RTS games

hmm, i've been looking for a new hook in an RTS lately.

Age of empire's 3 was great, although i can't for the love of moses find my copy of it. and to add to that kinda windows RTS games, age of mythology and rise of nations are really good too.

Years ago the usuals got hammered: Starcraft and of course - total annihalation, but i dont think these would even bother trying to run on a modern system.

havent tried any warcraft games in depth tho, however this is in fear that i may start playing world of warcraft as a result. and ending up like a hermit playing on it 24-7 and paying for the privelage to play it, AFTER you'd paid 40 notes for the game. scandelous.

havent really played on a decent C&C game since Tiberium Sun (or the one after - there are too many!). red alert was by far the best one ever IMO.

i still think that these types of games stand the test of time because you tend to appreciate the complexity and integrity of the game itself, rather than the graphics engine and how many dead bodies you can fit in a sqaure yard, thats why i think that the newer C&C's overkilled it a bit with the inclusion of better graphics which meant you had to have a beast of a machine to run it.

However my next RTS purchase/download will probably be one of the warhammer series - the 40,000 one's look well good, and have been given some good reviews on the overall complexity. Plus - i created the WHOLE ultra marine race from scratch when i was a kid. added geek bonus.