Our selection of the best RTS strategy video games

And among the best RTS games of all time we can already spoil the ranking a bit:

Best strategy games: here are the 10 best real -time strategy games (RTS) of all time

Like PC, the real -time strategy game, RTS for intimate, is today less popular than before. It is nevertheless a category of very popular community games, with many classics.

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RTS games are really video game classics. It is very likely that all current players spent at least a few hours there. The series of Total War, Age of Empire, Warhammer Or Command and Conquer For the oldest, classics that would almost give us tear to the eye just to the mention of their name.

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Discover in the gallery, above, the best real-time strategy games (RTS) of all time.

A genre that is not new to yesterday

The real -time strategy game (or RTS for Real-Time Strategy) is a type of particular strategy video game that, In contrast to the turn -based strategy game, does not use an arbitrary division of time in playing towers. Used for the first time in 1992 on the occasion of the game released Dune II, This term thus refers to Military strategies games including basic management and construction elements and whose action takes place in real time. We will then talk about games whose goal is simple: “harvest, build and destroy”. Nothing to do with management games therefore. Games like Empire at war Or Battle for Middle -earth can thus be qualified as RTS games. The latter being able to act as comfort for fans of the Lord of the Rings who saw Amazon cancel a highly anticipated project !

And among the best RTS games of all time we can already spoil the ranking a bit:

To know the rest of the Goat of the genre, you just have to go to the gallery at the top of the article !

Company of Heroes, Age of Empires. The must of the must !

In these games, the player usually must Manage resources, develop bases and create units to fight the opponent. In general, several factions are available and the action takes place in real time, thus forcing the player to do quickly to manage his resources, bases and units. A genre that will therefore favor the game to the mouse and the keyboard. For those who seek to optimize their parts, here are the 10 best keyboards to test absolutely ! If this kind does not speak to you, titles such as Warcraft, Company of Heroes Or Age of Empires should allow you to see more clearly.

Of course, even if these games were available on Mac and Windows platforms, it was more often the users of the “window” that could benefit the most. Apple devices not really intended for video game use.

After the best historic games, Here are the 10 best strategy games in real time, to discover in the gallery at the top of the article.

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Our selection of the best RTS strategy video games

Dune II, Age of Empire, Warcraft … The real -time strategy game (RTS) has deeply marked the history of video games, and still stands out today as a genre particularly appreciated by millions of players. Find our selection, necessarily not exhaustive as the genre is vast, the best RTS !

Definition of the genus RTS

Rts means “” Real Time Strategy »». The games of RTS genre distinguished from other turn -based strategy games, which use an arbitrary time cutting. In the RTS, the action takes place in real time, and it will therefore always have to juggle between Macro management, That is to say all that is the management of resources, construction of buildings and productions of units, and Micro Management, which concerns the displacement of your units in the field. The overall principle of the strategy game remains the same: exploring the map, exploiting resources, extending its territory and exterminating your enemies !

Managing everything at the same time can be difficult and requires many orders. It is for this reason that the genre is almost exclusively reserved for Pc, which with its keyboard offers much more possibility of assignment of tasks. Besides, to evoke the performance of the best players, we often use the concept ofAPM (Action per minute).

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Dune II: Battle for Arrakis

Novel by Frank Herbert then film by David Lynch, Dune was also entitled to his video game adaptation. Released in 1992, Dune II: Battle for Arrakis is the first real -time strategy games in history. In any case, it is for Dune II that the term RTS is used for the first time. A term chosen by the development studio (Westwood Studios) to distinguish itself from strategy games, which at the time did not have great success.

While the genre is deemed complicated and austere, Dune 2 brings great modernity in the interface, which offers a much more simplified handling of tools. What to allow the title to become an inspiration for all other games of the genre, starting with Warcraft, which will arrive very quickly (November 1994) to compete.

The game will experience a remake with dune 2000 released in 1998, then a sequel, Emperor: Battle for Dune, released in 2001. Cult, Dune 2 has been playable on browser since 2012, if you want to discover the origin of the genre you love.

Warcraft

Inspired by the success of Dune II, the small team of developers of the very young Blizzard Entertainment studio works on a RTS in a fantastic medieval universe, taking up the dungeons and dragons codes. In November 1994, Warcraft: Orcs and Humans Get out and become the pillar of a series of games with planetary success.

Less than a year later, Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness is born and will become the first PC game in history to pass the million copies sold of copies sold. This second episode will be entitled to an extension, Beyond the Dark Portal, then at a suite, with the release of Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos in 2002.

Beyond the technical aspect of Warcraft games that will have revolutionized the genre, it is also the universe so deep and detailed set up by Blizzard which will seduce millions of players, captivated by the campaign mode. Multiplayer mode, playable online for free thanks to the Battle platform.net, will obviously have a huge impact on the success of the series today legendary.

Age of Empires

Probably the best known of the genre, the Saga Age of Empires has also deeply marked a generation of players. Inspired by Dune and Warcraft, Age of Empires offers two new particularities that will make its success: first, the game bases its narration on history and will tell different key historical periods in each episode. What to offer the game an educational and cultural dimension, thanks in particular to the multiplication of civilizations represented, each with its own bonuses according to its real history and its own units.

Then, the game allows you to develop your civilization from one age to another, giving you access to new technologies. For the first part, released in 1997, you must for example lead your civilization to go from the Stone Age to the Iron Age. Despite its great age, Age of Empires continues to attract many players, especially Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition, whose competitive multiplayer aspect is always very active. October 15, 2020, Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition will be released on PC, in order to wait until the highly anticipated Age of Empires 4, scheduled for 2021.

Age of mythology

On the same principle as his big brother AGE OF EMPARIES, Age of mythology also meets immense success thanks to its original gameplay including heroes, mythical creatures and above all a system of deities that will offer you powers. The game allows you to choose between three civilizations, the Greeks, the Scandinavians and the Egyptians, then between the three different gods of each civilization. What offer many gameplay possibilities and a campaign that allows you to learn mythology. Age of Mythology is necessarily essential for lovers of the genre.

Starcraft

Released in 1998 and developed by Blizzard Entertainment, Starcraft is an RTS taking place in a futuristic universe, and oppose earthlings who have left refuge on the borders of the Milky Way with two extraterrestrial breeds, Protoss and Zergs. Even more dynamic than Warcraft, the game will have a huge success, especially thanks to its online multiplayer mode. Starcraft 2, released in 2010, will become the best -selling RTS of all time and still remains the reference of the genre today, especially in competitive terms.

Anno

Like Warcraft, Starcraft and Age of Empires, Anno is a game of RTS game whose first opus was released in 1998. Not to mention the extensions, the saga has 8 main games, the last of which, Anno 1800, was released in 2019. The saga has explored many different historical periods, even going to futuristic eras with Anno 2070, in a world engulfed by waters, and Anno 2205, allowing you to conquer space. Anno has the particularity of mixing the management of your city when exploring the card, by boat in most episodes, but also to devote an important part of its gameplay to the management of relations between the different factions. A more political aspect that makes it one of the essential saga of the genre.

Empire Earth

Released in 2001, Empire Earth developed by Sierra, will quickly establish itself as one of the classics of the genre and will be available in three main opus, the last of which was released in 2007. On the model of Age of Empire, it offers players the possibility of crossing the different ages of history, with the particularity of evolving from prehistory to the conquest of space. His long and supplied campaign, and especially the richness of his gameplay which includes very many units, from the prehistoric soldier to the robot, passing by boats, planes and submarines, are real assets that place Empire Earth among the Most striking rts of the time.

Crusader King

Released in 2004, Crusader Kings has since experienced several suites, the last having released in 2020: Crusader Kings 3. The game offers the particularity of having to manage a dynasty rather than a kingdom. It will be necessary to do everything to maintain or develop the status of your family within the various European kingdoms, by arranging marriages and by murdering bulky items … A very narrative RTS which seduces very many players, to be tested for lovers of the genre.

Europa Universalis

Like Crusader Kings, Europa Universalis is a series of games developed by Paradox Interactive. The first opus, released in 2000, was inspired by a set of set of the same name created by Philippe Thibaut in 1993. As with Crusader Kings, the objective will be part of the conquest of Europe, between the discovery of America in 1492 and the French Revolution of 1789. On the other hand, there will be no question here of managing a dynasty but of a kingdom, which will have to conquer its neighbors to establish itself as the largest of the continent.

Total WAR

The Total War saga is indeed in this selection despite a controversy: only part of the game can be considered as RTS, the rest of the management taking turn. But among the very many opus available (19 different games), you will necessarily find a universe that you like: from the Middle Ages to Antiquity via the Warhammer universe to finish on Total War Saga: Troy, there are for all tastes. The game is therefore divided into two aspects: an aspect of management of your empire and development of your cities, which therefore takes place in turn, and an RTS aspect for battles, which will revolutionize the genre by proposing to manage thousands of units at the same time, on immense battlefields. A peculiarity that makes the Total War saga an essential of the genre.