Best RTS Out There

[Zetsubou-Sama]

I've been playing AOE 2 since release, so I'm voting for that.

 

[Calhoun347]

I'll probably get laughed at for this answer. However, I've had more fun with Age of Mythology and it's expansion than any other RTS.

The origonal AoM is a lot of fun. It had it's problems and I wouldn't say that it's better than AoE2 (though it certainly could have been), but it was still a fun experience. That being said, FUCK the expansion. Game enders belong in SupCom (also good) and CnC, not AoX.

I will agree that the single player was more fun in AoE 2, the multiplayer in AoM (and the expansion) were vastly superior.

 

[The Amazing Tea Alligator]

I will agree that the single player was more fun in AoE 2, the multiplayer in AoM (and the expansion) were vastly superior.

I disagree with you on the expansion, there were far more important things that needed to be added (South America/Asia anyone?) to AoM that weren't, and titans ruined the experience for me, but yeah. I love AoM.

 

[FinalHeart95]

A big Warcraft III fan, if only for the custom games. Seriously though, try to play wintermaul just once. Just try. As long as you're not grey, it's a wonderful experience (everyone blames grey).

 

[Croaker42]

Rise of Nations had my devotion for a long time.
I have a fondness for Galactic Civilizations as well.

ATM I am playing SC2 and enjoying it.

Whatever you do don't play Disciples..... that game made me sad. (It was that bad)

Edit: Oh yes and Empire total war is great times if not ultimatly time consuming.

 

[Lordmarkus]

I will always praise World in Conflict and Company of Heroes like there's no tomorrow.

While World in Conflict isn't the heaviest on actual tactics, it instead focuses on having fun, that everyone can be pretty good at it and still have a complete blast. A RTS for FPS-nuts.

And Company of Heroes is, well, Company of Heroes.

A little bit o' gas, a little spark and BOOM! Instant barbeque...

 

[TundraWolf]

Company of Heroes.

i tottally agree with you, but have found a new jewel as of late: sins of a solar empire, you should look into that, i think it might be for you if you like those 2, although it does require you not to dislike space games XD ( also, be mindfull of sins' little ways, play with anti alliassing OFF, or download THIS

Spoiler

http://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/378149/page/2/#replies

mod ( elsewise sins reaches the 2 gyg dump cap, dont ask XD )

I actually love Sins of a Solar Empire, though it's a different beast than Company of Heroes. It's a much slower-paced game with a much heavier focus on the economy side of things, which I tend to find a bit boring. But, all in all, there isn't much that's more spectacular than zooming in on your capital ship as it fires off a powerful laser at another ship, blowing it to bits. Beautifully conceived game, and one that I thoroughly enjoy from time to time.

Still, Company of Heroes takes it for me. In either event, though, thanks for the tip on the mod. I'll definitely check that out.

 

[TundraWolf]

Company of Heroes.

Huge Company or Heroes fan also, that said, if you think there are no unit tactics in Starcraft, then you haven't played it COH certainly has an emphasis on unit tactics/territory that is extremely fun, but this doesn't make Starcraft's equal micro/macro focuses any less fun.

Another of my all-time favorite RTS games is Homeworld 2. No one has come close to its 3d space navy combat, except perhaps Stardock's Sins of a Solar Empire.

Those are the three games on my list for best RTS.

I don't mean to suggest that there aren't unit tactics in Starcraft, just that they are completely marginalized when compared to Company of Heroes. I mean, it's simple enough: Zerg are weak to fire attacks, so build Firebats and Hellions to counter them. However, they can only attack ground units, so you will need to complement those with Marines and Goliaths for ground-to-air defense purposes. You can further supplement those with Vikings, which can run air-to-air defense and quickly switch tactics for ground support if they are needed. Bring in a few Medivacs to heal up the troops when casualties come in, a Battlecruiser for additional air support and an SCV or Science Vessel if you need some mechanical repair on the go. And that's just the Terran side of things.

Believe me, I understand that there are unit tactics in Starcraft; I've played it enough to get, at the very least, a grasp on what units serve what purposes. But when you compare that to Company of Heroes, where a single squad of riflemen, properly dug in at a strategic location, can hold off an entire German offensive of infantry and armor with minimal support, Starcraft pales in comparison. Company of Heroes takes RTSes to a point where it no longer is a matter of micro/macro-management, it's a matter of strategy and tactics. Which is what RTSes should be about, not the correct balance of units to counter the enemy with acceptable losses. Sure, you have to be able to make the right call at the right time. Know when to toss your grenades, know when you press the advantage, know when to call a tactical retreat. But when you can wreak havoc on the enemy with a single squad moved strategically, you know you've found something special.

My two cents, anyways.

I need to check out Homeworld 2, though. I love Sins, but I've never gotten a chance to give Homeworld a try. It gets high praise, so I'm sure it will be a fun go.

 

[Ertol]

Hmm Age of Mythology was a lot of fun to play. But I think COH is one of the best ones ever made, for the sole reason that is actually involves strategy. My friend (who whould marry Starcraft if he could) told me that SC and SC2 involve a ton of strategy. But all it looks like to me is the first one to build enough units wins. In COH how you use a unit is just as important as how many you have.

 

[kingcom]

Once it was Starcraft now its Starcraft 2.

 

[Aarquus]

DoW: Dark crusade, because:
A) it'll work well on my laptop
B) tons of replay value
C) buckets of fun
D) more replay value (seriously, i've had it for 2-3 years, and i still havent got round to beating one campaign, due to being distracted by the other army's shinier, better units)

 

[CaptainKoala]

Company of Heroes.

There is no question or hesitation when I say the following: Company of Heroes is the best RTS game on the market to date. It has so much strategy it makes other games look like economy simulators. It focuses almost entirely on the fun part of playing RTS games: the tactical strategy. There are very few games that do this quite as well as Company of Heroes does, the only other that comes close being Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War. And, look at that, it's made by the same developer.

Relic has the right idea. Squad-based unit management, tactical strategy with cover and destructible environments, and so forth are what RTS games should be trying to emulate and use as a basis for success. By contrast, Starcraft II, while fun, is the same game that was released in 1997, only with better graphics. And, I'm sorry, but that just doesn't cut it anymore. It's strategic to a point, but after a bit, Starcraft just becomes an exercise in who can build the most units the fastest. And, really, that isn't what RTSes should be about. You should have to be tactical and strategic in the placement and use of your assets, not just churn out as many as possible and throw them into the grinder.

So yeah. Company of Heroes all the way.

YESSSSSS. I'm about to play it right now. Command and Conquer games are fun, but its basically just RTS for casual gamers. Because you can build 1000000000 troops, and 10x as many tanks and fighter jets and kill the enemy before they have their first tank depot up yet. Company of Heroes is the RTS that but the STRATEGY back in the RT genre.

 

[YuheJi]

Absolutely Company of Heroes. I've been enjoying Starcraft 2, but Company of Heroes is still the RTS of choice for me. It only got better when I installed the Blitzkrieg mod. It is pretty epic, and I would advise any CoH players to check it out.
http://www.moddb.com/mods/blitzkrieg

 

[Nalgas D. Lemur]

The one I've spent the most time with and had the most fun with overall is still StarCraft/Brood War, but it's aged really badly. I can't deal with the interface and the low resolution anymore, even though I don't mind it when watching other people play. I also liked a lot of things about the Myth games, but I was absolutely terrible at them.

Oddly enough, I absolutely hate WC3, even though the engine was a huge improvement over SC. It could do a lot of neat things, but I just didn't like it as a game for some reason.

I may change my mind on my current favorite if I ever get around to playing Rome: Total War and/or Sins of a Solar Empire enough to really form an opinion on them.

At the moment, while it's far from the best RTS I've ever played, AI War is the most co-op fun I've had in an RTS in years. The learning curve is absolutely brutal, and it is not a pretty game, but there's a pretty good amount of depth to it, and it's great when you have 4-5 people together making plans over voice chat that might just be crazy enough to work. The ridiculously huge scale everything takes place on is nice for a change, too. The last thing our group did last night had a battle with about 6000 units, 2500 of which were just a diversion so I could sneak a couple hundred other units through to act as a second diversion so I could get a dozen specialized ones to where they needed to be to take something out. Once the game gets going, pretty much everything happens on an epic scale like that, with hundreds or thousands of ships active all at once. It kind of gets to be a clusterfuck at times, but in a good way.

 

[thahat]

Company of Heroes.

i tottally agree with you, but have found a new jewel as of late: sins of a solar empire, you should look into that, i think it might be for you if you like those 2, although it does require you not to dislike space games XD ( also, be mindfull of sins' little ways, play with anti alliassing OFF, or download THIS

Spoiler

http://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/378149/page/2/#replies

mod ( elsewise sins reaches the 2 gyg dump cap, dont ask XD )

I actually love Sins of a Solar Empire, though it's a different beast than Company of Heroes. It's a much slower-paced game with a much heavier focus on the economy side of things, which I tend to find a bit boring. But, all in all, there isn't much that's more spectacular than zooming in on your capital ship as it fires off a powerful laser at another ship, blowing it to bits. Beautifully conceived game, and one that I thoroughly enjoy from time to time.

Still, Company of Heroes takes it for me. In either event, though, thanks for the tip on the mod. I'll definitely check that out.

no problemo, the current version sliglty messes up the graphics sometimes on th planets, but in a few days the creator will release a version without any modification to the planets what so ever ( messing with the planets yealded less advantage then expected anyway, and he just couldent get them to work ) but im currently running the mod and it just stops the memory crashes altogeather, which is great!
(it also fixes a lot of stuff the REAL S.o.a.s.e game maker guys put in but mis-spelled so you never see it ingame ( small textures, like the kol battleship's engine output etc.
)

 

[Cody211282]

My favorite is Dawn of War 2, I love that it is based around squads and that you use cover, it makes you think more about your tactics.