My wife ran across my copy of Warcraft III and got into it.
I didn’t realize she liked this kind of game, but hey, she has fun with it, and it’s actually a fun group activity.
Can anyone suggest any other good games in the same RTS vein?
Frozen Throne is a given, but I’m thinking of some variety…
Anyone?
Her machine is a recent gift from family, and would have been cutting-edge about 9 months. The video card is also fairly recent.
Try Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War.
Let the Tech-Priests bestow your men with weapons of destruction.
Some older titles might have a pretty frustrating interface compared with Warcraft III. The original Warcraft, for example, and the original Command and Conquer only let you select one unit at a time and that can be pretty irritating. It sure sucked the charm out of those games for me. But then, you said she was interested in variety so the earlier Warcraft titles probably don’t interest you much (although Warcraft II may be worth a look anyway).
Speaking of Warhammer, StarCraft is extremely popular. The single player campaigns are a lot of fun, and I’m certain that there’s still a pretty big online community out there if you’re interested in playing against other people. It’s made by Blizzard as well, and for all the differences it has from the other Blizzard RTS games it still has a charm to it that’s characteristic of all their games that I’ve played.
The Command and Conquer series is a good choice. I’ve only played the original and Red Alert, so I can’t speak for their newer stuff. All the same, Red Alert is a great game that you might enjoy too.
I have to say that the most recent RTS title I’ve played is the StarCraft expansion set, and that dates back to late 1998. I’d still say they’re really great games that might be worth a look, and at this point you could probably find them for a really low price.
Kohan is a really interesting take on the RTS genre. Rather than precisely controlling individual units, you control groups of units, specifying their makeup, formation and destination. They engage and fight on their own, which I rather like (I’m not a fan of micromanaging my units, which is an RTS staple). If she likes the individual control, then it may not be for her, but it’s certainly worth a try.
There’s a demo of Kohan II available, should she wish to try it out.