Real-time strategy games have a history about them dating back to the consoles of the 1980′s. Herzog Zwei is considered by many gaming historians to be the root of the modern RTS. There is a big debate as to whether or not Dune 2 deserves that distinction though my personal opinion is that Herzog Zwei was there in 1989 with a basic layout that features two opposing sides commanding troops in real time while defending their bases.

Since then, the genre has exploded and enjoyed tremendous acclaim as a preferred flavor of gaming for players that just love to thing strategically rather than simply test their reflexes. I give you my list of my personal favorite RTS games of all time.

5. The Moon Project
Part of the Earth 2150 family, The Moon Project is an RTS that enjoyed some popularity in Germany and a lot less attention here in the States. It featured ideas such as night and day and their effect on solar power generators as well as the ability to take components and construct units from them. It was a very good looking RTS for its time and if it had taken off in the states as well as it did in Germany it might have a place on many popular websites as one of the groundbreaking RTS of its time. Sadly, this game was one of the forgotten members of its genre losing out on much of its well-deserved credit for giving some new ideas to the new blend of strategy games.

4. Battle for Middle Earth II
The Battle for Middle Earth series is one you really should play with a good set of speakers and a decent sub woofer. The reason here is because there is, in my opinion, no more thrilling sound in this genre then that of an entire cavalry of horses galloping through the map and trampling over an opposing army. This is a quality of sound effects sadly lacking in this genre that Lord of the Rings managed to not only pull off but do it right the first time. That aside, the series tells the story of the Lord of the Rings in a way that works very well for the game style. Some things may not be exactly to-the-book accurate in order to balance things a bit though in the course of the game you will find that it really doesn’t matter.

3. Command & Conquer: Zero Hour
Generals was a brilliant release from this series and it was only improved upon with the Zero Hour expansion. Sadly, this release was given very little support from Electronic Arts in the form of patches and ongoing tweaking though it was still one of the more entertaining and balanced games of its series. While Tiberium Wars and Kane’s Wrath are cursed with syncing issues that abruptly end multiplayer games, Zero Hour seems to be just a little more relaxed in regards to its handling of packet loss. This edition features warfare between American, Chinese and the mysterious GDI faction that gives you an array of different tactics within each faction. You can be a lazer obsessed American general with an arsenal of laser turrets and aircraft that zap down any ground-to-air missiles heading their way or a Chinese general with a seemingly endless amount of infantry at his disposal to barrage your opponents base with. There are a lot more options available to you, but this is supposed to be a brief summery of why I love this game.

2. Warcraft II
This choice might garner some very intense disagreement among the Warcraft fans out there. Warcraft II received very little longevity compared to Warcraft III which is still being played today thanks to expansions such as Frozen Throne and custom scenarios like Defense of the Ancients. Warcraft II introduced the idea of having air, land and sea units in your arsonal which at the time in the genre was a remarkable undertaking. Griffins attacked from above while battleships waged war from sea. Game play was a bit more exciting and the game felt more like the original Warcraft players came to know and love from the initial release.

1. StarCraft
StarCraft, released in 1998, has won more acclaim from players than any other RTS to date. In fact, StarCraft still has a very active playerbase even eleven years after initial release. This is a remarkable undertaking for any game title and for this to have been accomplished by Blizzard on not one but multiple of its offerings in this genre is the reason why Blizzard has enjoyed so much success. StarCraft features a very balanced playing system with three possible races to choose from. The Terran are what you might consider to be the humans in the conflict, the Zerg which resemble the aliens that Sigourney Weaver would have chased around the galaxy and the Protoss which control warp gates that bring their buildings and forces in to whatever world combat is set to commence within. Will StarCraft manage to keep its magic with the release of StarCraft 2? We’ll find out.