recommend a RTS to introduce my 10 year old to the genre

My 10 year old has been bugging me about wanting to try a RTS. He's pretty good at shooters but don't know if he's old enough to understand more complex games. Was thinking about either the original starcraft or age of empires 2 and he would only play single player. Any ideas on one that would be simple for a kid to learn.

i think starcraft is pretty good for a kid to learn the basics, im teaching my nephew how to play it, he wanted to play supreme commander and I let him just to see the mess he would make, i was laughing, then I put starcraft to show him what to do, he's learning fast

your son will be ok with starcraft.

PS if your son has some trouble with the game, you can always use some cheat like

the invincibility = power overwhelming

just until he gets the hang of it.

Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds.

Try something along the lines of Stracraft, Tiberian Dawn, Red Alert 1&2 and Dune 2. These were the games that made me love the RTS genre when I was about this age.

Warcraft III. They streamlined the hell out of that game. For example, a lot of units have auto-casting for their abilities. You also never really have a gigantic army. It also has one of the better stories as far as RTS games go. If I'm not mistaken the campaign also has different difficulty settings.

As much as I love Starcraft I actually would not recommend that to start off, partially because the controls are so antiquated to some degree.

Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds.

Cryptic_Wraith

Agree. I know a ten year old who plays it. Tought himslef. Personally I doubt I was smart enough to grasp starcraft let alone any complex games when I was 10 :D

It was donkey kong and mario for be when I was 10 :D

Definitely Warcraft III. It not only is a solid RTS game, but its graphics are somewhat cartoony as to keep the kid interested.

Starcraft or Company of Heroes (If their parents allow him to play M rated games).

Warcraft 3 or Starcraft both have a huge community both are overall balaned (starcraft is more balanced then warcraft). Both single player is great.

Warcraft 3 is the obvious choice I guess. In that it looks like a cartoon. The units are quite large and easy to control. And the game introduces base building step by step.

warcraft 2 (best rts ever imho), age of empires 2

Command and conquer generals is the most basic RTS you could possibly get. You build supply depot to get supplies, you build barracks to get army units, you fight. That is about all there is to it. I taught myself the game when i was 13 so i'm sure he could learn it very easily.

warcraft 3 hands down.

warcraft 3 hands down.

kevy619

warcraft 3 is a tad more comnplicated tbh and while were at it you fail to see warcraft 3 in the right light without first playing warcraft 2. units in warcraft 3 require far more micro than is necissary tbh with you. war 2 is simple and sweet. als there will NEVER be another game like it (unles you count C&C tiberian dawn and red alert 1).

[QUOTE="kevy619"]

warcraft 3 hands down.

ionusX

warcraft 3 is a tad more comnplicated tbh and while were at it you fail to see warcraft 3 in the right light without first playing warcraft 2. units in warcraft 3 require far more micro than is necissary tbh with you. war 2 is simple and sweet. als there will NEVER be another game like it (unles you count C&C tiberian dawn and red alert 1).

I have all these games with the exception of DOW2, so I guess it might be a matter of showing him some gameplay videos of each and see which looks like the most fun for him.

I have all these games with the exception of DOW2, so I guess it might be a matter of showing him some gameplay videos of each and see which looks like the most fun for him.

pdkkbarnes1

[QUOTE="pdkkbarnes1"]

I have all these games with the exception of DOW2, so I guess it might be a matter of showing him some gameplay videos of each and see which looks like the most fun for him.

kevy619

Loves playing shooters, usually star wars or halo. But he isn't allowed to play ones with blood, shooting aliens or robots is ok.

id avoid dawn of war then.. bout as gory as they come... umm maybe you could handle a little not to well known game called worldshift. has online co-op no to demanding system wise. controls are simple enough. but the game itself is rather bland in comparison to most any game i can think of.

Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2 is a good one and what I learned RTS from.

Thanks for all the info, I think i'll install AOE2 and one of the command and conquer games for him. He likes the look of Warcraft 3 but I don't remember if it has bad language in it or not. Thanks for the heads up about the language in starcraft, its been alot of years since I played it and forgot about the language.

My ex's boy was 12 when we met and a huge fan of Age of Mythology. I think that's an excellent choice along with the others mentioned. I also recommend Rise of Legends, which is a bit more streamlined than Rise of Nations (which preceded it) and is very easy to get into. Also, if he's into dinosaurs (and I think most kids are), he may appreciate Paraworld, which is a very straightforward RTS, but is easy to play and has dinos duking it out. And that can't be a terrible thing, can it? ;)

Age of Empires II. There's nothing better to start with.ZuluEcho14

Warcraft III. They streamlined the hell out of that game. For example, a lot of units have auto-casting for their abilities. You also never really have a gigantic army. It also has one of the better stories as far as RTS games go. If I'm not mistaken the campaign also has different difficulty settings.

As much as I love Starcraft I actually would not recommend that to start off, partially because the controls are so antiquated to some degree.

has dinos duking it out.Kevin-V

I started starcraft @ 8 or 9 if that matters, so long ago!! cries. 10yrs ago about.

Battle for Middle Earth II + Expansion: Rise of the Witch King, very basic RTS but yet a great game

I would recommend an rts that is not really centered on micromanagement, since it's a lot more confusing for a newcomer. A Command And Conquer, or an Age Of Empires game would be the best starting point. I introduced my sister to the idea of rts games with Black and White 2, though. It has a really simple rts aspect which could easily help someone learn how to play rts games.

total annihilation my all time favourite game when i was young...

and its very wasy to play, unlimited resources and you dont have to build house and crap to get your pop up.

Throw him into the deep end with Company of Heroes. Its one of the best RTS games ever made. biggest_loser

I say the best option is to buy Command and Conquer The First Decade. It has all of the greatest Command and Conquer titles. A must have for any PC gamer in my opinion. It's only $20

Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds.

Cryptic_Wraith