[Game] recomendation

[Jamer]

I've never played anything but FPS games and have been thinking about trying out a RTS game.
I've noticed there are a lot of peeps here who play both. Could anyone recommend a RTS game for a first time player to start out with.

Thank-you

 

[Ralfst3r]

What I found to be a great and not too hardcore RTS is called World in Conflict. Some ppl say it requires no Strategy, but I found it to be great fun and the story is pretty crazy.

World in Conflict has nuclear bombs
YouTube - World in Conflict: Nuclear Bomb


And if you want a more challenging and indepth RTS, Company of Heroes is a good choice.

My epic bridge defense vid of CoH
YouTube - Company of Heroes: Epic Bridge Defense

 

[SheepDip]

Dawn of War and Ground Control II rank as my favourite RTS games, if you're a bit more adventurous then Spellforce (RTS/RPG hybrid) is also worth a look.

 

[Pharnakes]

Men of war is fun, and has (sort) of fps elements.

 

[Murphy]

Dawn of War is great. I can recommend that too.

 

[Lt_Kettch]

Didn't like Dawn of War

If you can start with the classics like Warcraft 2 (or 3?), Age of Empires 2 and the first C&C.

Gameplay didn't change too much in the meantime and those games are still! (If you don't mind the graphics)

 

[Jamer]

Hey thanks for the help guys, looks like some good games.

Men of War and World in Conflict look appealing!

Thanks for your time, I appreciate it.

 

[Murphy]

Warcraft 2 is dated, imo. If you wanted to play it you might as well pick up StarCraft instead, which is the next evolutionary step, so to speak. Unless of course you are really after fantasy over sci-fi. Of course they are different games, but if you know neither and you only want to play one, I'd say StarCraft is the one to get.

Dungeon Keeper 1 or 2 are great rts games as well and they are more relaxing to play than most but they are still fun(ny). You can take control of your units in a first-person mode too. You should check out screenshots before you get them though, because unlike 2d games, which age pretty well if they are designed well, 3d games tend to fall behind much faster and especially Dungeon Keeper 1 can take some time until you are used to the bad graphics again.

 

[Capt.Marion]

STARCRAFT

the only epic RTS. It's the best.

 

[SiC-Disaster]

The Total War series are a bit steep to begin with maybe, but at least the pace in those games allow you to think a bit without being bumrushed by elite AI

Other then that i love the original Dawn of War, the sequel not so much as it basically cuts out all the basebuilding and only allows you to control 4 squads. DoW is just brutal to say the least

Company of Heroes requires a lot of micromanagement from my experience, placing units in cover etc and making sure they arent flanked across a whole line of defense is quite a challenge.
Might not be ideal for beginners.

Empire Earth has always been good as well, and Age of Empires 1/2 too.

Men of War is a good rts game but it can kick your arse extremely quick even on easy, and requires a lot of micromanagement as well.
You are always outnumbered and outgunned, and you do not get any reinforcements most of the time.

 

[Murphy]

I agree with SiC's whole post, except I feel obliged to warn you that Empire Earth is basically Age of Empires taken to the extreme so if you are new to the genre I would suggest getting Age of Empires first and if you really like it, then try Empire Earth.

A bit of an underground title, as it seems, would be Kingdom under Fire for the old xbox. It's a lot like the 3d battle part of the Total War series, but a) fantasy and b) you have a hero in one squad and if that squad gets into a fight you get to control him/her, hack'n'slash style. Very cool game. If I had to chose between Kingdom under Fire and Rome: Total War I would probably pick Kingdom under Fire for the battles. The turn-based part of Rome pales next to Civilization IV then. Of course Total War has it both (turn-based strategy with real-time battles) so that's a huge plus, but both parts (battles and turn-based strategy) are available elsewhere, where they are better.

 

[Pharnakes]

Plus tw AI is major fail.

What you first need to decide is if you want RTS (dow, coh for light or EU, HOI for harder) or real time tactical (mow lighter or tow for the hardcore) or turn based strat (civ4 clear winners there) or turn based tactical (all sorts of mostly hexed based games, some others and nearly all extremly hard).

 

[Jamer]

quote / SIC-Disaster,
Men of War is a good rts game but it can kick your arse extremely quick even on easy, and requires a lot of micromanagement as well.
You are always outnumbered and outgunned, and you do not get any reinforcements most of the time.

lol, yep tha'ts exactly what happened, at least in my case. It did seem like a lot of micromangement but I suspect this inevitable for these games.


quote / Murphy,
Dungeon Keeper 1 or 2 are great rts games as well and they are more relaxing to play than most but they are still fun(ny). You can take control of your units in a first-person mode too. You should check out screenshots before you get them though, because unlike 2d games, which age pretty well if they are designed well, 3d games tend to fall behind much faster and especially Dungeon Keeper 1 can take some time until you are used to the bad graphics again.

This sounds interesting for a guy like me who like I said, have never played RTS games. I favor military games but ultimately its the gameplay that keeps me going. Graphics are nice and my rig can run most games on high settings but there not really that important to me.

Looking around I came across Oblivion but it looked more like a FPS than an RTS or does it just combine the two as you've mentioned?

Thanks again guys, YOU ROCK !

 

[Murphy]

Oblivion is a role playing game, not an rts. Not even in parts. It's pretty much a pure role playing game, played from a first-person perspective.

 

[Mahnsikir]

Oblivion is an RPG/Adventure game, quite a good game if your wanting to play a light RPG, big game world, lots to do and you dont really have to worry about stats that much if you're not into RPGs, plus its real time combat (not 'dicerolls') so its a combination of your own skills with your weapon/magic & stats giving the amount of damage, its nothing complicated but easy to pick up and play if its your first proper RPG.

For a first RTS I'd recommend one of the new Command and Conquer games, either C&C 3 or Red Alert 3, I've only played the demo of them and the older games in the series but theyre fun and easy & quick to learn. Personally I'd go with Company of Heroes, though as other said it requires a bit more mirco managment (not exposing the rear of your tanks, putting infantry in cover etc) than the average RTS.

 

[gautrek]

Forget the rest and start with the best mate.
GET TA.

 

[Flogger23m]

This is an older game with a small online community, but get Homeworld 2. It is the only RTS game I have ever gotten into. There is a demo for it if you want to try it out.

And if you do get it, please try out the mod Tactical Fleet Simulator (TFS), which can be had here:
[url]http://www.moddb.com/mods/tactical-fleet-simulator[/URL]

 

[LemoN]

and if you want to get totally hardcore, then i suggest you the Close Combat series and the Combat Mission Series
maybe Theatre of War too (its a lil bit meh imo)

oph and btw, get TA (Total Annihilation)

 

[smokeythebear]

CoH is a good place to start. It was really addicting when it first came out. Its still one of the best looking RTS games out there as well. The vannila factions were very well designed and made each game fun and unpredictable. The new factions from OF not so much. I cant imagine anyone being dissapointed in it plus it should be cheap now.

RA3 is pretty good as well. Much faster then CoH but slower then previos CnC games. I dont think it's as 'noob friendly' as CoH, if go on ranked automatch prepare to rack up some losses before winning. It's a game where if your better then someone you can crush them in a few minutes, while in CoH games can be drawn out.

Dont bother with Total war games. No challenge from terrible AI and no real multiplayer community.

Also get Warcraft3.

*edit*

original DOW is great as well. The sequel is a bad mod of CoH.

 

[Oldih]

It is more of less of an issue with almost every RTS game that they somewhat suffer from micromanagement-hells.

For that reason, I might recommend Hearts of Iron 2 to start with. Despite the fact it might be complex and confusing to start with, having a pause-time button prevents you from having to become Goro with four mouses and ten displays to know what is going on everywhere + it has ok tutorial included.

Red Alert 1 might be also worth of trying, it is legally free these days and it is possible to get it working on modern PCs without any real problems. Dawn of War and Company of Heroes are both decent and quite cheap these days in general.

For turn based games, Steel Panthers : World at War is also free game avaible for download. It is old and turn based (yeah, so it is not RTS) but still quite functional and ok, comes with decent manual and tutorial to play with + it can be decent in multiplayer if you find someone to play it once in a while. Combat Missions are also good (even though they're more of a WEGO hybrid), but they can be confusing as hell and complex as hell to get used to.