When I first thought of real time strategy I couldn’t understand why people would want to play them. I had seen my friends play some RTS games but to me they always looked really boring. I guess that I have always been more of an action and adventure type of gamer so games that took a lot of thinking weren’t in my realm of vision.
Looking into exactly what these games are gave me some insight as to what makes them so popular. They give the player the ability to do things and control things that they wouldn’t normally get to control. In that sense RTS games aren’t that much different than any other video game. However they are different in the things that they let the player control. Rather than Marcus Phoenix or Link from Zelda you control the building of things or the organization of certain things.
I went ahead and took my research a little bit further and bought the game Anno 2070 on a whim. Ive only played through the first couple of missions so my opinion on the game may be skewed. My first impression of the game were good and I actually found myself really liking the game. I liked the ability to do things any way you want to and make your civilization your own way. I also really liked the fact that you actually have to think to do really well in the game. Sure you could go and do things without thinking but the real fun of the game is to learn how to do things well and in better ways.
Overall I was misguided with my original thoughts of RTS games and really once I actually tried to play one of the games they actually make for a fun time if you just take the time to sit down and learn how to play them.
2070 and all the games in the Anno series are kind of in their own sub-genre of RTS’s. I love them, but they are completely different than something like Starcraft, Age of the Empires, or Company of Heroes. If you are looking for a more action-y war style RTS, play one of those. The ladder, Company of Heroes, is my favorite and is virtually all tactics and fighting – units take cover and things like unit and tank facing actually matter. Otherwise, if you like the city builder style that Anno offers, then it is a good thing you went with that game cause Anno is one of the best brands for that, and their latest one seems to be their best yet. I know I’ve been waiting to get it
For myself personally, the best RTS games are the Starcraft series and League of Legends (If you classify that as one, since I have heard it go a few ways.) Starcraft is probably the most famous RTS game on the market today and the championships for it are pretty intense to watch in all honesty. I play it on the slight occasion, and it does take some practice and skill to get good at it. The ranking system works well within it and to think that when you first start, you are probably in the bottom of seven different leagues puts a dent in your ego. But I would encourage you to at least try the Starcraft II game sometime soon.