Gamernode: News - RTS games on the up and up

RTS games on the up and up

Category: Xbox 360, Posted: 03/22/2008 at 11:03PM CDT by Creighton DeSimone, Staff Writer

RTS EA seems to be the only publisher who cares about bringing real time strategy games to consoles, or console I should say, since only the 360 has gotten ports. As an RTS fan, and someone who played the hell out of Command and Conquer Generals, I applaud this.

Their first venture on the 360 was Battle for Middle Earth 2 (BFME2). I played the demo because my ears perk up anytime someone mentions RTS on a console. For a first attempt on this platform it was not bad. The controls got a little confusing, especially because they kept calling the 'menu' the 'palentier,' referencing the orbs in Lord of the Rings.

The second crack at it was far better than BFME2. Command and Conquer 3 (C&C3) owned my life for about two weeks. The team learned a lot from the previous game, making the controls far more intuitive than before. You were still stuck with a menu system, but it was clear that a lot of time and effort was devoted to making the most out of it. The use of real words helped as well.

Now EA is gearing up for the launch of Kane's Wrath, an expansion to C&C3. They claim their new interface is even tighter and even though I didn't finish C&C3 I will probably rent this new chapter. I'm saving my pennies for Red Alert 3, coming to consoles and the PC next year. Fingers crossed that it can improve even more.

"What our team has done with the new radial interface in C&C3 Kane's Wrath is leaps and bounds beyond [the previous game]. It's still not close to a PC, but it shows we can keep improving and that's something our team is dedicated to continue to strive towards." Says Chris Corry Red Alert 3 producer.

Each game gets better and better on the consoles and I am all for the progress. I love the way a controller fits in my hand and I will continue to support the genre on my system of choice. Go EA. You make your leaps, and your bounds.

[via EuroGamer]

Posted by KindGalaxy on 03/22/2008 at 11:13PM

C&C 3 was acceptable on the X360 (I finished it, check my gamertag ^_^) there were some missions that really did not work well on the Xbox 360 and I had to use exploits to finish them. If they made an entire RTS with that, or the Kane's Wrath UI, with console-specific missions in the storyline instead of a direct port from the PC then I've no doubt it would be great.

Posted by Solokiller on 03/23/2008 at 07:39AM

I'm waiting for Halo Wars on the X360, C&C games on consoles don't really interest me.

Posted by Winged One on 03/23/2008 at 08:03AM

Yeah, me neither. I will never feel truly at home without a mouse and keyboard shortcuts.

Posted by vincian on 03/24/2008 at 08:33AM

RTS's fan base is on the PC... Halo Wars, however, may be pretty good game, seeing that it is 360 exclusive, and therefor, not a port.

However, BECAUSE it's 360 exclusive, it's either going to be so good that RTS games will make the jump, or so horrible that we'll never see another RTS on a console.

Either way, until they add in a keyboard and mouse to a console, I doubt you'll ever truly capture the RTS feeling that gamers have become so used to. RTS games have been on the PC for so long, most pure RTS fans don't even own a console.

So I wish all the luck to Halo Wars... I'm a big fan of Ensemble Studios, (AoE II was my very first RTS, and Age of Mythology has to be one of my all time favorites) and I know the game itself is in very capable hands. I am just worried that they may alienate a giant chunk of the playerbase.

Posted by Winged One on 03/24/2008 at 08:57AM

Well, since Halo Wars is being custom made for a console, and not just a cheap port from a PC, the layout is sure to be much better.