RTS advice

[Valken]

To follow on from Marcus' thread about getting back into PC gaming having recently built a new PC I'm back into PC gaming...

I've picked up the current crop of FPS and am foaming at the mouth in anticipation for WoW in Europe but I want to broaden my horizons and try out some real time strategy games...

I've already ordered Warcraft 3 but have been eyeing up Rome: Total War as well but tbh the ****ing game looks well-uninviting for a n00b.

Anyone have any comments on that or pointers on how to get into the genre?

[Harmony]

If you wait for a little bit there are some great titles coming out this year. In February you're gonna get Act of War which looks to be really good (you can download the demo for now, it's 700 MB). This year we'll also be getting Earth 2061, Age of Empires III, and possibly Red Alert 3.

Meanwhile there are some pretty good strategy titles out there.
As you mentioned there's Rome: Total War. I also heard Codename: Panzers is pretty good. And you should probably check out C&C Generals and its expansion pack, Zero Hour.

As for fantasy RTS games, there were also quite a few last year that earned respectable ratings. There's LOTR: Battle for Middle-earth, Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War, and Kohan II: Kings of War.

(Though Kohan II I heard has some weird controlling scheme in which you can't control the individual units in battle, and Warhammer's SP campaign lets you play as only one side of the conflict, but the multiplayer is apparently very good.)

[Ravon]

iu got my dad playing rome total war... and hes never played games.. after 3 months on it he completed it.. so i would get that..

[Dirty Sanchez]

A bit of an oldie by Total Annihilation is a stand out title for me.

A fair balance between building/battling

[Valken]

Well I have my heart set on Rome: Total War simply because it'll help show off my system and because it's regarded so highly. I guess I'm being a wuss cos I'm afraid it'll have too steep a learning curve.

[Harmony]

BTW Warcraft 3 is an excellent choice for an RTS. You'll have so much fun playing it, and the story is great too. After you're done with the game, you might want to get The Frozen Throne expansion. It's online capabilities are also pretty good. Battle.net lets you do some anonymous matchmaking with people with approximately the same skill level as you.

[Zapp$ter]

To follow on from Marcus' thread about getting back into PC gaming having recently built a new PC I'm back into PC gaming...

I've picked up the current crop of FPS and am foaming at the mouth in anticipation for WoW in Europe but I want to broaden my horizons and try out some real time strategy games...

I've already ordered Warcraft 3 but have been eyeing up Rome: Total War as well but tbh the ****ing game looks well-uninviting for a n00b.

Anyone have any comments on that or pointers on how to get into the genre?

If you are looking for an RTS game that is easy to get into then LOTR:Battle for Middle Earth fits the bill. I played it without reading the manuals and I had no problems at all(although I have played my fair share of RTS games). Even my cousin who is a bout 12 years old played it with no problems and the only other games he has played are Counter Strike and Pro Evolution Soccer.

Rome: Total War has a fairly decent tutorial that explains the basics and there are tons of resources online that you can get help from. I would definitely recommend it, one of the best games I played last year.

[IainMcC]

To follow on from Marcus' thread about getting back into PC gaming having recently built a new PC I'm back into PC gaming...

I've picked up the current crop of FPS and am foaming at the mouth in anticipation for WoW in Europe but I want to broaden my horizons and try out some real time strategy games...

I've already ordered Warcraft 3 but have been eyeing up Rome: Total War as well but tbh the ****ing game looks well-uninviting for a n00b.

Anyone have any comments on that or pointers on how to get into the genre?

Rome is by far the easiest of the Total War games to get into - mainly because the Roman troops you start the main campaign with are so much better than for the barbarians you fight. The learning curve isn't too steep - though it's quite hard building up a decent army and making sure you've got a big enough income to cover all the maintenance costs. It's quite long an involved, though - expect a full campaign game to eat up a month or so.

RTS isn't my favourite genre by a long shot, so I prefer the simple ones - both Ground Control and Haegemonia are available for under a tenner, and are excellent little RTS games.

If you really want to show off your system, try Warhammer 40K: Dawn Of War - I've not seen an unfavourable review of it, and I'm told the online play is awesome.