One of my key aims of this blog is to entertain you the reader with hopefully something interesting and occasionally funny about video games. This does give me a platform to push my agenda and highlight any areas I think are a little under appreciated. So now is my chance to showcase one of the most underrated genres in all of video games.
Real Time Strategy (RTS) games were invented in the very early 90's and has been a PC stalwart until relatively recently. The premise is that the user builds a base, gathers resources and then creates units to overwhelm and destroy the opposition. This is in real time, rather than turn based like the Civilisation series. The golden era was definitely the 1990's, PC gaming had amazing variety at this time. The sheer amount of titles that came out then was incredible and many have evolved on to even greater things since.
My earliest encounters was on Shifty's computer sometime in 1998 on either C&C: Red Alert, Warcraft or Dune 2000. (Our memories are not the best and we are talking about 20 years ago...) All three had a lot in common, the single player campaigns keeping us hooked before being consumed by local multiplayer. Often there would be two or three of us sat around the PC watching someone fight for their life. Staying up really late to try and beat the the other 7 computer controlled enemies (this was in the magical times of dial up internet).
Most of these games have upgrades for buildings and units. A favourite tactic of mine was using an ability to take over an enemy SCV (Space Construction Vehicle) or Drone to be able to build the enemies tech as your own. This led to some crazy mash up forces to attack with! Having the chance to use the best units from two of the factions in the game basically breaks the game, allowing you to overwhelm everyone. I am yet to get all three but I will one day! So let's have a quick look at the games that shaped this genre for me.
StarCraft
For me the finest RTS series will always be StarCraft, spanning StarCraft, Brood War and then the trilogy of the StarCraft 2 this space epic has evolved so well. The premise being the Terrans (Humans) expand into space and come into conflict with the Protoss (Higher alien beings) and the Zerg (Bug aliens). They each have a specific playstyle, based upon the style of units.
Zerg use sheer numbers of Zergling's to overwhelm the enemy. Terrans are all about the mechanical units and fortifications. Protoss have the 'higher beings' style units that warp in to blow everything up. The original game spans levels across all three species fighting for control of the universe.
This game only has two resources in minerals and Vespene gas which is a little easier. It's well written with excellent characters but even better combat. The first game includes several non-base building missions but it's really the second instalment that expands and improves upon this. Having a single unit with special powers rip around the map is a great change of pace.
I actually really like the original story that then evolves into Brood War that relies heavily on the character development. My biggest lament is that I much preferred the old Jim Raynor (Skinnier, paler and geekier) but that says more about me than him. What is it with grizzled muscle spacemen? Ugh.
StarCraft has been re released with HD graphics and amazingly Blizzard have made the original available for free in all its glory on battle.net. I would heartily recommend the new trilogy as it can be picked up very cheap and is packed with amazing levels and of course the impeccable online modes. It is one of the finest online multiplayer games you can get, matchmaking is brilliant in getting you to play other people of your ability, you should never find it to easy or too hard.
Generally people have a 50/50 win ratio which shows how well designed it is. Still absolutely huge in South Korea, a cornerstone of the e-sport scene.
Overall this is a game that is very easy to get into, with a great tutorial and a variety of play styles to fit the user. This is the series to get into if you are interested in your first steps into the genre.
Age of Empires
Probably the definitive medieval battle game, Age of Empires has stood the test of time. With a HD remake of Age of Empires 2 released in the last few years this game has found a new lease of life and a huge new audience. There are multiple nations to play as but the vast majority have very similar units. Base building has a big emphasis on towers and walls to keep the enemy at bay. Making them feel very much like medieval city's. (On a recent trip to Marrakesh the cities walls were incredible).
There are lots of siege weapons to create and line up alongside the usual mix of swordsmen, pikes and the like. Lot's of units are needed, meaning the battles feel full and grand. One of the interesting elements of this game is the four resources the user must collect in order to build things. This is probably the most I can remember of any game and it certainly keeps things interesting trying to balance production and purchases.
I can remember the countless hours setting up and playing 8 sided battles that would turn into huge epic battles. Slowly building up a large number of forces to simply overwhelm the enemy opposition. Sure there are a lot of tactics out there but we knew that with only a couple of different unit types in large enough numbers usually wins. Got to break down those walls!
The only real equivalent in my book is the Stronghold series which I really liked but that was more of a castle building game heavily focusing on resource gathering. People must be fed and there were many different farming options which was fun. Definitely check out this one for an excellent castle sim game. Overall Stronghold has a much slower pace and as all units were very expensive made battles a slight slog rather than rush and harry. The economy is great and feels very satisfying making a full set of armour after all the mining and gathering!
I do like these games and still fire it up occasionally but I'm an Age of Empires man.This is a must to purchase in the next Steam sale.
Halo Wars
RTS has generally been in the PC realm but in 2009 Microsoft made an attempt to bring it to console. Halo Wars took the Master Chiefs universe and tried to distil it down into a base building strategy game for its flagship console. As the typical eSports RTS players do about 100 clicks a minute moving from a mouse to a controller is a huge change but on the whole I think it works.
Diving back in with the newest incarnation Halo Wars 2, the games scope is more limited than its PC contemporaries but still a fine game. You build a command base and then tack on various buildings for troops and other units. This keeps the bases tight and central which is handy when you are being attack. I still prefer the more free hand base building in other games as there are usually some excellent exploits to be done.
For instance the use of turrets or bunkers over lapping each other to funnel the enemy into a better killing zone. Graphically this game looks excellent with all the usual Halo universe units. The story is relatively fun though limited by the canon. Again the controller system is so well thought out, very easy to pick up and use. Holding down A will highlight a large circle and select any unit within it, alongside other buttons to select certain groups of units.
Fast paced, with a smaller unit count makes firefights more fanatic. For those wanting an easier introduction this is certainly a series that is worth a look, especially as it is currently on the Xbox Game Pass. It's available to play on PC but if you are going that route I would pick up one of the other games for a better RTS experience.
Command & Conquer
If I were to guess, the series you will be most familiar with is Command & Conquer. Another 90s classic, originally set in an alternative world and a fight between two fictional sides, the Global Defence Initiative and the Brotherhood of Nod. You create standard modern day armies to clash with each other across various terrains.
Westwood developed the C&C brand with the release of the brilliant Red Alert, pitting the USA against the Soviets. Unlike most of the other games this felt much more rooted in realism and was only 6 years after the fall of the Berlin wall so was still very relatable. With distinct units for each side and a brilliant map editor we played the hell out of this game. The game was created after making the Dune series and the developers were bored of all the sand filled maps! Hence the arctic and city landscapes that come in.
Even as a player it was refreshing to have green forests and snowy maps to explore. Sadly the series declined as it went on, the Tiberium Wars series was good but didn't have the same pull of the Red Alert series for me. The humour and acting in RA was great fun, Tim Curry is absolutely brilliant in Red Alert 3!
At E3 2018 they announced C&C : Rivals, a free to play mobile game which even with the history of the series behind it looks extremely underwhelming. Sure the final product has not yet been released so we should probably give it a chance but recent history would put this firmly in the avoiding category. EA still have the rights so there is still a chance the can turn back the clock on a future release.
On a brighter note they have announced a 4K remaster of Tiberian Dawn and Red Alert. No release date yet but I cannot wait!!
Element
So my inspiration for this blog came from a new take on RTS in Element. Just released on PC and Switch this tackles the human race spreading out in the solar system and fighting for resources just to survive. It looks absolutely gorgeous, each mission is a new planet that can be rotated around fully akin to Super Mario Galaxy.
I am completely sold on the graphics, they are incredible. You build mines and towers around your base and use satellites to attack the neighbouring enemy. On the Switch you use the touch screen a lot which works pretty well but does mean you are covering most of the screen when selecting options. Options are a little limited, you select Missile and then have three levels to pick from. I don't mind the limitations of this but the naming is incredibly boring in my view.
You require energy that is mined to then attack using missiles. Calling the game bare bones is harsh, it is simple and elegant. Due to the size and scale it means matches are incredibly fast which is perfect on handheld. Failures don't require 40 minutes building up another huge army. It was a great idea and executed well but I really miss not having the option to micro manage units and planning out attacks. It wouldn't work in this game and it rightly sticks to its guns but I must admit I prefer the older format. A very impressive game in my view.
I would imagine for the vast majority this is not a genre they would normally be interested in but actually I think it has a whole lot to offer. I know that turn based is easier as you don't need to react as quickly but that's what makes this so good. Over the last 25 years these games have really evolved, going from the basic base building up to arguable the crazy MMOs like World of Warcraft. Warcraft 3 introduced hero characters that formed the game that WOW is today. You don't even need a crazy PC to run them any more, even StarCraft 2 runs very well on a bog standard PC.
From a real world perspective look no further than the recent football World Cup and the South Korean national team that got to meet their favourite StarCraft players for inspiration. This time the gamers are seen as the heroes! It really is amazing and there is something for everyone, those who hate micromanaging would love Element. Who doesn't want to lead a huge army like Genghis Khan?
In fact, on the gaming culture front they have spawned an organic mechanic called rushing that is only seen in RTS. You buy the quickest and cheapest unit to build a huge army to mount an attack quickly to overwhelm the enemy before they can do anything. First seen in StarCraft with the Zergling's, it's helped spawn many different plays styles such as those concentrating on defence or rushing the enemy quickly.
Watching any half decent player on Twitch is an incredible learning experience. Overall though there has been a huge slide in games being produced and most of the classics are now two decades old. There are two positives from this mind, one that the games will be very cheap to buy now (C&C: Complete is under a tenner or original StarCraft is free) and secondly even a pretty old laptop will run these very well. Hardly any excuses to not give these a run out, so what your best RTS memories?
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