RTS 2006

In an earlier article, I wrote about how, in order to enjoy a RTS, you must master it. Also, to keep things from going stale, its good to play one each from 3 categories: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Reality. IGN has posted their RTS of 2006 list which is shaping up to be a very intense year. If I'm to stick to my therory, I'm going to try and predict what will be the best to keep an eye on. This in no way, means that the others will be bad or better, or that it may be best to stick to the past games.

Reality -
Company of Heroes
Let's get real here, these are the guys that brought us Dawn of War. If anyone can make a RTS look as good as a 1st person shooter, I'd put my money on Relic. Add in destructable environments, good gameplay, and WWII, I think its gonna be a winner.

Fantasy -
Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth 2
The first one sounded like it fell short. But a lot had to do with the license limitation. This time around, they'll have the entire Tolkin Universe to play with. Time to see if they get it right, and not another Warcraft III.

Sci-Fi -
Sword of the Stars
I really want to say the Star Wars RTS, but it just seems like gamers have been hurt one too many time by Lucasarts. That's why my interest is in Sword of Stars. Think "Total War" in space. If they can pull this off without being too complicated, then people may begin notice the developer Lighthouse Interactive.

I still have no idea what category to put Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends. But this one is gonna be good.