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Over in this thread Uraniun235 made this post:

Uraniun235 wrote:The man is not very good at arguing. In Why Linux Is Better, when confronted with "I can't play games on Linux" he defaults to "OMG computers suck at games consoles are sooo much better for games". Brilliant rebuttal.

Now while the usual argument I use against console gaming in favor of PC gaming is that the mouse+keyboard combo is a much better control setup than the console controller, but thats a subjective argument.

However, that post made me realise that I can't think of a single RTS game that even exists for the current consoles (or any console machines for that matter).

So I have to ask:

Do any RTS games exist for the current consoles ?
How well do they play compared to windows RTS games?

bilateralrope wrote:So I have to ask:

Do any RTS games exist for the current consoles ?
How well do they play compared to windows RTS games?

They have ports of games like "Starcraft" onto the various console systems. They tend to be pretty sucky, since their controls were all designed for a keyboard+mouse.

The only one I've played extensively was the original C&C portfor the N64. It worked surprisingly well with a joystick, but it's still hopelessly sluggish compared to a mouse.

The type of game that does work is the simpler strategy title like Pikmin or that goblin game that rips out anything not directly related to troop movement, but those can hardly be called RTS's anymore.

The C&C ports for the Playstation were pretty fun. At least, I liked them.

Herzog Zwei for the Sega Genesis in 1989: technically the first RTS.

DUDE! Everyone enjoys managing battles by carrying tanks around! That game ruled.

There was an AvP RTS, I think; I've seen reviews for it on Game Revolution. It was apparently a XBox or PS2 thing, as it was fairly recent. You built Queen Aliens, got Warriors, pointed them different places and let rip, but I'm not sure how successful it was as I'd never heard of it before...

There was an Age of Empires (2?) port for PS2, and it was compatible with a USB mouse and keyboard. I got it for my birthday one year, wasn't too bad.

That's the reason I've never bothered getting a console...you can't play virtually any strategy game, whether RTS or turn-based. Imagine trying to play RTW on a console controller.

Turn-based is possible, if you tailor the interface to gamepads. Though I'd have to concede that P.T.O. 2 on the SNES is a nightmare compared to P.T.O. 2 on windows. Pity the PC version had truly pitiful AI compared to teh SNES...

I think the Revolution has a change of changing that, but at this point in time, no.

Do the Advance Wars game for the Gameboy and DS count?

Do the Advance Wars game for the Gameboy and DS count?

Those are turn-based, not real-time (RTS). They also don't need quick and precise control, a digital pad actually works better for grid-based stuff.

Herzog Zwei for the Sega Genesis in 1989: technically the first RTS.

The first RTS was “The Ancient Art of War" in 1984 for DOS and Amiga II, it had some nice graphics, squads, rock-paper-sissors dynamics and all. It even had a map editor.

As for current ones on cosoles, a lot have been already been mentioned, and as it's already been pointed out, the interface is the reason they lack populatity in consoles.

AniThyng wrote:Turn-based is possible, if you tailor the interface to gamepads. Though I'd have to concede that P.T.O. 2 on the SNES is a nightmare compared to P.T.O. 2 on windows. Pity the PC version had truly pitiful AI compared to teh SNES...

Even if you don't tailor the interface to gamepads, with turn based you could put a person on a console vs someone on a PC and it will come down to who is the better player. At worst, the person on the console will just be slower to have their turn.

Ah yes, the good ol' days of C&C and Red Alert for the playstation. those were the days... First RTS's I actually got, heh.

Bounty wrote:

Do the Advance Wars game for the Gameboy and DS count?

Those are turn-based, not real-time (RTS). They also don't need quick and precise control, a digital pad actually works better for grid-based stuff.

Batallion Wars, on the other hand, is an RTS mixed with a 3rd-Person Shooter.

I first played Starcraft on the N64. I actually had alot of fun with it at the time, but looking back the controls were horrible.

Shogoki wrote:

Herzog Zwei for the Sega Genesis in 1989: technically the first RTS.

The first RTS was “The Ancient Art of War" in 1984 for DOS and Amiga II, it had some nice graphics, squads, rock-paper-sissors dynamics and all. It even had a map editor.

We're both wrong, it seems.

Did some more looking around, and the first RTS was really a game called Stonkers released in 1983 by Imagine Software for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum.

Wow. I can imagine an RTS on my old Amiga, but the Spectrum? Wish I could play that on my friend's console, though I do have such fond memories of C&C demos for PSX, though not as good as my birthday in December '96 where I got Red Alert for PC.

Wow, i didnt know there was an even older one, if not by much, then again i never had a Spectrum, TAAOW was already 4 years old when i aquired it, it seemed so ancient.

Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders is an excellent game to try. It's a bit of a hybrid, as if your main unit is engaged while it's selected you'll take control of the hero and start splitting skulls, but for a console strategy game it's about as deep as you're gonna get while still being playable. Learning curve is steep as hell and it'll take a while to get used to commanding large groups of units but it's well worth it.

If you like that, I'd recommend the next game, Heroes, but really only if you liked the first one quite a bit. The translation in some places is so awful you have no idea what the hell they're saying.

There was that one on the PS2 based on a civil war in Japan during early gunpowder era. Can't remember the name of it but it involved Tokugawa(sp?).

that's Kessen from Koei.


IIRC they also edited a lot of strategic games centered around the Romance of the Three Kingdoms on PC as well as horse racing games

Thats the one. I quite liked that. The only other RTS I've played on a console was the port of Aoe2, that sucked after playing it on a pc. I just couldn't get used to using the controller.