What RTS game should I start with?

[What890]

When I heard of StarCraft II, I was really interested in RTS games. I recently had a conversation with a friend, but he went into way too much detail about them. That made me fearful and skeptical. What RTS game should I start out with if I'm new to the genre?

 

[Worgen]

well there isnt really an easy to start with game but I would suggest the dawn of war series, or company of heroes, or world in conflict, they are all awesome rts games, maybe even star wars empire at war

 

[Omikron009]

Warhammer 40k Dawn of War. Get the Dark Crusade expansion. It's easy to pick up and teaches a lot of RTS fundamentals. It's more focused on combat than base building or resource gathering, and it's really fun. I've managed to get somewhat decent at it, and it's the first RTS game that I've really liked.

 

[Dango]

Company of Heroes is great to start with. It's pretty versatile and can accommodate both advanced and new RTS players. Plus there's lots of matches online meant specifically for noobs.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

There are several "Branches" of the RTS genre. There are those that focus very heavily upon the management of an economy and base structures (Starcraft, Command an Conquer, Warcraft) and efficient unit building. There are those that focus more on the actual command of a battle, in many cases offering no option to reinforce once a battle starts (Total War, Ground Control, Dawn of War II, Mechcommander). Then there are those that play on a very large scale, generally known as a 4x game (Sins of a Solar Empire, Star Wars: Empire at War, Total War campaigns).

The first group is certainly the most popular. These games generally focus on a wider strategy of resource acquisition and defense and overall build patterns. Micromanagement during battles is important, but often less so than simply having the right units at the right place and time. The second set is certainly less common, though I generally prefer them. The third set is often poorly suited to multiplayer but they tend to offer many many hours of worthwhile singleplayer enjoyment.

Your best bet if you go with the first group is to pick up the Starcraft Battle Chest and the 10 Years of C&C - both can be had for about 50 bucks. These two franchies are the heavy hitters of the bunch and you can get a good feel for how the game will work by playing them. The best bet for the second group is to pick up Sins of a Solar Empire or Medieval 2 Total War or Rome: Total War. Each of these games can be had for a pittance (>20 bucks each). If you plan to play online, Dawn of War 2 is your best bet thanks to a vibrant online community. The latter group is more of the same as the first for the most part. Sins of a Solar Empire and Star Wars: Empire at War both offer the option to play against another human in 4x mode, but the trouble is such a game requires commitment for several play sessions as many of the larger games can take several dozen hours to finish.

 

[What890]

There are several "Branches" of the RTS genre. There are those that focus very heavily upon the management of an economy and base structures (Starcraft, Command an Conquer, Warcraft) and efficient unit building...etc.

I've been enlightened. Thank you, kind sir.

 

[tsb247]

I would go with Total Annhilation or Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance. Those are still some of the best RTS games I have ever played.

 

[FullMetalEagle]

IMO You should start with Command and Conquer like everyone else. I believe Red Alert 1 is freeware now, though I don't imagine there are many online players. The older C&C games aren't too complex, so if you like them you could then graduate to something like Dawn of War or C&C3 and start playing in a slightly more competitive environment.

 

[BestRTS]

IMO You should start with Command and Conquer like everyone else. I believe Red Alert 1 is freeware now, though I don't imagine there are many online players. The older C&C games aren't too complex, so if you like them you could then graduate to something like Dawn of War or C&C3 and start playing in a slightly more competitive environment.

I agree, Command & Conquer is a good place to start although I would personally prefer the Starcraft original. Perhaps you could try them both & see which you like better? Dawn of War is so much fun & could be a good option too as I think it offers a slightly different style of game play & some quite cool features : )

Here are a few reviews that might help - http://www.facebook.com/pages/wwwBestRTSnet/128443940516876

 

[Liberaliter]

Age of Empires II would be a good starting point, it will introduce you to the mechanics and you will be able to have fun with it straight away.

 

[Hopkins]

I see no problem with jumping right into Starcraft II. I have played RTSs for years and love it, but I have friends who had never before played an RTS and were able to get into SC2 instantly.

 

[Motiv_]

Starcraft 2 isn't really for someone who's completely new to the RTS bracket, it's sort of expected of you to know how to get a base going and all that stuff.

I'd suggest the Command and Conquer series, just avoid the 4th one like the plague. The Total War series is also pretty friendly, although it expects you to have quite a bit of spare time on your hands.

Hell, if you're in the mood for playing an old game, try Age of Mythology or one of the old Age of Empires.

Once you've lost your RTS virginity and can handle Medium difficulty Nod opponents on Command and Conquer 3, try Company of Heroes. It's somewhat tough, yeah, I get that. But hands down it is my favorite strategy series of all time.

 

[omicron1]

There's also theme to consider, and this is basically divided into a "cross" shape:

On the top rung is Ancient Historical. Things like Age of Empires 1 or Celtic Kings. The least-explored region.

Middle rung is Medieval, but this is the most complex/popular rung so it has two portions:
On the left is Fantasy EG Warcraft 3. On the right is Medieval Historical. Things like Age of Empires 2 or Cossacks: European Wars. Lots of variety in both regions.

Next rung is modern era. Mostly WWII. Company of Heroes, for instance. This area also has a few oddballs like Act of War or Joint Task Force.

Final rung is sci-fi. Everything from Conquest: Frontier Wars to Nexus to Starcraft.

 

[Zanaxal]

Company of heroes is good to start with as it isn't macro heavy and will learn you alot of basic unit control.

And what to do vs a big ass cannon and not to do vs a bigass cannon.

 

[darth gditch]

I would suggest Supreme Commander, Warcraft III, Starcraft II if you're looking for quick games-each scenario lasting less than an hour; Rome: Total War, and maybe Sins of a Solar Empire if you have a ton of time to kill. Total War campaigns can take up to a full day of game time and I have yet to truly finish a Sins game on the largest scale.

 

[crazyguy668]

Company of heroes, right here its free as part of the free to play mmo, Company of Heroes Online
http://www.companyofheroes.com/

thats my favorite by far and a good starter. plus there is a lot of noobs in Company of Heroes Online right now, so you can play only against them till you get good

 

[Grey_Focks]

Definitely go with the first Dawn of War and it's first two expansions "Winter Assault" and "Dark Crusade". get a feel for the genre, see what you like, maybe pick up a couple other games. If you want a lot of variety, I'd say get Sins of a Solar Empire and Warcraft 3. All three are technically RTS, but they also are all VERY different and will help you find out what kind of RTS are right for you.

Other good suggestions are pretty much any RTS made by the three devs who make the games I listed, Relic (Dawn of War, Company of Heroes, etc), Stardock (SoaSE, Galactic Civilizations, and Elemental) and, ofcourse, Blizzard (warcraft and starcraft)

EDIT- and for the love of god, DO NOT get any of the "Total War" games until you atleast get a little RTS experience under your belt. They throw A LOT at you, and it can really turn someone off of the whole genre.

 

[Enigmers]

Starcraft II is a good one because it separates people into leagues of their level, so if you're a newbie you should be playing against other newbies while the pros can just fight other pros.

Dawn of War II's campaign is barely an RTS, that might give you a good grasp of using different squads of units without having to worry about base management (although base management is a pretty significant part of RTSing)