Real-Time Stratember is drawing to a close, I realise it’s October so don’t bother pointing that out, now it’s time to address the easiest part: the cuts. There’s still one game to go before I fully wrap up and damn, it’s a banger. But what didn’t make the cut this Stratember? There’s a couple unreal titles on here that I’m not happy about, especially when there were a couple that I could have easily done without. I’m looking squarely at you, Command & Conquer: Generals. Some were cut to make way for others, some were cut due to time and some were cut because uh, well… it’s my list. I had a rough idea in my head in the lead up to Real-Time Stratember, but the order changed that many times that I nearly lost track. The start and the end were always pretty set, so everything in between just kinda shuffled until there was a clear path to the finish. I’ll cover my five major cuts in some depth with five honourable mentions and five dishonourable mentions. The major cuts will be games that were on the list at some point. The Honourable mentions will be genuinely just good games that didn’t make it for whatever reason and the dishonourable mentions should be self-explanatory.
Well, without further ado: here we go with The Cuts.
1. Command & Conquer: Red Alert Remastered
This one actually stings. HARD. I happen to love everything there is to love about Red Alert. I love Red Alert. I love Red Alert the OG, I love the remaster. I take Red Alert and put a little bit in my hair when I’ve had a rough week. What do you think holds it up, slick? So, the only reason Red Alert was cut was to make way for Command & Conquer: Generals. As you can probably tell, I’m not thrilled about it. The hype might have ruined it slightly, but the game did a good enough job of that by itself. Yeah, Generals stinks. The USA campaign does anyway, maybe Zero Hour or multiplayer are better? I don’t know, at this point I’m not sure I want to know. Honestly, I should have just stuck to the list and played Red Alert’s Soviet campaign like I’d planned. Mission after mission of deadset bangers, Red Alert rules and the remaster is one of the best possible examples there is of a modern remaster. The Command & Conquer remaster actually made the list and Petroglyph legitimately nailed it. That’s why, Command & Conquer: Red Alert, it was so hard to cut you.
2. Company of Heroes
Company of Heroes from Relic Entertainment, of Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War fame, is touted as one of the best real-time strategy games of all time and reviews remain positive two decades on. Company of Heroes managed to improve and perfect the cover and squad systems introduced in Dawn of War and even throw destructible terrain into the mix. Company of Heroes set the bar incredibly high for any future RTS games and its gameplay will stand as some of the best we’ve ever seen in the genre. Relic’s take on World War II in this format is simply, one of the best of all time. It still looks unreal, too. Frequently featured in best RTS lists and retrospectives alike, Company of Heroes unfortunately didn’t make the cut for Real-Time Stratember. Why? I know my brother-in-law in particular will be disappointed to hear it didn’t make the list, but it’s not because Company of Heroes isn’t a good game. It’s a banger. I have plans for it in early 2027, when Company of Heroes: Definitive Edition makes its way to Steam. Until then: Company of Heroes, consider yourself cut.
3. Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition
I was really keen to get stuck into Age of Empires 2 after a long hiatus, I picked the Jadwiga campaign which I’d heard nothing but good things about. Well, I probably should have looked into it a bit more. The Definitive Edition’s campaign AI is one of the most common complaints from the community and it’s good to know it wasn’t just me being rusty. Jadwiga’s campaign is officially rated hard, with even the game’s veterans pointing out the fifth mission where the AI starts to feel like they have bottomless resources. I, ah… didn’t make it that far before it ended up with the rest of The Cuts, but I share that sentiment. Yeah, I started Age of Empires 2 but I don’t have the kind of time to get hammered relentlessly like that, plus aren’t games meant to be fun? The difficulty was rough and I was clearly missing the old Age of Empires freedom. Maybe the campaigns just aren’t for me, getting funnelled into tightly scripted objectives after being used to a big ol’ sandbox felt less like strategy and more like I needed to study. Age of Empires 2, you’re cut.
4. Total Annihilation
I feel like Total Annihilation never really gets the credit it deserves. It released in 1997 and was the first RTS to feature 3D units and terrain. Total Annihilation almost felt like a war simulation, rather than a real-time strategy game. The game’s engine was more than capable of handling massive, sprawling battles with hundreds to thousands of units across its huge maps. Even the AI was sharp, but still felt fair. Critics agreed and Total Annihilation even walked away with a few GOTY awards. Like Star Wars: Empire at War, the modding community is STILL thriving, building maps and factions for it decades later. Multiplayer is also still alive, thanks to the fans. Lead designer Chris Taylor knew he had something here and he pushed a similar formula right into Supreme Commander which fans still refer to as its successor. It’s a shame it wasn’t more widely popular with Total Annihilation being more like the quiet legend most casual real-time strategy fans never actually played. That’s despite some outlets wildly claiming it was the best RTS above even StarCraft and Age of Empires. I wasn’t game to try it this month, it’s so long that I wouldn’t have fit it in. That doesn’t rule out the future, but for Stratember: Total Annihilation, you’re cut.
5. Warcraft I: Remastered
I finished the Warcraft: Orcs and Humans Remaster pretty soon after it released. Yeah, I don’t need to play it again. The novelty of being able to play through the First War is… fine. But just like I mentioned in my Warcraft 2 review, Blizzard had a golden opportunity to update and improve but instead just splashed a new coat of paint over the top along with some relatively minor improvements. It’s nice to have the older titles updated and easily playable on modern systems, but Blizzard fumbled the bag keeping the original, clearly outdated mechanics in place. For the aforementioned Orcs and Humans, each building and unit has an equivalent counterpart. Some will swear I’m completely full of shit, but have a close look at Wowpedia’s Warcraft: Orcs and Humans unit list and you’ll find each unit and its equivalent has very little to no differences. That extends to the gameplay and campaigns too. You’re simply not going to find a great deal of replayability here. But if they were to remaster the campaign in the Warcraft 3 or StarCraft 2 engines… It probably goes without saying, Warcraft I: Remastered was an easy cut.
Honourable Mentions:
– Age of Mythology
– Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun
– Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
– Rise of Nations
– Supreme Commander
Dishonourable Mentions:
– Command & Conquer: Generals
– Command & Conquer 4: Tiberium Twilight
– Dark Reign 2
– Empire Earth 3
– Stalin vs. Martians
Well, there they are. The casualties of Real-Time Stratember. Please join me in pouring one out for Red Alert while staring directly into the eyeballs of Command & Conquer: Generals. Did any of your all-time favourite real-time strategies get unfairly dragged or end up in the cuts? Feel free to drop a comment here, or hurl abuse at me on social media. Dealer’s choice. All that’s left for Real-Time Stratember is the final game and a full wrap-up and ranking. I feel like I’ve truly saved the best for last and I think we all know what it’ll be.
Leave a Reply