Deus Ex Alpha

The genre has gone from strength to strength recently with many titles being produced and a quite a few good ones over the horizon (SupCom 2, Company of Heroes 2, Starcraft, Dawn of War 2.. funny how these are sequels.)

What do you guys think the best RTS game is. You can vote for a new and old one if you like.

Personally, I think Company of Heroes is the best. You can memorise as many build orders as you like, time your assaults for maximum efficiency before hitting the stronger units etc etc, but at the end of the day, it requires a very dynamic player. You have to be able to watch your squads all of the time, know when to retreat or just fall back. You've gotta' scout and anticipate. And on top of all of this, the graphics are brilliant. It makes micromanaging less of an arduous task than it is in games like Dawn of War because the squads have their own AI. They'll seek cover. They won't run blindly at a MG to find it though.

World in Conflict comes a close second for me. Imo it has the best story in any RTS. Ever. But the main reason it comes second for me is the multiplayer, it's ingenious. It's always action and everyone has to co-operate for an assault to be effective. It also has the best nukes in any game, period. The deadly silence after you just unloaded a warhead on a town full of infantry is the most satisfying silence in any game since the end of Call of Duty 2.

Uhh, Age of Empires 2 I guess.

Age of Empires 2

Starcraft, Age of Empires 2 and Red Alert 2.

But I'm only good at Zombie Master.

Rome Total War

Company Of Heroes, and Opposing Fronts are two of the finest RTS's i've ever played. Especially with the Europe in Ruins mod for it, which adds persistency. The second best RTS i've ever played is most likely BFME2 + RotWK.

adds persistency?

My brain entirely skipped that part of the post

I say Starcraft, Warcraft 3, Age of Empires 2, World In Conflict, and Red Alert/Red Alert 2

I go for a bit of Dawn of War action myself but nothing beats the timeless AoE 2.

Warcraft 3 is good but my faviourates at C&C and Dawn of War.

Age of Empires 2, 3 and Age of Mythology. RIP Ensemble.

I liked some others too, like World in Conflict for example but ES's series is my favourite. I can play on one map for hours. Just building stuff, exploring, training a huge army, then finally crushing the enemy. The stories and the design are great too, not to mention the lovely graphics and music.