The best RTS of all time

[Chamale]

Impossible Creatures: Insect Invasion.

Or if I'm going to list a game that other people may have heard of, I'd say World in Conflict. It has fully destructible environments, and it's real time tactics instead of focussing on resource gain.

 

[Azaradel]

You must construct additional Pylons.

That is all.

 

[tsb247]

My favorites are a tie between the original C&C, Total Annhilation, and Red Alert 2. I was never much of a Starcraft fan. It just didn't seem that interesting to me.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

For me it would be between so many. I just can't stand RTS games that when you go to make a unit all you get is one person. Except for AoM as I can understand it then as they would of been as powerful back then. In something like UaW however, it is unneeded and unnecessary and takes the grand scale out of it.

Try Dawn of war, you can even get it with one expansion pretty cheap, if you take space marines for example, when you build one you get 3 with a little yellow + in the command bar, right click that and you end up with about 10 guys in the squad.

Each addition costs a little money but it means you can build a second squad while making the first bigger, so you end up with alot of units very quickly. In the case of space marines you can also equip them with certain weapons, flame thrower, plasma gun (good against commanders), heavy machine gun and rocket launcher but not all the people in the squad can carry a special weapon.

You might want to give it ago, I prefer the vanilla version with winter assault 'cos after that they started putting caps on the amount of things you could build.

On topic. I would say dawn of war 'cos it had what I like about C&C and added a bit of speed to it, by not making you build one infantry at a time.

I actually have DoW and love it so if I hadn't of already had it thanks for recommending it. Also Space Marines are incedently my favourite army because then I can spam Marines with 3 Heavy Bolters and 2 Missiles. Seems to work everything until I can get the Tanks out.

 

[SimuLord]

personally,I LOVE europa 3.

Its not everyones cup of tea,but if you want an RTS with historic flavour and a massive world(the map is the world,Europe,American,Asia everywhere expect a few areas that would be too hostile to sustain life)

One of the most common complaints I see thought is you don't get to control battles,you effect them with moral,which is effected by alot of things in your nation and you can improve alot yourself.

Also the I adore ecomonic management,really without thats its more like a real time TACTICAL game.

And lo and behold, I'm suddenly reminded I never did get around to buying Heir to the Throne. To GamersGate!

That having been said, only one game has occupied this top spot since its release in September of 2004, and that's Rome: Total War. For my money, the best game of all-time in any genre.

 

[brettskibols]

Got to be Warcraft 3 and Rome:Total War for me, games I could spend weeks playing even now worth every penny for replay value.

 

[Alex The Rat]

Yeah... I'm gonna have to stick with Starcraft as the most well-balanced, interesting, and fun RTS game. Age of Empires two seems far more dated and clunky to me, the gameplay is also way slower. Company of Heroes and the Dawn of War games are fun, but I also just don't think they have quite the same depth as Starcraft.

(Also, you should have asked "favorite RTS" rather than "best of all time." Starcraft wins the latter category easily.)

 

[Shadowflame66]

Empire Earth II, for me. I loved the Age of Empires games, and love Empire Earth more.

Sometimes it's just satisfying to set all your airports to send everything to an enemy's base and watch them get the hell bombed out of them.

 

[omega 616]

I actually have DoW and love it so if I hadn't of already had it thanks for recommending it. Also Space Marines are incedently my favourite army because then I can spam Marines with 3 Heavy Bolters and 2 Missiles. Seems to work everything until I can get the Tanks out.

I like to go on easy, build as many squads as I can, equip them all with the same weapon and let them loose.

Imagine the screen as 50 odd missiles simultaneously fly at the enemies making them fly all over the place while the ordinary bolters kill them off.

Or with enough flamers to make the sun seem like a seat after somebody just left it, never do this while fighting the sisters of battle it's a massive cluster fuck.

Plasma rifles and heavy bolters are less fun but more effective.

I have too much time on my hands, don't I?

 

[Xpwn3ntial]

I can't decide between Starcraft/expansions thereof and Dawn of War series/expansions thereof.
Pardon me, as I must construct additional pylons.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

I actually have DoW and love it so if I hadn't of already had it thanks for recommending it. Also Space Marines are incedently my favourite army because then I can spam Marines with 3 Heavy Bolters and 2 Missiles. Seems to work everything until I can get the Tanks out.

I like to go on easy, build as many squads as I can, equip them all with the same weapon and let them loose.

Imagine the screen as 50 odd missiles simultaneously fly at the enemies making them fly all over the place while the ordinary bolters kill them off.

Or with enough flamers to make the sun seem like a seat after somebody just left it, never do this while fighting the sisters of battle it's a massive cluster fuck.

Plasma rifles and heavy bolters are less fun but more effective.

I have too much time on my hands, don't I?

Meh I was gonna make 40 squads of scouts all with sniper rifles so that is a total of 160 sniper rifles bearing down on the enemies troops.

 

[TraderJimmy]

I have always been a big fan of the total war series. Company of Heroes is right up there for sure though.

Total War is truly Epic, altough it's a sort of bastard child of RTS and TBS.

I was wondering myself if that belonged here. But if it does, then it has my vote every time, even Shogun Total War has more easily accessible ruses and tactical manoeuvers than most games ever do, and the strategy CAN go very deep.

On the other hand, some of the mechanics are a bit wonky, I will admit.

Taking over 15 of the British faction's 16 territories (Strange game) in Rome Total War with a Spy, an Assassin and a Diplomat (k, fine, and a couple of triremes...) was utterly bizarre. Bribery, I'm fairly sure, wouldn't encourage you to sell your cities to a civilisation with a proven track record of genocide (sorry Gaul).

I'm going to attempt to provoke some kind of debate-cum-minor-flame-war here by stating that Desktop Tower Defence ranks up there for me.

EDIT: Oh, and two things:

1) Hello everyone on the Escapist.
2) Has anyone played R.U.S.E. in its beta form on Steam? I thought it seemed quite promising. A little simple (I only played the Blitz map, tho), but promising.

 

[ObsessiveSketch]

The fact that it's a full-on e-sport and revolutionized the genre pretty much makes Starcraft the only choice.

 

[Riddle78]

Either StarCraft,Command & Conquer:Tiberian Sun,or Comand & Conquer: Red Alert: Yuri's Revenge.They all execute the genre well,and there's a counter to damn near everything.
(Well,except for a French commander whose walled himself in with Grand Cannons,Patriot Missiles,and Prism Towers.With superweapons disabled)

 

[HerrBobo]

I have always been a big fan of the total war series. Company of Heroes is right up there for sure though.

Agree with thi really.

Rome:TW is the best for me, but games like CoH, are right up there.

 

[Ziji]

Hm well, my favorite RTS of all time is Men of War.

I can't honestly say I really enjoyed C&C or Starcraft, but I really did like TW and WiC as well.

When I was a lot younger, like grade school/junior high, I started playing Starcraft and C&C, but I grew out of it because it was way too repetitive and just the same.

Not saying they are bad games or anything, just that I'm not a big fan.

Men of War, however, I absolutely love

EDIT: Oh, also I really, really, liked Dawn of War. I haven't tried DoW2, but I think I'd enjoy it MORE than DoW1.

 

[omega 616]

I actually have DoW and love it so if I hadn't of already had it thanks for recommending it. Also Space Marines are incedently my favourite army because then I can spam Marines with 3 Heavy Bolters and 2 Missiles. Seems to work everything until I can get the Tanks out.

I like to go on easy, build as many squads as I can, equip them all with the same weapon and let them loose.

Imagine the screen as 50 odd missiles simultaneously fly at the enemies making them fly all over the place while the ordinary bolters kill them off.

Or with enough flamers to make the sun seem like a seat after somebody just left it, never do this while fighting the sisters of battle it's a massive cluster fuck.

Plasma rifles and heavy bolters are less fun but more effective.

I have too much time on my hands, don't I?

Meh I was gonna make 40 squads of scouts all with sniper rifles so that is a total of 160 sniper rifles bearing down on the enemies troops.

Just watch out for reload times, there a bit lengthy.