The Superiority of the TW Series

So I was travelling in on the train this morning - standing all the way as usual - and there was this chap playing a game on a laptop. It was definitely a "strategy" game of some kind - based on the American War Of Independence perhaps?

But it was one of those games where you have to gather resources, construct buildings, train troops and fight - all on the battlefield. Kind of C&C / Warcraft styleee.

I haven't played one of these since buying MTW :knight: - and I remember now why I've never been tempted back.
Every few seconds, the chap was pausing the game and building some new wall to block an approaching enemy, or building some new building. And the battles seemed to be a case of having more troops in one place than your enemy; the AI was just rushing towards the walls with no thought, and the chap would wait for them to get near, pound them with Arty then rush a load of troops round the wall to attack them.
:charge:

Why are these types of games so popular still?

Anyway, perhaps I am being ungracious because I had to stand.

I used to play Diablo II on the laptop on the way to work. ~D

Dawn of War is a fun RTS... still has the resource gathering issue, but it is at least a little bit better justified fluff wise... just still the same basic mechanics...capture strategic points, put up your flag and then you get more notice from the higher ups who then reinforce your expanded territory... not really that different to capturing provinces/cities for coins.

Ah the good old games where you just gather up resources and rush at the enemy with the maximum number of troops possible. Age of Empires, Command and Conquer and all the rest. I do wonder why I played them as well. Probably because at that time there was nothing else about!

I fully admit to playing them but after playing Shogun TW I just never looked back at them and went onto something more advanced which demanded a bit more than a resource rush to win. However I can see why people keep on playing these games as in another sense they're a bit of a no brainer and don't require too much in the way of thought. The adding in of specific objectives on top of the normal "kill them all" one tends to help add a bit of variety in the game but those games still aren't for me.

However having TW now doesn't stop us wanting more though does it? ~D

Sounds like he may have been playing an Age of Empires title. I like RTS games. They are a good diversion. My all time favorite RTS is Command & Conquer Red Alert 2 with the Yuri's Revenge expansion. Still play it to this day. I don't play RTS games in the popular fashion. I don't like rushing an enemy base when I have enough money to do so. I like to defeat the enemy with as few units as possible with as few casualties as possible. It's just funner. I play Yuri's Revenge on the hardest setting - brutal. I was doing a 1 vs. 1 battle. I was a Soviet fighting Yuri. The map had few resources. It took quite a while, but I defeated the enemy with a single tank (tesla tank for those who know the game). Only when I want to play a short game will I rush an enemy base with a lot of units. I will usually stretch the game on for a long time.:duel:

I still play the odd rts. I have an old game called warzone 2100 which has the largest research tree i've ever found. I love researching different modifications and having different types of games rather than based on game races.

I also play stronghold a fair bit with friends, simply for the castle building role. Alpha Centauri is also another favourite. Looking forward to getting my hands on the new AOE aswell.

I really like the total war series. I've bought them all, and they have huge replay value. However, I don't have the patience to be a die-hard fan, who knows all the maths behind the game, or the ultimate strategies for playing. I like the empire view, the battles, and the sieges. but more on a general level than any in depth view.

I'd probably be slaughtered in multiplayer games, but I do enjoy slaughtering the AI in games. Massive Heavy cavalry charges. Hmmm... :duel:

To me, the TW games have spoilt any RTS games, especially those that come without a pause function. They´re far too fast for me by now. By now, I´m used to fights between two units lasting a couple of minutes, giving me enough time to react, move in some reinforcements. Or rally troops that broke contact in panic, but are still able to fight. Routing, as much as it needed to get used to, at least meant that I could retrain the unit after the battle without having to keep an eye on the health status of each and every unit in the fight.

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Originally Posted by TonkaToys

So I was travelling in on the train this morning - standing all the way as usual - and there was this chap playing a game on a laptop. It was definitely a "strategy" game of some kind - based on the American War Of Independence perhaps?

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Seems like Age of Empires III to me.