Starcraft

Next on the list is arguably the best RTS game of all time: Blizzards nigh on perfect Starcraft, released in 1998. Very similar to its Warcraft Predecessors, Starcraft is mainly renowned for being the first RTS game to include 3 very different but perfectly balanced forces. Whilst not bringing much new to the RTS table Starcraft appears to have been perfectly polished on almost every level, also including an engrossing storyline that was continued wonderfully in its expansion pack. Underperforming in terms of graphics and features when compared to RTS games of its time, it’s this level of polish which has kept the game timeless for so long; you only need look at the community for Starcraft in Korea to see its importance: it’s their national sport.  With Starcraft 2 being one of the most anticipated titles ever, the sheer scale of the legacy it has to live up to is the only gauge you need to see how Starcraft not only put RTS gaming on the map, in some areas of the world it rose far above it.

Starcraft: Perfect. Just Perfect. 

Homeworld

Seemingly out of nowhere Relic Entertainment released the bold and daring Homeworld in 1999, the first fully 3D RTS game, meaning you could be attacked from any angle you could imagine. The game was absolutely gorgeous. When playing for the first time it was clear that the control mechanism needed some refinement, as did the human brain: fighting a battle overhead is one thing, but fighting a battle in 3 dimensions took a lot of getting used to, with a lot of people struggling to keep up with the fast pace of the game, as the AI provided quite the challenge. 

Homeworld: Fresh, exciting, mindboggling. Also: Space.

 The difficulty in using the innovation available could be clearly seen during multiplayer skirmishes, as most players would just use the flat playing field and attacked straight on. Few other games have tried to replicate what Homeworld managed to achieve and until we’re ready to be able to grasp using three dimensional strategies at such pace, they probably won’t.

There’s numerous games that are also noteworthy, but somehow don’t stand out as much as the others: Dark Reign, Battlezone (is it an FPS, RTS or something new entirely?), Populous 3 (God game or RTS?), May Day: Conflict Earth (it introduced us to re-supplying fuel and ammo), Gene Wars, Emperor Battle for Dune, Pax Imperia: Eminent Domain.  The List goes on, but it’s thanks to the innovations of all these titles we’re seeing brilliant RTS games being released today: C&C3, Warhammer 40k Dawn of War, Supreme Commander, and Company of Heroes to name but a few. With Starcraft 2 on the way, the future’s looking bright. What RTS games will be like in 10 years? Only time will tell.

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