Red Alert 2 in retrospect feels like an absolute "perfect storm" of bad luck that still produced a fantastic game
RA2 runs on the same engine as Tiberian Sun (with minor modifications)
Tiberian Sun was Westwood's first engine in C++
It was also two years behind schedule and pushed out barely functional after EA bought Westwood out in the late 1990's
While Westwood was busy putting itself back together under EA they spun off "Westwood Pacific" and tasked them to make Red Alert 2 using this same engine
Red Alert 2's engine is the most cantankerous, buggy piece of junk that ran what I would strongly argue was the pinnacle of the RTS genre. Getting it running on modern systems is an exercise in "what directdraw wrapper actually works?" and hoping that the UDP patch doesn't cause random game desyncs, even on a modern LAN
AOE2 is the pinnacle of the RTS genre. With the Definitive Edition released in 2019, it's still extremely popular today. In my opinion, no RTS title has surpassed AOE2 before or since in terms of gameplay (and, in my subjective opinion, graphics -- I LOVE the detailed pixel graphics much more than polygons).
AOE2 is the best-balanced, IMO. I don’t know that it’s necessarily the most fun, though. I love it, but I also love RA2. Agree on the graphics comment: I’ll take the isometric view any day over 3D RTS.
RA2 has some grossly OP units that you can crank out en masse and dominate with. A small army of Apocalypse Tanks is game over for the enemy, unless they’re France and have turtled with a bunch of Grand Cannons.
Or in Yuri’s Revenge, load Battle Fortresses with a Chrono Legionnaire or two, a Sniper (assuming British), and some GIs.
These, and the overall frenetic pace of RA2 makes it more like junk food than the fine dining experience of AOE2. Yes, it’s not the best thing ever, but man is it fun while it lasts.
I played AOE3 after AOE2 as well years ago, but it never had the same feeling despite having much more variety and content. AOE2 hit the balance between simplicity and variety for me, though might be an effect of childhood memories as well.
Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance is the pinnacle, especially with the FAForever mod.
It puts emphasis on strategy and gives a lot of options on how to approach a match. Micro can make a difference, but it's not make or break like in pretty much every other RTS.
I would say that Dawn of War 1 is the pinnacle of the RTS genre. Still has never been topped by any game I've played, even its sequels. DoW 2 was a dumpster fire that removed most of the RTS elements and cut armies down to 1/3 of the size they used to be. DoW 3 was a step back in the right direction, but still was not really at the lofty heights the first game hit.
I used to dream that Blizzard would put Jay Wilson (who was the D3 lead while he was with them, but more importantly was the DoW1 lead before that) onto a Warcraft 4. I would've loved to see that. Alas, after D3 had a fairly chilly reception (and Wilson himself sparked outrage through unwise social media posting), Blizzard quietly demoted him (and he eventually left). So it was not to be. But I still wish it had happened.
I really enjoyed DoW2 as an action RPG but share your disappointment with it as a sequel to DoW1. I think it would have been received better with a different title.
id argue that dominion storm over gift 3 is peak. Tiberian Sun and Red Alert 2 stole so much from this game it's wild. from repairable bridges to unit queues and tabs on the build bar.
RA2 runs on the same engine as Tiberian Sun (with minor modifications)
Tiberian Sun was Westwood's first engine in C++
It was also two years behind schedule and pushed out barely functional after EA bought Westwood out in the late 1990's
While Westwood was busy putting itself back together under EA they spun off "Westwood Pacific" and tasked them to make Red Alert 2 using this same engine
Red Alert 2's engine is the most cantankerous, buggy piece of junk that ran what I would strongly argue was the pinnacle of the RTS genre. Getting it running on modern systems is an exercise in "what directdraw wrapper actually works?" and hoping that the UDP patch doesn't cause random game desyncs, even on a modern LAN