RTS vs FPS: Battleswarm

[Wickedshot]

RTS vs FPS: Battleswarm

I've played a few interesting games now that have mixed RTS (Real-Time-Strategy) and FPS (First/Third Person Shooter), most recently Battleswarm (I'll get to that after), the first that come to mind that are different from each other are:

Mount & Blade: Currently singleplayer (expansion coming out will make it multiplayer, tho I think only the FPS part will be multiplayer, tho even that has some RTS to it), a medieval RTS/FPS/RPG game of layered parts, starting top level as a pause and play overmap RTS that lets you enter battles that are more FPS style with a bit of RTS elements (like commanding your troops).

Savage: A f2p fantasy multiplayer game that bits a single RTS player with several FPS players against another team of a single RTS player with several FPS players. I'd say the most annoying part of this one is the use of RPG elements which brings leveling into a multiplayer game which in my opinion is counter productive, but thats a topic for another time.

Overlord: A fantasy RPG/RTS, very light on the RTS and FPS, but its interesting how you can "shoot" your army of imps where you point and have them do your bidding. It's kind of like a halfway point between a RTS and a FPS as a RPG.

The interesting part of RTS/FPS games is that they seem to manifest in very different ways (Mount&Blade, Savage1/2, and Overlord are all very fun interesting games worth playing). FPS/RPG games or RTS/RPG games always manifest in very boring ways in my opinion, RPG seems to just mean adding levels (which I'm not fond of in anything multiplayer competitive, I mean its unsatisfying to kill someone when I'm higher level and just frustrating trying to kill someone who seems unkillable because I'm lower level).

And now:
Battleswarm: Field of Honor: This game mixes RTS and FPS by making them competitors. The setting is like Starship Troops, it pits Human players against Bug Aliens. But the Humans are the FPS players, and the Bugs are RTS players. So it's got 2 Bug players with Hives mass producing bugs to send and control around the map, and the Human players as single humans each running around with guns blasting hordes of bugs.
It's truly a RTS vs FPS in that the FPS players are fighting against the RTS players.
And its hard to describe just how fun it is to kill waves of bugs that keep coming.
Battleswarm: Field of Honor [http://www.battleswarm.net/PlayNow/?utm_source=MetaTIXWebsite&utm_medium=Link&utm_campaign=MetaTIXSite#humans] is currently in f2p Open Beta and I just learned of it yesterday and haven't been able to stop playing, so I recommend checking it out, especially if you liked Starship troopers heh.

It'd be fun to see a game like it for Humans vs Hordes of Orcs for fantasy and Humans vs Hordes of Zombies for Apocalyptic.

 

[Sneaklemming]

I think that natural selection was the best attempt at blending both genres- as far as savage and savage 2 goes I'm not too sure, I could never get it working, it always bluescreened on me. And the bloody game is free now too!!!

I really am holding out for some good developer to do a large-scale rts-fps crossover- even on a MMO level, and the closest Ive seen yet is either EVE or planetside(maybe)

 

[Taawus]

Savage rules.
<-- Fanboy.

 

[Sneaklemming]

I'd give it a go if it bloody well worked

 

[Inco]

Thank you.. From someone who is just to about to finish his HSC days before his friends and has nothing to do until they have finished.
That was nice, controlled and modest.
This is a concept i have wanted to see for AGES! Basically a FPS that lets you physically shoot down zerg swarms (ill refer to the bugs as them.)

 

[Wickedshot]

Ya, I've been wanting a game exactly like this since Halflife 2: Episode 2, in the bug tunnels where you and a few other human npcs need to defend your base and Alyx from hordes of those sand bugs. You get that feeling in this but its a responsive player playing as the hive mind trying to destroy you in new interesting ways, plus you have human allies to help you. Very satisfying heh.
And thats just playing as the humans, this game is definitely a nice interesting surprise.

 

[Sneaklemming]

You realise there is a starship troopers fps game right?

 

[Wickedshot]

I've yet to see a movie turned into a good game heh.
For me, the Starship Troopers aspect is nice flavor (hordes of orcs or zombies would be cool too), what I really like is the gameplay: basically the interesting siege defense against hordes of enemies controlled by an intelligent enemy rather than simple AIs heh.

 

[Sneaklemming]

I've yet to see a movie turned into a good game heh.
For me, the Starship Troopers aspect is nice flavor (hordes of orcs or zombies would be cool too), what I really like is the gameplay: basically the interesting siege defense against hordes of enemies controlled by an intelligent enemy rather than simple AIs heh.

I know the argument is for another thread but I'm sure there is some right? Like goldeneye or the new Batman game? eh... I know there's more. I believe there is one epic game that is also a movie, I just can't think of it

EDIT: Chronicles of Riddick

 

[Wickedshot]

Ya, that's a topic for another thread for sure, 'cause thats a huge interesting topic with many other variations (like books to movies, books to games, games to movies, etc.). There are exceptions to the rule, but seldom is a movie to game or game to movie good (usually because theyre all flavor with no innovation). For exceptions to movie-to-game badness, I'd definitely put Goldeneye on that list too.

As for Battleswarm, I'm guessing Starship Troopers, Starcraft, and Halflife2 were inspiration to the setting.