reusedso many times, always a focus on as many units and base building as possible, and not really a focus onbattelfield tactics.Dawn of war was 2 things to me: the first good WH40k game (I was a big gamesworkshop fan, and loved the 2nd ed of Wh40k) And bought alot to the RTS mix, Turteling was reduced alot since you ahd to cap points, and the focus was not all that much on base building, but rather on battlefield tactics, and the best use, with the best counters against the enemy.
That game made me fall in love with RTS again, granted, it was not the first game to have armor value and weapon penetration stats (first one I playied that had that was KKND, that I remember where it really made a difference)
After Dawn of War, came Company of Heroes.
Ironicly I started my time with CoH hating it, I were never a big fan of the ww2 setting, but at some point I found myself really enjoying the game, placement, direction, flanking, coverand such really ended up making it my Preferred RTS game, altho it was not the most ballanced one.
Dawn of War 2, I did not care as much about, altho I liked the "last hero standing minigame"
Last on the list came Starcraft 2, After all that time, it felt nice comming back to that kind of rts game, after all it has been a while since the last one following the teachings of Dune 2, While some things did not sit too well to begin with, I quickly came to like it a whole lot, especially the SP part.
Right now I play both Coh and SC2, they are so little alike that if you asked me, I would say that they appeal to two different audiences, one gives what teh other lacks, so it is agood mix.
Still there are many RTS games I never even begun playing, altho I do think I have been over a good part of them.
Log in to comment