Cocktail Parties and Video Games

I have been taking a break from playing intense video games, and trying to only play to let off a little steam during the day (about a half-hour every other day or so). I have found this to be particularly difficult because of the present situation with my favorite baseball team, the continuing job search (that is starting to reach its inevitable conclusion), and my complete lack of interest in reading lately.

Two excellent RTS computer games have been released lately, Supreme Commander and Command and Conquer 3. Both of these games are excellent and I can recommend both of them, but it definitely shows the fragmentation of the genre.

Supreme commander (SC) is excellent in having large battles. The single player campaign is dismal but provides enough training to learn how to play effectively. The biggest benefits to Supreme commander are primarily the zooming map and the logistics system. You can zoom the map in to view individual battles or zoom out to see the entire battle field, I find myself using this function enough that I was annoyed that C&C3 did not have this feature. The logistics are also excellent, you can build factories, then build transports to automatically transport units to the front line. I am also impressed that the large units are not game breakers (as they appeared to be before the game was released) and each super-weapon has a counter. The economic system is also innovative and excellent, though I spend more time micromanaging it than focusing on the battles.

What is not good about SC is the lack of infantry and the lack of urban combat. this was a real bummer, yes the maps can be up to 81 km square, but buildings having buildings and bunkers to block line of site would be a huge bonus.

C&C3 is much better at have tactical battles. The single player campaign is awesome and tells a cheesy story using real actors (go SIX!!). It does fall apart in showing me how to use all the features, such as moving in reverse and armor facings. The multiplayer is slightly better than SC, the maps have more to look at, there is urban combat, and infantry. The three sides are different enough but also seem well balanced. There are more options per unit as well, for example you can use your snipers to spot a target for artillery; or sneak a commando in the rear of an enemy base. In SC each unit (usually) has a single function which overall makes for less tactics; you build a combined force of units and send it off to fight, there becomes a more micromanaging of the economy and not the battles. In C&C there is more micro managing of a battle and it is easy to set up an economy.

There is no zoom map though, this should become a standard of all RTS games from now on. The economy is also a little too simple, only one resource. The biggest flaw is that Mammoth tanks are too powerful because they are able to take out air and ground units; this allow them to rush easily.

Neither is a perfect game, though C&C3 is slightly better and may be one of the best games that I have played. Someone needs to combine these two games to make a perfect RTS game; urban combat, infantry, zoom map, deep economics, and epic battles. Fans of RTS should get both games.