OLD RTS

[x-machina]

Company of Heroes hands down. Destructible environments (meaning buildings collapse and artillery shells leave craters) , actual cover based combat. It had everything.

And best of all, it's not about elves or aliens. It's about WWII. It really doesn't get enough credit.

 

[octafish]

I much prefer turn based, but then I've always liked chess. However Homeworld, and to a lesser extent Homeworld 2 were the best Sci-Fi RTSs I've ever played.

 

[WeAreStevo]

I personally liked WC2, and even though you apparently have a thing against Starcraft, I thought it was really well done (and I'm not even a fanboy).

Other than that, I really liked Theme Hospital. I don't know if it counts as an RTS (I mean, it WAS real time...) but yea. That game was fucking awesome.

 

[=RedMenace=]

You want old? I'll give ya whipper-snappers old...

Z

humor + rts = awesome

 

[Sonic Doctor]

I like rise of nations and red alert 2... (but I like starcraft better).

Red Alert 2 was one of my favorite RTS games of all time. The gameplay was solid, but what made the whole thing outstanding was the live action cut scenes, the guy they had play Einstein cracked me up every time. Yuri's Revenge was awesome as well.

The one I played the most of all before those was Age of Empires 2.

Other RTS's I loved are:

Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds

Star Wars: Empire at War

Empire Earth

Empire Earth 2

Medieval: Total War

Medieval 2: Total War(For those that aren't familiar with both them, the map part of the game is turned based, while the player can if chosen, control the battles between armies in real time.)

I've actually been playing a good bit of Medieval 2 lately. For Scotland!!!

 

[ContinuumDude]

Total Annihilation. The amount of different unit types was so massive, which gave many strategic possibilities.

And of course Dune 2,Warcraft, C&C and Red Alert

 

[Valiance]

Pretty much everything's already been mentioned but I only read page 1. I was going to just say "Total Annihilation" like 100 times, but I feel obligated to mention "Earth 2150" and "Original War" as well as RoboRumble. Surprised someone already mentioned Z.

 

[Torrasque]

Ogre Battle 64 > Age of Mythology > Age of Empires 3
All those pale in comparison to Starcraft and Warcraft, but you apparently don't like those.

 

[Tanis]

My first RTS was C&C1:Tiberian Dawn

While it hasn't aged all that well, and games like C&C2: Tiberian Sun have become my favorite, it's still got something of a 'nostalgia factor' for me.


Also:
Dune 2000 - pretty good, for the time, RTS set in the Dune universe, which was pretty cool.


I'm also a HUGE fan of the RTS/4X hybrids like Sins of a Solar Empire: Trinity & Haegemonia: Legions of Iron+The Solon Heritage.

Haegemonia in particular I've always felt could have used more advertising as in the early days the multi-player was some of the most fun I'd ever had.

 

[Futureman]

warcraft 2 or black and white one

 

[Veylon]

Total Annihilation was one of my favorites. Fully 3D units, naturally banking aircraft, projectiles and shrapnel flying in parabolic arcs, and being able to build massive armies. It was pretty impressive in a game that came out before starcraft.

It also had a unique system of resource management that more to do with the rate of production rather than amassing stockpiles. Buildings were built, and consumed resources, over times, so you could get started on a massive project without having to pay an upfront cost.

On the other hand, there were no memorable characters, plot elements, or even standout units. Two nigh-identical faceless mechanical armies vying for supremacy does not make for compelling storytelling. Nearly every mission was Blow Everything Up.

 

[Sonic Doctor]

Ah the American muscle car...the most feared land-going vessel in all of medieval times...

Oh, I completely forgot about that. I loved hearing about the history in each campaign, but many times I would get stuck on a mission, so I would unleash the mighty army of cars so that I could continue on with my in game history lesson. =P

I raise your American muscle cars with a crazy army of Ewoks with the similar cheat in Star Wars: Galactic Battle grounds:

 

[Truehare]

He said old... and there's been no love for Dune 2? Come on... that game was awesome in its day!

Thank god I saw this on the first page. That game blew my mind when it came out, and not seeing it mentioned until you did made me feel old...

OT, does Zeus: Master of Olympus count? I love that game to death. Also, Commandos 1 and 2 are simply spectacular, as is Desperados. In fact, I'm playing both Commandos 1 and Desperados right now, after getting them super-cheap from GOG.

I would also argue that Ghost Master is kinda RTS-ish, so that one too.

 

[Taddy]

God damn i loved Rise of Nations, shame whenever i played the game with AI they'd just spam nukes till the counter reached 0. Always make it a goal in most of my games to have a high pop and resource income cap. That way i can have either A: The Wonder Victory or B: World Government Victory. Never Actually figured out how that works, i remember one time where i finished researching World Government but i lost because my enemy apparently researched it first?

Also the Dune games were pretty damn awesome as well.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

You know what RTS never gets enough credit? 7th Legion. That game was awesome.

 

[Zakarath]

Age of Mythology. It was such a step forward from AoE 2, which is what I had sunk a good deal of time into before I picked up AoM.

 

[Dylan Blackler]

Hmmm How about some THQ, Dawn Of War, I love all of them (except the new DOW2)

 

[Dark Prophet]

StarCraft can suck it. Now,Supreme Commander 1...THAT is a good RTS game. Nukes are actually nukes,and the warefare scales up to the point where you have flying death machines the size of a mountain shitting out nuke bombers!

As an RTS it's probaly not that bad, it has everything solid RTS should have though it never clicked with me and there is one thing I just have to tell - the bloody fucking unit pathfinding, I don't remember how many times I made a shit load of units and sent them on their way only to discover somewhat latterthat 1/4 of them had takaen the senic route, it's like you have to manage every single fucking unit alone and if you have like a 100 of those bastards it gets annoying really fucking fast.

 

[Hamburger_Time]

Stronghold: Crusader is really fun once you get the hang of it (if it is an RTS). Oh, and Rise of Nations. Not very old but addictive!

 

[DarkShader]

Homeworld, Homeworld Cataclysm. Homeworld 2, AoE, Caesar 3, Dawn of War 1, Winter Assault, Soulstorm