I need help finding a multiplayer RTS to play with a friend

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Whisperfang

Gawd
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Nov 12, 2007
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I just gonna list what i need/want out of this and hope you guys can help me.

  1. Must be able to play against each other over the internet - LAN play would be nice but we'll almost never be on the same network. I realize there are things like Hamachi (is that even still around?) to fake non-internet games into playing over the internet but we don't want the added hassle.
  2. Can be either dedicated server or peer-to-peer but we must have some way to host our own games and not through some third party server
  3. Must be real time in all aspects, i love Rome: Total War for example but my friend hates the turns
  4. Must be able to run on Windows 7
  5. Buyable on Steam would be preferred but we'll accept retail box copies as well as GoG.com but no other content systems
  6. The setting of the game (mythical, fantasy, modern, sci-fi, etc) doesn't matter
  7. It will most likely just be me and one other friend, but if it's really good and allows up to 4 or more people, this would be an additional benefit

Games we like (but don't want to play anymore, we need something fresh):
C&C Generals/Zero Hour
Age of Empires (1 & 2)

Games one of us doesn't like:
Supreme Commander
Age of Empires 3
I tried Rise of Nations back when it came out and wasn't impressed, but that was many years ago. I know it's regarded as an awesome game but we're kinda looking for something a bit newer.

I'm open to almost any good RTS however my friend can be picky. I simply adore Supreme Commander and think it's one of the finest RTS games ever released, but he doesn't like it and won't play it with me. Similiarly I like RUSE but i don't think it has options where i can play just my friend. It's a lobby type system isn't it? (never played it multiplayer and only played the demo) If there's a way to setup a game just between my friend and i without using their servers then that would be awesome.
 
Empires: Dawn of the Modern World, one of the last great RTS games. Play on LAN or Gameranger.
 
Dawn of War and its expansions might be worth checking out. I'm not sure how its multiplayer works...someone else here might be able to shed more light on that.
 
Starcraft 2 , still a fresh RTS with tons of support from Blizzard and a massive active community.

As far as RTS games are concerned its likely the best that's out there right now.
 
I'm not an RTS player but my friends really like to play "Stronghold: Crusaders Extreme".

It is a mixture of an RTS with a city building/ruling simulator since you have to also make sure the citizens of your city are happy and that your city has enough funds to sustain itself. It also plays in real time, LAN capable, and has up to 4 player support. It seems on steam you have to buy a $20 collection http://store.steampowered.com/app/901735/ I am not sure if maybe d2d or gog has the game alone.
 
Starcraft 2. While it uses Blizzards service (account holds all on website, you download individually - I like this better than Steam, lol....).
 
Company of heroes is by far the best suggestion in this thread. Whoever came up with it first has impeccable taste.
 
Company of heroes and Dawn of War II, by far the best choices in my opinion. Call of duty if you like more micro management, Dawn of war if you just want simple and to the point. Warhammer is funner IMO but still takes lots of skill to be good online.
 
I'll throw in a vote for Dawn of War II. It has co-op campaign! The DOW2 campaign was such a blast to play that I played through it multiple times. This coming from a person who usually despises RTS campaigns. I haven't completed one since the Warcraft 3 expansion.

The multiplayer is a blast as well. There is no time wasted building a base. You are face-to-face with your enemies within 60sec of the match starting and the fighting doesn't let up until the match ends. Truely one of the most innovative and refreshing takes on an RTS genre that was growing long in the tooth and repetitive.

Heck, if you ever need another person to balance the sides (standard matches are 1v1 2v2 or 3v3), let me know. I would love to get back into that game again
 
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Company of Heroes is still my favorite RTS in just about every category. It focuses more on tactics and area control than resource management. Visually it's still gorgeous; it looks better than StarCraft II, IMO.
 
SPARTAN VI said:
Company of Heroes is still my favorite RTS in just about every category. It focuses more on tactics and area control than resource management. Visually it's still gorgeous; it looks better than StarCraft II, IMO.
Click to expand...

Yes, agreed iv'e been playing company of heroes since 2006 and it's awesome.
 
Rise of Legends was a fantastic game made by the folks who make Rise of Nations. It is nothing like Rise of Nations except for the fact that it is an RTS. It was very much like starcraft in that it has 3 very unique races in terms of look, play style, and strategies yet was perfectly balanced. To this day it still looks great, especially when you get a city going with a lot of districts. The Vinci cities are truly a site to behold with the settings maxed. There is so much detail and moving parts to the cities. You should give that one a look for sure. I loved it.

It received across the board positive reviews when it came out and it has a Metacritic score of 84. Seriously...everyone who loves RTS games and missed this game the first time around owes it to themselves to play this game. Just watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y57czOf5pd8

Here is another video that shows the game in action and it also gives a fix for Win 7 (I haven't played the game since Win 7 was released so I can't confirm if it needs a fix or not) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VQ2rS4_jk0

Edit: I'm reinstalling now! It's been far too long.
 
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company of heroes
company of heroes
company of heroes!

Still my favorite rpg and it meets all of the requirements.
 
company of heroes

i'm not surprised people are suggesting starcraft 2 but imo it is way overhyped and doesn't look like it adds anything new to the genre (or much from sc1)... so imo i see it as far from "fresh".
 
If your friend doesn't like Supreme Commander he might like Supreme Commander 2. Yes, they dumbed it down, but it still makes for a great game. I introduced it to some of the guys I work with after Zero Hour got a bit old for us and we have been playing it almost exclusively for the last several weeks.

It might be a good compromise.
 
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