Jun 12, 2018 The Best RTS Games to Play in 2017 Real-time strategy (RTS) games are the current evolution of strategic board games such as chess, Risk, Stratego, and Settlers of Catan. Many gamers love playing all of these in addition to RTSs. It’s no wonder since they combine all the tactics, planning,. Apr 12, 2019 These are the best strategy games on PC. For more on the greatest games you can buy on PC, check out our list of the best FPS games on PC, the best free PC games, the best RPGs and the best puzzle.

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I'm just looking for RTS style games to fill my saturdays with it doesn't matter if it isn't 100% RTS any games of that rough type are perfect. Got a shit load of ideas now and my wallet will take. Nov 20, 2015 This video included Top RTS Games of 2015. (Final summarize) in this year 20 plus rts games released and some of them remastered. Here i post best Real-time strategy games in 2015. If you are a.

The top ten best real-time strategy games of all time.

Feb 10, 2020  There are many lists of the best RTS games, and many of those lists a packed with the classics from the 90’s and early 2000’s. These legends have quite rightly earned their place in the real-time hall of fame for all time, but this status quo sees the same titles appearing time and again, with little new to say about them.

The Top Ten Best RTS Games

1StarCraft

StarCraft Original lacked in balance between races, so it is incorrect to list it as number one. In fact, it was StarCraft: Brood War that brought the balance to the game.
The fact that top pros in the literally most competitive gaming environment ever managed to completely reinvent their play styles at least a dozen times over the past decade just proves how infinite SC:BW really is when it comes to the freedom a player is given.
SC:BW remains the one and only game that gives the player an absolute freedom in deciding on which element of RTS to focus as well as adjust the pace of the game accordingly - no other RTS has ever done it, as WC3 has a catastrophic macro aspect and zero to none multitasking on 50 different locations for 50 different reasons which you have to decide for yourself in every second of the game. Accordingly, StarCraft 2 has a very specific ratio of micro and macro presence in the game, making it fast but with a pre-determined pace that players ..more

This shouldn't need any justification to any serious RTS player.

Simply the best RTS game made in history.
Thousands of players over 10 years after release quite speaks for itself.
If in doubt, go buy it now for practically nothing, and try it out yourself!
Pure gold from the time Blizzard still had soul and focused on quality.

The biggest game in the whole game industry. Balanced on a level which has no competitor. Tons of options, no forced gameplay. I'm still in love with Protoss

2Company of Heroes

The best game I have ever played!
This game is always the best Real-Time Strategy game.
You should try Company of heroes Online!
You will like it.

Great game that does best what an RTS should do - focus on strategy.

Realistic war. Tank cannot kill with rifle like some other RTS games.

You need tactics and strategy in this game. In Starcraft any where on the map is anywhere on the map, but in Company of Heroes the map can mean your direct counters loses to its counter because of the map. Cover matters. If you like strategy you like this better than Starcraft, if you are a gamer and like games before you like war or strategy you like starcraft better.

3WarCraft III

Realy good game, perfect balance.
Handy map editor so you can create very good mods.
One of them (dota) is really nice to play.

WarCraft 3 is the best. Like the other person said, it has a good map editor. The Frozen Throne expansion had an AMAZING story. The four races are:Human, Orcs, The Night Elves and The undead. The units of each race are on a different scale. FORGET THIS! I forgot to mention heroes. The heroes are your generals, your most powerful units. Each level grants you an ability point. For example, the human blood mage, gets phoenix at level 6.

Quality RTS Game. 3D Graphics and 4 Different races.
Uses Battle.net, an amazing game server!
One downside the 4 races may seem unbalanced.

Not as revolutionary as StarCraft, however it is one of the most, if not the most unique RTS game of all time. The factions are highly differentiated and the introduction of heroes adds a new dynamic to traditional strategy that adds depth and replayability, whilst additional features such as the superb Battle.net system and the accessible yet powerful world editor make WarCraft 3 a transcending classic. Top that off with what is one of the greatest storylines in gaming, and WarCraft I definitely deserves the title of 'best RTS game'.

4Age of Empires III

Best RTS of all time hands down. Only reason it wasn't more popular than AOEII is that the graphics where ahead of it's time. Took a beefy machine to run this game and not many people could play it unless all of the affects where turned off. The graphics are still ahead of most RTS's that have been released in the last 3 years. That is an amazing thing. There still is not an RTS that even comes close to touching AOEI in any way especially with the Asian Dynasties expansion pack. If you didn't rank this first, it's likely only because you haven't played it yet and have no clue what you are talking about.
Microsoft where complete and utter fools to close ensemble studios. The only bad thing about this game, is it will ruin any other RTS experience for you. Nothing else measures up to date. I'm not interested in playing any other RTS though I've tried almost all of them. Truly sad Microsoft's lack of foresight on this. Even more sad that they are holding onto the rights.

Beats Total War in my opinion. Its has both jaw dropping graphics and easy to learn gameplay. Good for Pros and Newcomers alike. AOE still holds the throne for the Best historic RTS game..

Expansions, greatest RTS ever made.
The sheer complexity of this this game leaves a person learning even after playing it over a 1000 times.
No exaggeration!

The 3rd edition of the great series moves to America with better graphics - MatrixGuy

5Empire Earth

Empire Earth (along with its expansion, EE:AoC) was an amazing game for its time. I still find myself returning to it from time to time.
It simply is an amazing RTS with gameplay that spans the history of man.

In most RTS games you can end a match in 30 minutes. In Empire Earth a match may last for hours and maybe days. The game also is the only one that has 15 epochs while others RTS games don't have more than 4. That's why its the best RTS game of all time!

Empire Earth is the Best Game of All Time should be Top 5 Atleast its better then Ages of Empires

Empire Earth is a real time strategy game from Sierra, which you build your civilizations not through ages but epochs. Select from 14 epochs in world history including the Bronze Age, the Renaissance, the Imperial Age, World War II and the Digital Age and establish an empire for the ages. Contained here are links for both Empire Earth and it's expansions

6Age of Empires II

Yes, the best RTS and one of the best games of all time. Why? Because it was the true definition of an RTS game series of whom got it start before Starcraft. It boasted 13 civilizations, although similar, each has unique units and abilities like faster work rate, stronger infantry, stronger cavalry, and is loaded with variety that changes your approach to strategy with each civilization. Terrain variety; sand, dirt, water, different forest types, and later snow and ice. This game had great graphics not only for its time but it still looks great. Even though I have AOE3 running on a great computer, I still consider AOE2's graphics superior because of the smooth gameplay and uncluttered feel. Not to put Starcraft down but I just do not like it, I have made myself play it so many times just because everyone makes it seem so good that I want to experience that joy, and I only end up with a headache and slight wanting-to-puke feelings. Not only do I feel Age of Empires 2 is my favorite ..more

Age of empires 2 two was my third RTS game, the first was dune, then came red alert, then Age of Empires 2. The first age of empires lacked the finesse of being a great game due to the lack of large populations, but once I played AoE 2 I truly fell in love with RTS. Age of Empires 2 has a variety of gameplay that most RTS games lack. The seeded maps tend to make games unpredictable due to the random positions of resources, this meant that I had to come out with strategies on the spot, in addition to requiring base building mobility, my macro and micro were both equally important. If I did not micro my scout and worker positions at the start of the game I could be 7 minutes behind a rival, the most single mistakes could cost me dearly in games. That is not to say that Age of Empires 2 was fun only because of PvP, going against computers was very fun too, in fact it occupied 90% of the time I played AoE 2, 1 vs 6 hardest AIs. The game had very interesting aspects to it, very often when ..more

The perfect RTS. The only flaw I can find is possibly the inability to create self-perpetuating income. However, relics and the market do enable even this. Random map is the single most amazing element of any RTS, ever. Three ways to win, not including regicide, keeps everyone in a multiplayer game even after they've been reduced to a single peasant. Four resources creates nice complexity and allows for alternate resource starvation strategies. The thought that was put into the game by the developers, I mean eight different food sources for heaven's sake, is astounding. And balance.. Ah balance.. While other RTS games claim to have balance, AoE II is the standard for balance, because each race is the same, except for the differences, which are the strategic point of the game and were your choice in the first place. If Age of Empires II were to receive some very minor graphic upgrades, exactly the same proportions, just better animations, better lighting, better water textures and ..more

Hands down, one of the best if not the best RTS games of all time. This was the first RTS game I played to be honest, but the main reason this is way better than the third version is the completely balanced civilizations. The third version never had the balance this one had but was superior in terms of graphics and some mechanics like queuing. And since it's going to have a definitive edition and have those mechanics added, It's going to keep this position for a long time.

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7Total Annihilation

The first RTS game to display 3D generated units and terrain (no sprites! ), affecting things like terrain that can block shots depending on high the shot is fired, and turrets that swivel and fire with every pixel.
Various worlds to ravage upon, including metal, beach, volcanic, ice and no land water based worlds (Yes, this game features a lot of sea/amphibious units).
This is a game about awesome game play - not a 'movie'

Best RTS ever made. Don't tell me about Warcraft or Starcraft, which lacks the advanced possibilities of TA.

One of the first mainstream futuristic RTS's without this you wouldn't have half the amount of real time strategy games on this top 10.

Best game ever - hundreds of different units allows true strategy, and having to defend against air, sea and land attacks just makes it all the more awesome. Epic online battles with shared resources allowed strategy of the type not seen in other online Real Time Strategy games, where each player can play their part - some people farming resources - others concentrating on defense or attack, not just for themselves - but for their team.

8Supreme Commander

I BeastmodeGuNs Believe that supreme commander forged Alliance is good RTS for a few reasons, first off is gameplay
There are 4 Different Factions to supreme Commander Forged Alliance Each Having their own units and structures, and in supreme commander FA, you can control 100s of units On maps ranging from the smaller 5x5 and 10x10 to the Larger 20X20 and 40x40 and even 81x81
Each faction has at least 30 different units you can use to defeat your opponent including Land Forces, Air Units, and Naval Units, as well as units called Experimentals which you can use to turn the tide of the battle,
you also have your main Unit called the ACU which you use to start your base if you have the 'prebuild base' option off, not only can you use an ACU for constructing a base, building up your resources (mass and energy) and create factories to make units but you can also use your ACU for combat purpose, and the ACU for each faction also has a array of upgrades to ..more

One of the best RTS's I've ever played, fast, tactical and intense.

This game has the biggest battle scale on the list, you can command hundreds of units at once and then view at it's epic-scale battles, I didn't like the second one personally, not sure what you guys think..

This game adds strategy and scope ranging from quick rushes on 5kmx5km maps to 81km to 81km maps with numerous tactics and strategies at a player's disposal. You can essentially do anything on this RTS game, there's so much diversity. The unfortunate factor is after playing this game, all other RTS games fail in comparison. I recommend watching videos on Praisegugleourmaster's youtube account to see the gist of things. Make sure to google Forged Alliance Forever (FAF) if you're interested in this game. Its the community driven fan site.

9StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

Everything about this game is great, but a few things stand out. First it is simple but can be turned into something complicated for more advanced players. 2nd there are so many different types of completely unique strategys instead of the plain old, build and attack and hope you built faster then the other guy. And 3rd, YOU CAN BUNCH UP YOUR UNITS. This seems trivial but the main thing I notice about other rts games that ticks me off is that the units are so spread out and don't follow a direct path, they just kind of walk arond in circles a couple times trying to get to the objective or they wont get into a small space so you can control them easily.

Been a StarCraft lover since I was 8, but once StarCraft II came out, I thought the original became obsolete. Easily in the top ten, but Blizzard overdid themselves. And with the never-ending possibilities and bug-fixes in the game, it never gets old. How they will top this in StarCraft I (if they make one) is going to be extraordinarily difficult.

Best of the bests..
Awesome Graphics, gameplay, sounds.
Just keep me playing months ago..

The matchmaking system is great, the balance is constantly being supervised. Will this game ever be outdated? No!

10Rise of Nations

While other games may have better graphics and smoother mechanics, Rise of Nations has the nostalgia feel that no other game can match for me. Plus, the stability of it on pretty much any system makes it a must get for any RTS gamer, especially for those who don't have top-of-the-line systems.

Great game, Tough to play with OCD though because the roads were hard to align how I wanted.

Huge variety and complexity, beautifully crafted and presented this is a cracking, immerse game. Full of subtle touches as you progress and constantly varying dynamics. This is my all time favorite game by a mile. On the surface, it may seem like AOE 2/3, but in my opinion it is far better and more interesting.

This is very interesting game. I like it. I need another version of this game.

The Contenders

11Stronghold: Crusader

Simply the game I go back to when the others bore me. RTS stategy with plenty of options and AI to keep it interesting.

It's an RTS game mixed with a castle simulator. There are so many ways you can approach any one situation. The enemy has a large castle? Sneak in a bunch of slaves and burn his crops to the ground! What, his gate's are always locked? Send in some knights to attack the walls, and then send in assassins to open the gate from the other side!
Not to mention the genuine feel of running your own castle! The characters are fun to play against, and the dynamic market system was a feature that not many games bothered to introduce into their games yet.

One of the first games I played. And it got my attention since first time I played it. I like how real everything is about managing your castle. The happyness, the combat, building, economy, everything kept me with this game untill today

Best RTS game ever in my opinion. Its simplicity, fused with its fun factor clearly makes game really entertaining! Much better than any other game of its genre.

12Command & Conquer

Litterally the only reason rts ever became a thing.. how it's not number 1 is insane. Until EA destroyed it it was THE most complex rts in terms of pushing the limits of what was available and what a computer could accomplish at the time.

There are at least 8 games in the top 10 that suck dogs compared to any C&C game.

Obviously the king. No question about that. This game as stated before me is the standard at which all RTS games need to live up to. When ever I get a RTS game I'm looking for one that will recreate the same level of fun I had when I first fired up C&C.

The first game. just because of its epicness.
Awesome music as well. Frank Klepacki rocks! - hassefar60

13The Lord of The Rings: The Battle For Middle Earth

This game is very simple but each races distinct units and abilities balance the all out and make every game wide open for anyone playing. It has a very accurate to the movies campaign and all the heroes from the films. In one moment you can go from being attacked by archers to have a Balrog knocking down your gate and destroying everything, this game gets crazy fast. If you're looking for an rts that focuses on combat and units more than city building give this game a try.

This game is excellent. Not to mention it is great fun to relive the films as RTS. All expansions take you deeper into the world of Middle Earth.

Seriously? This is one of the greatest RTS games in existence! Great campaign mode, multi-playability (until they shut down the online play. Thank you to Gameranger and other sites for keeping it alive ), and the second one and its expansion are even better! You can't put a price on games like these but sadly you need an older computer to even run the game. Thank you Windows for being stupid!

This is hands down one of the most fun and interesting RTS games I've ever played.

14Rome: Total War

The best of two worlds, turn base and RTS all in one, also one of the best eras for strategy war games. Still playing it, and loving it.

Honestly the most satisfying RTS game and also one that uses true brains and strategy rather than producing more than your enemy can, unit placement and movements are key and morale is what makes this game a true strategy game.

A totally different approach to RTS than other RTS games. If you are looking for a realistic RTS then this is the best. Battles and affairs of state are kept seperate in the game allowing for battles to be extremely realistic.

Simply Amazing game that occupied much of my time, I absolutely cannot wait Rome: Total War 2 set to release sometime this year but be sure to play the original you wont regret it.

15Command & Conquer: Red Alert

The Best RTS hands down. Thousands of people still play this game as well. Red Alert 1, has the greatest campaign I've ever seen, and red alert 2, was perfect for on line gaming. Red Alert 3 is total garbage, and any real red alert would agree.

I'm putting all of the Red Alert games, aldo Red Alert 3 is my favorite because of the graphics, before it was released I used to play Red Alert 2 all the time, and loved it.

First rts game I ever played. I still find myself loading it up! The expansion with Yuri and the mind control.. My favorite game of all time.

Oh, Red Alert 1. The people who invented Chess wished they had Command & Conquer.
CnC Red Alert 1- The best RTS yet of all time, no one has ever reacreated this feeling, this strategy, this simplistic but amazingly complicated game. And even with it's really amusing cartoony caricatures of Stalin, Einstein, & the Allies, games themselves become intense battles for all out world domination.
If you're looking for an RTS and have never played this, play it. People are still playing this game 20 years after it came out. The best players in the world are playing on cnet. I play every day. I literally dream in Q,click, attack, because of this game - Nickalia

16Command and Conquer 3

In C&C series, RA 2 yuri is the best for me, you can out wit others with in 5 min. A lot of fast fast and long game strategies, good story line, good music. Bad side, too many mods and bugs, and map always reveal after explored, make it hard to sneak in. In entertaining perspective, I would rank ra2 yuri only after warcraft 3, only because warcraft3 has ton of custom and ton of players online.

The first rts game. Best rts saga. Great game with great characters and story. The other strategy games compare to this are just crap.

I like all the games listed in this top ten, but CNC 3 was one of the last games released (at least good games, not something like C*N*C TT) in this epic series and I like it as one of the best for me followed by RAs (no matter which one) and then other installments in the series.

Going back to its roots, Command & Conquer 3 revives the epic conflict between the Global Defense Initiative and the Brotherhood of Nod. There's a third side called the Scrin in the fray now, but you'll remember the Mammoth tanks and ion cannons from earlier games in the series. C&C3 has a good selection of multiplayer maps and Battlecast functionality, which makes spectating games fairly easy.

17Command & Conquer Red Alert 2

A C&C game is not in the top 10? WORST LIST EVER! This game had it all; though it's story is nothing to write home about, it's music is a memorable selection of techno tunes, it's graphics look good for 2.5D standards, and it's multiplayer was top of the class. I prefer Yuri's Revenge if only because it balanced characters such as Tanya, added new units, a whole new playable faction and team-based skirmishes, but that doesn't stop Red Alert 2 on it's own being worth your time and money.

It's 2015, I'm 16, and believe it or not I've been playing this since I was about 4, I still play it even today (well the expansion) and it never gets old, amazing game. Also if you ever feel you're getting bored of it, there are hundreds of AMAZING modifications for this game. The gameplay never ends. If you love RTS games and don't have this, get it right now. Be sure to pick up the expansion pack as well.

I still play this game today! This is by far one of the best RTS games because if its simplicity and allowing any individual across a variety of ages to get into the game. The soundtrack was superb as well as the graphics for a game made in 2000.

C&C games have to be on the list! Although its hard to pick just one.. I'd have to say that Red Alert 2 had some of the best gameplay in the entire series. It's biggest flaw was that it set the bar too high for the new games.

18WarHammer 40000

This is coming from someone who has played Warhammer 40,000 all throughout his life and sees it as not just a simple hobby but essentially a life long love and something that you must go through with love, determination, and wits to be successful in. Warhammer 40,000 deserves to be ranked higher, but this rank is as we all know good as well. It combines science fiction, tactics, as well as good 'ole blood and gore. All Warhammer players also realize the sheer awesomeness of the chainsword as well

Fast paced, frenetic, squad based combat, 7 playable races, and a sandbox turn-based campaign map for single player. Minimized resource management and maximum unit management. Customize-able squads allow you to change not only the look of the unit and your army as a whole but the functionality of the squad being upgraded, allowing for endless combinations, strategies, and tactics

This should easily be in the top 10. With a much different and overall better take on RTS genre instead of the usual mass worker go gather resource instead you use your army to capture strategic points on the map to generate income take critical location to get a countdown victory a much more varied way to win then just destroy your opponent, adds a lot more strategy to the game. Has a amazing cover system as well as most troops able to melee as well as shoot. I could keep going on how amazing this game is it's just that damn good.

I can sum this game up in one simple word. Baneblade. There is nothing like watching the rolling death machine plowing its way through an army.

19Halo Wars

Extremely awesome, I love Halo wars! Halo Wars I like a tower defense (exceptional of the the campaign mode) Combined with a Halo game. Very good! I would really recommend trying the Halo wars demo on the Xbox 360 game marketplace or buying the full version.

Just awesome, one of the things that make Halo Wars better is that it is on a console, as many of us know, most console RTS suck, so it is a great game and for a console for the win

The best RTS ever! It combines HALO and Strategy games! You can't ask for more!

Epic game of all time. At least better than homeworld.

20Homeworld

After so many years Homeworld still looks fine to me, and I saw in very few space strategies those excellent mechanics of rockets and other stuff dealing damage to enemies at impact, not only ugly and stupid animations like those in Sins of solar empire. That always made this game looks and feels so great for me. Epic storyline, based on original Battlestar Galactica series, joined with excellent soundtrack (Adagio for strings by Samuel Barber especially) and voice acting makes this game just most epic experience in my gamer life.

The 3D world makes you think and play in ways that are fun and difficult at the same time along with intense massive battles with a great story line, combine that with awesome multiplayer and great Ai and you have a perfect game.

I recently got this game, and its 2011! But seriously, amazing game, good story line, and fun gameplay. Pure miracle for its time

I had this game when I was younger and I must say it was one of the most fun and strategy based PC gaming experiences that I have ever had. The gameplay was smooth and fun, and the storyline was excellent. It is definitely one of the greatest RTS games, and most certainly still 100% playable twelve or so years later.

21Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3

Worst list ever! This game must be in top 10. This is the best simple RTS I ever play, one resources and no worker to build make this game are easy to play but not easy to stop playing

The best RTS game on this planet is RED ALERT 3!

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22Command & Conquer Generals

Good graphics and exciting game play. Campaigns are great. Challenge mode in zero hour is my favorite as well. Spent hundreds of hours to play this game in my collage.

One of the greatest RTS games of all time, a lot of possible strategies, excellent graphics for his period, unfortunately the expansion is a little unbalanced

Best game ever. It still feels current with everything that is going on in the world. Fun and simple game play too!

Amazing gameplay, each faction was well balanced and very different from one another. I still play this today.

23Shogun: Total War

Very good game. Much better after playing napoleon total war. But rome total war is much better in my opinion its a must play if you like rts based on history good turn by turn game.

24Rise & Fall: Civilizations At War

For me, this is pretty much the best strategy game I ever played.
Not only that the troops are of a large variety and easy to handle, but the fact that you could SWITCH INTO THE HEROS SHOES is simply amazing.
Playing as a hero and commanding a whole army at the same time is the best thing that can happen to a strategy game.
It's depressing, that there will be no Rise and Fall 2. This game would have deserved to live on through a follow-up.

It's a good game, the naval combat system is the best from all Real time strategy games but is pretty old but I would like to see Rise and fall 2.

One of the most unquie RTS I have ever played, it has good smooth gameplay, visuals where decent and most of all it allowed you to take command of your hero unit and actually take part in the battle and help turn the tide of battle.

25Age of Mythology

Age of Mythology was the first game I ever played.. So much memories.. After 10 years, I still play it, and I enjoy it the same. That says something, doesn't it? It's just something else.. It's the very definition of a simple game, yet it's awesome..
AoM for ever! - RigasUT

This games was absolutely outstanding! I used to play it since I was a little kid more than 10 years ago and I still play it sometimes. I made this game popular among my friends, and I really hope that this game could be remastered, or renewed

I love this game to death! My only regret is that it faced a natural death as newer games stole the spotlight. To this day I secretly hope that everyone will discover what a great game it is.

I used to no life age of mythology for so long.. Great game! I really enjoyed it because the strategy is a lot like real life!

26Tom Clancy's EndWar

I understand this isn't like a lot of RTS games out there but that is what makes it so great and my favorite, the fact that it is all about utilizing strategy on the battle feild and not on resource gathering

Most fun RTS I've ever played in my life..! Take this with a grain of salt because I've only ever played this on Xbox

It's a unique and epic game, you can play it for years

dada

27Black & White

Black and white 2 and 1 are two of the greatest games I have ever played. These two beat the majority of the games on this list and the public are in need of the beautiful graphics and innovative gameplay.

Good ol Black and White, First one was fun, creature isles was also great and had a great follow up of Black and White 2, The only down part is other then building in the game there wasn't much else to do as the ai eventually died out and the game was lacking in challenge.

29Heroes of Might and Magic III

Best strategy game ever made. No strategy game since then even came close to its brilliance.

Best strategy game ever made. Since then no other game has come even close to its brilliance.

Just amazing. I still play this game today, it's just so amazing. If you haven't tried it, give it a go at once!

How can it be in 33? It must in top ten at least. Yeah, it doesn't have a good graphics. But it does have a great strategical gameplay.

30Star Wars Empire at War

While it is beginning to show its age, the sheer modding precence that continues even to this day is what makes this one of the best star wars games out there.

While it does have a few balance issues, it is an incredibly fun game and got me into the genre of RTS.

For Star Wars fans, this game is a wonder

Persnally, I think this game is underrated and doesn't get all the respect it deserves..

32World in Conflict

Unlike a lot of RTS games around, World in Conflict has an extremely good storyline, and is so immersive! I'm serious, the game story feels so right, and the game play in itself walk together with this immersive feeling that the game provides. It is so much fun, and beautiful to look, mostly because I, at least, think the game it is realistic with this new war concept. Seeing the battles, and the battlefields, the fighting taking place, the airdrops.. the amount of things that happen, but not in a way that you could not follow. What I mean is that really looks like a real battle, the details of the game is another factor that helps in this realistic and immersive feeling. Like I said before, the campaign is one of the bests among the RTS games, and as you play to accomplish the objectives you really have fun, and as you keep playing you get more and more willing to keep fighting to proceed and find out whats comes next. Characters and the way that things go it's another factor that ..more

This game has a great storyline and an awesome engine. It is ought to be higher up in the list. This game was not marketed well but that doent mean that gamers should overlook this

This game's epic scale battles and amazing graphics along with very intresting weapons such as the nuke make it one of the best RTS games ever.

Amazing story line, great graphics and awesome game play!
You must play this game, if you like coh you will like this!

33Cossacks: European Wars

One of the best games I have ever played

One of a kind RTS game. Still have in my collection, And trying out the recently released Cossacks 3!

Massive battles!

Fantastic game, with huge armies!

36Men of War

This in mind one of the greatest RTS' of all time. Set in WWII you can control Japanese, German, Russian, British Commonwealth and American forces. Each one has dozens of soldiers, artillery, tanks, SP artillery, armored cars, special units and more.
I also love the unscripted bits. The joy you get watching as a p51 mustang fly down fire two rockets sending buildings crumbling and men flying. Only to be hit by an 88MM and sent into a dive, where it then slams into the ground its wings fly off as it rips down the street only to hit and wreck the 88 that downed it. Watching as a Goliath drives into a building filled with American soldiers whereupon it detonates killing a dozen men and completely destroy the building sending rubble flying.
The multiplayer is great too, with maps made for quick fast paced skirmishes, to large maps that become wars of attrition to dig out the bastards and set them alight with a Flammenwerfer.
Watching as a Russian sniper is taking ..more

Played many RTS games but this by far the best one I have ever played. It has realism but is very playable. Tank Vs tank combat is very realistic where one penetrating shot disables a tank. Also being able to break apart your squads allows you change out what weapons they have, so you can have an all round squads or a squad that solely specializes in killing a specific unit type.

Brilliant I love it, well the whole series. :O)

I'm playing RTS from Dune and KKND, this one is by far the best one, if you can forget that horrid voiceover.

37Warlords Battlecry III

I got hooked on the first warlords, the last warlords that was made didn't seem like a true RTS! The last warlords was turn based.

Love all the races you can pick and the heros are really original, one of my favorite games of all time

One of the best RTS Games ever. Amazing game, amazing strategies - best to play in LAN multiplayer.

I love the sixteen factions/races, the scads of classes for hero creation and the items available to modify them. There's truely no other rts like it.

38Planetary Annihilation

Isn't even out yet, and it's already my favorite game.
If it delivers on even half of it's promises, it will be the best RTS ever.
Having followed it on Kickstarter, and read all I can come across on the subject, I can say that I have the deepest faith in these industry veterans to deliver a pure-breed strategy game of truly epic proportions.
I loved their previous work, and this time they are entirely unhindered by any publisher telling them what to do. Creativity unleashed, and a true passion for Real-Time Strategy. How could it possibly go wrong?
Well, it could turn out to take 23 years to develop, but other than that?

Looks Great. The fact that they promise the use of asteroids as bombs is epic. Planetary Annihilation will be epic. Hope the hype won't kill this game. Maybe it will get in top ten someday.

Tired of have corners in your RTS game map. Now in this game there are no corners and no ends in the map. the whole planet is your map. Even more, the whole solar system is your map.

PA is one of the best RTS I have ever played

39Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance

The more you play FA the more things you will discover are possible. For instance I was watching a game replay and realized things I could have done. Also, just simple experimenting with game-play is enjoyable. Would love to see more games like FA.

This is and always will be one of my favorite games of all time next to Home-world, The massive scale of things and the fact that offense isn't always best like in almost every game you play out there.

I tried so many games, but this is so good! Try mods like experimental wars and you will love it!

The best RTS of all time! Don't need to say more.

41Stronghold 2

My favorite in the series

Very boring like eating fish along its hard pinning skels. Graphics amazing. Dead with music and speech. A game in d body box. When compared Strom hold crusader.. Mony lali@gmail.com.S. India. Sorry of my bad inglish

42Aliens Vs. Predator: Extinction

With three unique factions, bringing three of the most iconic science fictional characters: The Aliens, Predators, and Marines, this game certainly deserves a spot on the list regardless of it's outdated graphics and console restricted title, it still has managed to excite the inner nerdy glee from controlling some of science fiction's bests!

43Warcraft II

On top of nostalgia value, this game has a lot to credit it: an interesting and well developed plot, a quintessential RTS mechanic, cool units, even good atmosphere (including the funny quotes your units say if you click on them over and over again - and who could forget exploding sheep? ). Starcraft is basically just this game set in space (and the leftovers of a lost Warhammer 40k lisence), and frankly Warcraft 3 failed to meet the standard that this game set.

I could go through the hassle of writing a clear and precise analysis on why it's easily the most perfect RTS ever made, but you newbies wouldn't understand anyways.

Easily the best RTS ever made.

44Sins of a Solar Empire

Complex, but very fun! Takes a bit of time to learn it but it guarantees a lot of good, fun game time.

45Medieval II: Total War

Holy.. 42?! Dang.. I spent a lot of hours and way too many all-nighters playing this game. I always loved being Denmark, conquering all the way up to Russian lands, and then me and the Mongolian Hordes will just screw each other up. 'Cause I didn't have any good cavalry, and that's like, ALL they had.
Also, on the beginning of one play-through as Denmark, my Prince died in like, his first battle (Flaming Ballista to the face, direct hit), so I was really hoping my 50-something King aged would have another kid before kicking the bucket. Lo' and behold, he lived to like, 70, and had plenty more kids. Talk about luck!
Ahh, good times.

Very creative and beautiful game

One of the best

One of the best strategies ever.

46Supreme Commander 2

I decided it needed at least a couple of votes. It was not as unique as its older brother, but I still enjoyed it. THe game is able to run on a wider range of computer software, making it more accessible to the casual gamer.

49Battle Realms

Never got much light on the big stage but a very underrated and under appreciated game. One of the more unique RTS games of all time.

Easy play mode with 3 civilizations; I love the wolfs; and the training system for samurai to; easy, fun and unique RTS game. Love LF horses to :P

I have played a many RTS games and Battle Realms and it's expansion Battle Realms: Winter of the Wolf has no other (competitor) in my opinion. it's just different and it's just good. much like supcom and the others/rest it has it's own pros and cons. Love Battle Realms any time of the day.

Awesome game, awesome engine, awesome characters, awesome graphics for that year, original, fun!

50Empire: Total War

This is one of the most historically accurate and engaging games on this list. Games like starcraft and supreme commander are nothing more than glorified click-fests with no real strategy.

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There are many lists of the best RTS games, and many of those lists a packed with the classics from the 90’s and early 2000’s. These legends have quite rightly earned their place in the real-time hall of fame for all time, but this status quo sees the same titles appearing time and again, with little new to say about them. It can leave newer releases in the cold.

The rise of MOBAs has challenged the RTS scene quite significantly over the past decade, but that hasn’t stopped some worthy games rising to the top ranks to earn their own place in a future generation's hall of fame.

Recently Released RTS Games

Well this is embarrassing. We've reviewed THREE new RTS titles since the start of the year, and none of them seem to have been good enough to warrant a place in the list below, for various reasons. We'll list them out below just for posterity, but beware these arn't considred our favourites right now:

• Warcraft 3: Reforged - still the subject of much controversy, this is a classic example of how not to manage expectations. The game is still quite good, and the remastered assets are quite pretty.. but really only people who've never played Warcraft 3 are going to get anything out of this. Veteran fans are advised to steer clear for now.
• Commandos 2 HD - the first of two remasters being done by Kalypso Media, this is a much loved real-time stealth/action game you'd think would be easy enough to get right. You'd be wrong.
• Praetorians HD - This is the second remaster and technically the strongest new entry of the three, this is an RTS that's been handled well in terms of porting, but sadly as a game just doesn't really fit well in terms of modern design. It's a bit buggy in places but not as bad as the above, and generally is probably one title that didn't need bringing into the 21st Century. Shame.

What are the best RTS Games?

• John Wick Hex
• Close Combat: The Bloody First
• Driftland: The Magic Revival
• Bad North: Jotunn Edition
• Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun
• Tropico 6
• Offworld Trading Company
• Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak
• Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault
• Age of Empires 2
• StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty
• Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation

John Wick Hex

Developer: Bithell Games
Publisher: Good Shepard Entertainment
Buy From:Epic Games Store

I know this is going to cause some controversy, but I'm having a real tough-time with this one, ok? Hear me out - My thinking is, John Wick Hex can't be a turn-based game because there's no defined set of time for the turn to play out in. You choose an action, whether it be walking, or firing your gun, and time advances however long it takes for that action to play out. Meanwhile the game still plays out around you at it's own pace regardless of what you're doing, and your action could end part-way through a enemy playing out their action. It's not like BSG Deadlock, where a fixed amount of time passes in between issuing orders. So yeah, for now until we hear otherwise John Wick Hex is an RTS games. Kind of. Don't @ Me - it's not like there have been many RTS releases of note recently.

Identity crises aside, this is a very inventive and addictive strategy game where you play as John Wick, from the movies, in a prequel story set before the first film. You don't actually need to know much about the films for this to work - mastering the rhythm and the dynamics of the game's 'time-line' system is fascinating enough, and there are a surprising amount of tactical options to approach any given situation. This probably one of the most decent tie-in games we've seen in a long while.

Close Combat: The Bloody First

Developer: Slitherine
Publisher: Slitherine
Buy From:Steam, Direct

This is quick one as we'll talk more about this on our sister The Wargamer's list of excellent WW2 Games when it next gets updated, but this is a real-time tactics game that released recently from Slitherine. It's the first 3D entry in the iconic Close Combat series from the 90's, and puts you in charge of a fictional Company of the US 1st Infantry division through their exploits in Tunisia, Sicily and Normandy. It's pretty good, although there are still some technical hiccups that need to be ironed out. Still, an optimistic start to a new era of Close Combat games.

Driftland: The Magic Revival

Developer: Star Drifers
Publisher: Star Drifters
Buy From:Steam

It's nice to see a new face finally make it onto this list - Driftland was in Early Access for a couple of years before it finally released in April 2019, and it seems that time has been put to good use. This is an innovative RTS that follows in the mould of the classic Majesty franchise - where indirect control is the order of the day. You are a Mage whose realm is on one of many shattered pieces of the world floating around, and you must develop your holdings and expand onto other ones by connecting them together.

It's not for everyone, and there are some other minor niggles that will need to get worked out over time, but Driftland willingness to be bold and experiment does it justice, and anyone looking for a new fantasy RTS game need look no further. Read our Driftland: The Magic Revival review for more.

Bad North: Jotunn Edition

Developer: Plausible Concept
Publisher: Raw Fury
Buy From: Discord, Steam

Self-styling itself as a 'micro strategy' game, Bad North is the poster child for minimalist design facilitating tight tactical decision making. Evoking the best bits of games like FTL, this game sees you taking your modest force from island to island, protecting them against waves of blood-thirsty marauders. As you progress through the game you can earn coins to level up your troops, recruit new troops and find powerful items to aid you.

At the end of July 2019 Bad North got a major content update known as the Jotunn Edition. This is a huge content update, changing everything from meta progression, to adding new items, to gameplay and difficulty, and more. It's been folded into the main game and is now the 'definitive' version of Bad North.

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun

Developer: Mimimi Productions
Publisher: Daedalic Entertainment
Buy from: Steam, PS4

This isn't a new release but we feel it's definitely worth mentioning as Shadow Tactics is a wonderfully tense real-time tactical/puzzle game that will challenge not only your creative thinking, but also your combo and control skills. This is a stealth-based game that follows in the hallowed tradition of classics like Commandos, but also taking queues from modern contemporaries like Assassins Creed. With a very powerful and engaging narrative, you must guide up to five characters through vibrant and varied levels. Subterfuge is key, and 'fighting your way out' isn't really an option.

This is a wonderful homage to a forgotten genre of strategy games, but one that stands proud as it creates its own legacy. The attention to detail on the maps & characters makes this a story you genuinely want to experience right through the end, with characters you can 100% get behind. The tactical puzzles you are presented with map-to-map will challenge your creativity and handling of the characters to the very end – and at no point does it feel like a chore.

Tropico 6

Publisher: Kalypso Media
Developer: Limbic Entertainment
Buy From:Steam

Ah, Tropico. The Banana Republic sim, the Castro sim, the tin-pot dictator sim. Tropico 6 represents a clean slate in the series' history - originally under the helm of Surviving Mars studio Haemimont, (who were responsible for Tropico's 3-6), Limbic Entertainment have now taken over control of everyone's favourite dictatorship. This is a refreshing twist on the city builder that puts players in the aviators and oversized cigars of not just one, but an entire dynasty of male and female despot wannabes. Starting in the twilight of the Imperial era, the player’s role is that of the manager of a new colony on a Caribbean isle, who eventually earns their independence and then proceeds to navigate the literal and political waters of the World Wars, the Cold War, and into the modern era, with the player choosing such roles as either a socialist dictator, or crony capitalist.

Tropico 6 is a great game. It hits many of the right notes, and has that “just a little longer” feel that will keep you in its sandbox (and coming back) for quite a while. It’s an easy pick for fans of sim games. And of course, there’s always the benefit that you can lord over the lives of hundreds of virtual people with as iron or velvet a hand as you desire – and that’s always a good time!

Offworld Trading Company

Publisher: Stardock
Developer: Mohawk Games
Buy From:Direct

Offworld Trading Company is an object lesson in RTS design. It’s a competitive strategy game in which there is no actual direct combat. And no units. Inspired by classic Atari game MULE and systems like Age of Empires’ Marketplace interface, Offworld Trading Company has players compete by cultivating the economic portfolio of an ambitious, hostile company.

Players are tasked with choosing which resource(s) to harvest to produce income which they can use to, ultimately, buy out their opponent's companies one by one. To this end they are aided by intermittent auctions, the ability to freely buy and sell any resource in the game as well as attack their opponent's production with Pirates, EMPs, nuclear warheads or temporary takeovers of their operations. Ultimately, OTC is a game of efficiency, coupled with prediction and daring. It is, in every sense, the essence of what RTS games are about laid bare for all to see.

Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak

Publisher: Gearbox Software
Developer: Blackbird Interactive
Buy From: Steam

A new take on the classic series’ mechanics and a prequel to the original Homeworld, Deserts of Kharak is beautiful, haunting, powerful and intense. While I was initially sceptical of how the “six degrees of freedom” RTS would pan out on a flat plane, Blackbird Interactive has packed Deserts of Kharak with nuance and heart. One of the best RTS solo campaigns in history, coupled with gameplay that hides surprising subtlety, Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak has been sadly overlooked by the larger RTS community.

Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault

Publisher: SEGA
Developer: Relic Entertainment
Buy From: Steam

With the advent of the Western Front Armies, the overhauling of its War Spoils system and years of balance refinement, Company of Heroes 2 has cemented its place as a respectable and enjoyable competitive strategy game. With the creation of the Ardennes Assault campaign, Company of Heroes 2 has now also earned the honour possessing one of the best replayable single player experiences in modern real-time strategy gaming.

Ardennes Assault provides players with a strategic territory-capture metagame layered over the single-player missions, including semi-random events and time-based objectives that change with each playthrough, four Companies to command (of which you can utilize three in each campaign playthrough) and hard choices in an Iron Man setting. These force the player to think through each move and live with sub-optimal strategies across the length of the campaign. Where the Soviet storyline in the core game was seen as sub-par or at the very least not supremely creative, Ardennes Assault is a well-crafted take on RTS single player.

Age of Empires 2 (2013)

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Hidden Path Entertainment
Buy From: Steam

I feel like I’m cheating, sneaking an older game into this article; while Age of Empires 2's first HD remake came out in 2013, the original was released in 1999. Age of Empires 2 HD was a testament to the enduring quality of classic RTS games. Also of note, three expansions (The Forgotten, The African Kingdoms, Rise of the Rajas) have been released, something kind of unprecedented in the real-time strategy space as far as I know.

The depth and complexity of this classic Age of Empires title is reaching, enchanting, challenging, and captivating the imaginations of a new generation of strategy gamers, and was perhaps the inspiration for Microsoft announcing remakes of virtually every other Age title ever made. It's worth noting that in November 2019 Age of Empires 2: Definitive Editionwas released that largely supersedes the 2013HD release, even though you can buy both separately. It's essentially the same game with even better graphics and a new expansion pack. We've not updated this entry fully because the 2013 edition had far more impact on the RTS genre than the newest version. That said, there's no point buying the HD version if you don't already own it - go straight to the DE.

StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty

Publisher: Blizzard
Developer: Blizzard
Buy From:Direct

You knew this was coming. You might have nodded grudgingly, or groaned inwardly. There’s nothing so contentious as the enduring popularity of StarCraft. It’s common to blame the ‘esports-ification’ of the genre on this phenomenally popular strategy game. But, love it or hate it, you can’t deny that StarCraft has continually set the standards for game polish and features for almost a decade now.

Through relentless balancing, aggressive additions of content, engaging unit designs (yes yes we all hate the Sentry, but that’s the exception not the rule), and a multiplayer scene that virtually every other strategy game is jealous of, StarCraft 2 has rightly earned it its place at the top of the competitive strategy world. Co-op was an absolute coup, and I actually had a sobering day mourning RTS developers everywhere when they announced that SC2 was going to be free-to-play for multiplayer and arcade.

Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation

Publisher: Stardock
Developer: Oxide Games
Buy From: Direct

Best Rts Games Mac 2015 Torrent

While it is undeniable that Ashes of the Singularity launched in a pretty weird place, with a somewhat characterless campaign and what felt like a dearth of unit options, it’s matured in a big way via a long cycle of continued development and optimisation. It now stands as one of the more interesting takes on large-scale RTS that exists in the modern time.

Ashes of the Singularity takes nods from Total Annihilation-style games, but also from Company of Heroes with its squad-based light vehicles, and interconnected resource nodes which function similarly in many respects to territories from Relic’s seminal World War 2 RTS. It uses structure-based support powers similar to those found in Command and Conquer 3, and constrains player upgrades and unit counts through the scarce Quanta resource (which is also used to activate support powers). The campaign DLC has vastly improved in quality, and while the game’s specifications make it difficult to run on all but higher-end machines, Ashes is shaping up to be a serious contender in the large-scale RTS space.

Other RTS Game Recommendations

The below games featured on our list in the past, but have since rotated out to join their brothers and sisters in the hall of heroes:

• Total War: Rome 2
• Tropico 5 (Although 4 will always be my bae-ED)

What would your list of top RTS games look like? Let us know in the comments!

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