What RTS should I start out with??

I'd say Command and Conquer 3, Company of Heroes or Dawn of War are decent starting games.
Be prepared though, if you've never played an RTS before, Company of Heroes may be a challenge. (Not in controls or the UI or anything, but IMO the AI was far tougher than in most RTS games).Doom_HellKnight

Starcraft,Warcraft 3,C&C are all great starters

personally i think starcraft is the easiest

and like every1's alrdy said STAY AWAY FROM COMPANY HEROES, its extremly hard and requires a lot of skill

you can get Warcraft 3 and the expansion for like 35-40 dollars.   good deal, and i think that its in the running for the best game of all time.  i still play it all the time.

just my opinion 

warcraft 3 was really great, so was starcraft

I have never really played or gotten into RTS games, but I've seen that Command and Conquer 3 and Supreme Commander are getting high praise and I am looking for something new and different to play. Anyone have any suggestions on which one I should start out with?? Preferably one with an easy learning curve as, like I said, never really played an RTS before. Thanx.ehdinello

get C&C3 it's a great game to play in Campaign and Skirmish and even online when they fix all those damn errors and it's easy to learn too 

I also got into RTS games recently after playing nothing but FPS games for years.  I recommend you try Homeworld and Ground Control.  They are simple, easy games and ideal for someone new to the RTS genre.

Starcraft is still good, if you don't mind the 640x480 resolution :DZero_Space

Starcraft is the best game to start out with. It is the best RTS for it's time. And the game and its expo is like $20 together.

Warcraft III is a good one and so are:

C&C Generals + Xpack

Red Alert 2

Company of Heroes

Rise of Nations 

Whats wrong with Battle for middleearth 2? :(SpazH3d

Starcraft,Warcraft 3,C&C are all great starters

personally i think starcraft is the easiest

and like every1's alrdy said STAY AWAY FROM COMPANY HEROES, its extremly hard and requires a lot of skill

hikari33

Why have Medieval TW2 and COH been forgotten already? Much better games than C&C3 and SupCom.

[QUOTE="hikari33"]

Starcraft,Warcraft 3,C&C are all great starters

personally i think starcraft is the easiest

and like every1's alrdy said STAY AWAY FROM COMPANY HEROES, its extremly hard and requires a lot of skill

white45e

QFT.

CoH is braindead-easy. 

Warcraft 3 is a little harder because of micro-management but it's a great game. Try also Command and Conquer 3 or just wait for it to drop in price in like a year and a half or so. Definately get warcraft 3 and it's expansion. You won't be dissapointed!Unstoppable_1

I just bought CC3 brand new for 39 dollars, including tax ....waiting a year and a half to save maybe 10-15 bucks sounds a little extreme. Anyways, go out and get yourself a copy of Warhammer 40K : Dawn of War, should be able to find a new or good used one for cheap if money is tight. There are good finds for Dawn of War packaged with Winter Assault expansion pack and Dark Crusade is terrific. These RTS games are easy to learn and play and will help you get a feel for them to be able to move on to other's, which there are many good ones already mentioned here.

For someone starting out in the genre, I would suggest something where the AI does not go too hard on you (at least at the lower difficulty settings).  I got my start with Command & Conquer Red Alert 2 and it was a great place to start.  You might want to start out with something like Command & Conquer The First Decade (great collection of games), Age of Empires 2 or Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds, and even Battle For Middle-Earth (the first game is good because you get pre-defined bases that are easy to defend).  Dawn of War is not bad either, and Tiberium Wars seems like a good choice too.

I don't think Company of Heroes is a good choice for someone new to the genre since the difficulty is geared more towards someone who is skilled and competent with RTS games.

I changed my mind about WarCraft 3 after reading a little about it. I'm not really into the fairy/elves/ogres/magic type games. But I did actually find and buy  cheap copys of Starcraft and Dawn of War off EBay. Company of Heroes looks good too (as I am just starting to get into the whole WWII genre as well) but is it really that hard as everyone says it is?? Is there an easy mode option for it?? I also think the new C&C 3 looked good, but I just played a demo and wasn't too thrilled about it. Thanx again for all the suggestions everyone.

Command and Conquer 3 has an easy learning curve, Supcom is for the elitist.smokeydabear076

Warcraft 3 is a little harder because of micro-management but it's a great game.Unstoppable_1

that's excatly what I said in my review!

seems like no one except you agree with me tho.

I would have to say either Command and Conquer: The First Decade or Warcraft 3 Battle Chest.  Both franchises have easy learning curves, and are good values so if you feel like its not the genre for you, you only wasted 20-30 dollars.  And if you feel adventurous, I recommend Homeworld and Homeworld 2.  The games are a little tougher than a tradtional RTS as there is the whole concept of a third dimension, but the mechanics are easy and in their own right (at least the original) they are problably the closest thing to revolutionary that has graced the RTS genre since its birth.

Some games I dont  recommend you start with are the following:

Company of Heroes (CoH) or Dawn of War (DoW): this is a great game, but the mix of squad combat, "realism", and micromanagement really overwhelms a lot of people, especially in the heat of combat.  I even get a little baffled and I consider myself an RTS veteran, if not a diehard fan of the genre.

Supreme Commander (SupCom): not only is this game a system hog, but there is a huge amount of micromanagement and there can be hundreds of units on the screen at once.  In addition, the amount of unit variety could add some confusion as you might not know what to with them.  Also, SupCom is more of a multiplayer-focused RTS according to the community, and the last thing you want when first starting out is to get your ass handed to you on your first match.  However, I highly recommend getting this game as it is truly excellent and would be a good stepping stone into both a more complex game and more competative multiplayer, if thats your interest.

I have never really played or gotten into RTS games, but I've seen that Command and Conquer 3 and Supreme Commander are getting high praise and I am looking for something new and different to play. Anyone have any suggestions on which one I should start out with?? Preferably one with an easy learning curve as, like I said, never really played an RTS before. Thanx.ehdinello

Start with a couple of freebies that actually appear on Gamespot....

http://au.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/swine/download.html?sid=6141612&om_act=convert&om_clk=gsupdates&tag=updates;title;2

And follow the links to this - a super title

http://au.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/groundcontrol/news.html?sid=6101566&om_act=convert&om_clk=gsupdates&tag=updates;title;1

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