When it’s not busy being dead or doomed, PC gaming is a really exciting place to be if you’re into real time strategy games. The holiday wads have been blown by now with a whole slew of surprises, some pleasant (Dragonshard, the Barbarian Invasions expansion for Rome), some not so pleasant (Age of Empires III, the Winter Assault expansion for Dawn of War), and some, well, just surprising (stay tuned for my Earth 2160 review later this week on Gamespy).
But we’re like kids at one end of a swathe of hungrily opened presents on Christmas morning. As soon as the last one is opened, the very next thought is this: “…so what’s next?”
And the answer for RTS fans is frankly pretty exciting. I saw Battle for Middle Earth II in action recently at Electronic Arts and you can read my impressions on Yahoo.
But like dying rockstars, these things happen in threes. The first quarter of 2006 will also see Big Huge Games’ Rise of Legends and Petroglyph’s Star Wars: Empire at War. All three games are being built by seasoned RTS developers mining rich universes and offering promising new gameplay mechanics and dynamic campaigns. So as far as I’m concerned, let’s get these Christmas shenanigans out of the way and get to the next wave of RTSs.
I actually liked the build restrictions in the first Battle for Middle Earth. It was very Kohan-esque. I’m sorry to see the old system go, but I do like how the new resource system plays out. It’s an exciting and simple dynamic.
But what killed the first game for me was the wonky unit control. So I’m pleased to see the new interface. Watching the game in action, and seeing how easily you can move and control your units, was really encouraging.
If I didn’t have so much blind faith in Brian Reynolds, this would be the game I was most looking forward to. So even though Battle for Middle Earth II looks really aces so far, it doesn’t quite trump my enthusiasm for Rise of Legends. :)
Those new features sound fantastic. The first game already had the best fortresses in any RTS game so far, and now they’re getting bigger! The Gollum subgame is surprisingly clever, too. I hope this plays out as well in the final game as it sounds on paper… er, screen.
The first quarter of 2006 will also see Big Huge Games’ Rise of Legends and Petroglyph’s Star Wars: Empire at War. All three games are being built by seasoned RTS developers mining rich universes and offering promising new gameplay mechanics and dynamic campaigns.
Roguefrog, Supreme Commander does look interesting, but Chris Taylor hasn’t done an RTS in a long time and I wasn’t too impressed with his Dungeon Siege games. I’m certainly looking forward to it in the same way I’m looking forward to any high profile RTS, but it doesn’t have the promise that comes with Empire at War, Battle for Middle Earth II, and Rise of Legends: namely, a developer who knows RTSs and has been making the ones I really like playing. Nostalgia for Total Annihiliation can only get you so far. :)
Dandylife, the Winter Assault expansion was disappointing to me for its underwhelming content: a lame race, minor updates to the existing races, and that’s pretty much it. I love Dawn of War to pieces, but Relic’s Winter Assault really doesn’t bear up when you compare it to other RTS expansions.
So, now you’re down on it? Or are you just waiting for the next patch to see what they fix? Tom, you two really need to sit down over a hot cup of joe and talk this out. We’re all very concerned.
Every time I see the words “Supreme Commander,” I think of Derek Smart. But then again, every time I see the words “Chris Taylor,” I think of Dungeon Siege.
My predicted order of quality of the new RTS games for early 2006:
RoL: Will be great.
Battle for Middle Earth: Will be ‘fair’ because it is based on a licence property and people will not work as hard to make the fundemental game play as good.
Starwars RTS: It will totally suck, for the same reason BME will not be that good. Only this license is much bigger then the ME one, therefore will suck that much more.
I sold the game as soon as Gandalf alone slaughtered an entire army of Rohan cavalry. I know it’s a subjective thing - some people like “hero heavy” RPGs.
I just feel like I’m wasting my time when the game comes down to micromanaging two or three units, and all of the other stuff you build doesn’t really matter.
In the midst of genetically engineered super-beings, alien killing machines, warrior mystics, and technology that approaches sorcery in its sophistication, the Imperial Guard are mere soldiers. Clad in a flak jacket and carrying a lasgun, they have to contend with the most terrifying threats, relying on numbers, massed firepower and a bayonet with some guts behind it. As such it is easy to identify with these brave souls and to see in them the qualities of true heroes.
I’ve been keeping track since the first day they announced it, it looks like it will be better than both Force Commander and Galactic Battlegrounds, maybe even on par with Rebellion.
In the midst of genetically engineered super-beings, alien killing machines, warrior mystics, and technology that approaches sorcery in its sophistication, the Imperial Guard are mere soldiers. Clad in a flak jacket and carrying a lasgun, they have to contend with the most terrifying threats, relying on numbers, massed firepower and a bayonet with some guts behind it. As such it is easy to identify with these brave souls and to see in them the qualities of true heroes.
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I totally agree with Tom. The IG are like a race of gnats. No fun to play as or against. Of all the races they could have chosen…
It’s still a good expansion, and it radically re-organized the tech trees.
I’ve got nothin’ to add other than the fact that I loved the Imperial Guard implementation in Winter Assault. So, if we replace the words “unpleasant” and “lame” with “inspired” and “awesome” and , I completely agree with Tom’s opinion of the Imperial Guard in the WA expansion.
It’s the underpowered quality of the IG that makes it so satisfying when you withstand a few rushes and start laying the smack down with the Bane Blade and some Leman Russ tanks.
