Favorite Real Time Strategy Game?

[Mr.Swiggly]

For me it's a tie between Age of Mythology and Rise of Nations

AoM is one of the most refined, fun, and creative games I have ever played, and because of my love for ancient Greece and its myths, it definitely holds a special place in my heart.

And the shear scope of rise of nations is really impressive, and the way you advance through all ages of time by researching science and so forth is an idea no one has even tried to copy as it could be so easy to mess it up.

I basically grew up playing RTS's like these and while I like Total War and Company of Heroes neither come close to the RTS's of old.

 

[RicoADF]

:O Theres someone else out there that loves Tiberian Sun......

My introduction to the RTS genre was Tiberian Sun, so it holds a special place in my heart. GDI Disruptor Tank 4evr!

Also in favourites is Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance, purely for the hours I spent comp stomping with my friend, with huge fleets of destroyers or nuke bombers. Sins of a Solar Empire is another favourite, for the slow pace and epic, yet relaxing feel the game has.

My all time favourtie RTS game is impossible to choose, because Dawn of War (the first one, up to and including the Dark Crusade expansion), Tiberian Sun and Red Alert are all just too amazing to choose from.

RTS games are just the best.

I was very much the same, although I had played the first C&C and RA1 at friends places on PC and owned them on PSX, the first game I ever bought on PC and first RTS on PC was Tiberian Sun. And boy did I fall in love (I even learn't how to mod it and still tinker with it from time to time)

 

[NeutralDrow]

Hard to choose between Dune 2000 and Age of Empires 3, for me...

 

[Kyrdra]

Age of Mythology is my all time favourite RTS. Second to that would probably be Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun.

:O Theres someone else out there that loves Tiberian Sun......

OT: Theres a few games I'd have on the list, Company of heroes would rank very highly if not the top, so would DoW and Homeworld series. Command and Conquer 1, Red Alert 1 and Tiberian Sun will always be the classics to me

Captcha: We like the moon - actually that reminds me of the Earth Series, Earth 2140/2150/2160, their great as well

Hey stop taking words out of my mouth. This is excactly what I would have said plus RA2 because it was my starting RTS.
Yes I played RA2 before Tiberian Sun.

 

[Tahaneira]

I am honestly surprised at how many Age of Mythology mentions there are in this thread. I don't hear it bandied about that often.

But yeah, AoM is my vote. Loved that game, still sad it never made it to a franchise. Second to that? I don't have much RTS experience (though I have a long list of ones to try out... I really do mean to buy them), so I'm going to have to say StarCraft.

 

[Neverhoodian]

Either Red Alert 2 or Dawn of War, particularly its Dark Crusade expansion. Both games embrace the over-the-top qualities of their respective franchises with extremely entertaining results. I can't help but crack a smile when I hear the wacky dialogue of units like Crazy Ivan or the Mega Armored Nob.

I also appreciate their relatively simple gameplay mechanics and extremely scalable skirmish AI. RTS is one of those genres that I want to really get into, but the degree that I suck at it tends to hamper my enjoyment. I often struggle against the AI on normal mode, much less against actual human opponents online. Fortunately, both RA2 and DoWC hit just the right "sweet spot" difficulty-wise for me. The Normal AI puts up a good fight, but it's still manageable enough for me to prevail in the end.

EDIT: Forgot to mention one last positive: user created content. The modding communities for both games are sadly dying out now, but there's a huge backlog of quality maps, mods and total conversions to download. Some of my favorites are CannisRules and Allies Revenge 2 for RA2, and Exaggerated Armies and Dawn of Steel for DC.

 

[Aeshi]

Homeworld 2, both Dawn of War games, C&C Generals, Warcraft 3 and Supreme Commander 2 are probably my top 5 RTS's

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

Command And Conquer Red Alert 2 is one of the best retro blasts you can play.

Retro? Damn...

But I agree, Red Alert 1 and 2 are my favs... not just for the epic ballanced gameplay or the awesome tech unlocked later in 2, but also because of Frank Klepacki's memorable soundtrack... a staple on my ipod!

 

[skywolfblue]

Starcraft 2. Sure ye olde Starcraft 1 + Brood War have their nostalgia, but their gameplay is abysmal by modern standards, and their singleplayer was pretty standard fair. Starcraft 2 singleplayer has a lot of cool unique things to do, escorting convoys, robbing trains, using giant laser drills, etc. And the cinematics are some of the best of all time.

However, Homeworld 2 is too important to ignore. So I'll have to claim two favorites. The ships have an awesome art style, glowing ION trails, bulky-yet-detailed ships that look like they can take hits, little details like the Vaygr Marine Frigate actually launching pods of marines that attach to and board enemy ships. All in a true 3D RTS. And the story of the series is equally awesome.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Hard to say, it's either C&C Red Alert, C&C Generals or Supreme Commander.

 

[Stu35]

Well RTS games formed my bread and butter when I was a teen. Age of Empires 2(and it's expansions), Red Alert, Dawn of War (and it's expansions)...

Another one, which often slips by people - Cossacks. It's been many a year since I played Cossacks, and it had many, many flaws, but it was (to my knowledge) the first RTS to be truly set in the gunpowder era, and it's inclusion of Highlanders and Bagpipers for the British was a big selling point for me.

It's naval battles were pretty epic as well - if (i remember correctly) a little buggy, and sometimes hard to control.

So, yeah, I'll go with Cossacks for now... Even though the gameplay wasn't the best, it does bring up some of the fondest memories for me.

 

[Dimitriov]

StarCraft: Brood War, Age of Empires II, Empire: Total War, and Shogun 2 are probably my favourite RTS's of all time.

Of those probably Empire: Total War. It has GOOD naval combat! It's the only game I have ever played that has good naval combat! And yet, depending on which nation you play, it's an almost completely optional aspect of the game!

 

[KoudelkaMorgan]

Pikmin is the only one I ever got into.

Pikmin is technically an RTS, right?

This. I usually don't like RTS. It is dominated by AI that cheats and there is usually only ONE correct/valid/feasible strategy to win. Its like they are desperately trying to fool you into believing you actually had a choice, or that your particular strategy was bold and successful when it was more or less the only way you stood a chance.

I consider most RTS games to essentially be like Valkyria Chronicals, only with no stopping to think and plan. I loved VC, but some of the missions had a VERY specific set of conditions you HAD to work around before you could have possibly known about them. So in the end a strategy that COULD have easily won, was turned aside due to the game trolling you.

I never had the opportunity to play an RTS against a human player though, I imagine that would be quite fun. Even itf its really just a hugely complex game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, Zerg.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

The first Dawn of War game and its expansions (minus Soulstorm).

Which is odd because I like to turtle up and DoW isn't designed for it.

 

[VeneratedWulfen93]

Gotta love Dawn of War in all its forms myself. I think the Dawn of War 2 pips the rest in story, tactical focus and sweet sync kills.

 

[WongKy]

I have alot of fav RTS games
the top five being

1) Command And Conquer : Generals (the first game i ever played)
2) Supreme Commander 2
3) Company of Heroes
4) Sins of Solar Empire
5) World in Conclit

 

[Doom972]

I'm not much of an RTS person, but I have played a few that I enjoyed.
It's a tie between Emperor: Battle for Dune and Starcraft for me.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

Probably Company Of Heroes.

Though I'll always have a place in my heart for Starcraft, Age of Empires 2, Total Annihilation and Red Alert.

 

[Joffas16]

I've never been very good at RTS games but there are still a few that I enjoy. I like Age of Empires and Empire Earth offline because they aren't too hard and building up big cities and huge armies is very satisfying. Also I think I saw Stronghold Crusader in here somewhere and I agree, that game had a really interesting economy system that I liked.

Also, the Pikmin games, if they count, are easily my favourites.

 

[9thRequiem]

Total Annihilation (Plus expansions).

Had a great time playing that; Supreme Commander was good, but never quite connected with me the same way TA did