RTS - PC or Console?

I think I'll stick to the PC for my RTS needs. The Xbox controller just isn't as adaptable as a keyboard and mouse for control of those pesky units.

Having said that, Halo Wars is probably the best attempt at an RTS for the 360 that I have ever seen. Universe at War? Fiddly and unnecessarily so. Battle for Middle Earth (1 and 2)? Splitting your army is downright annoying, as is keeping units together when you need them to be. Halo Wars just cuts through the shit and puts you in the control seat without making you learn how to control individual units through meaningless training scenarios. Sure, they teach you the basics, but you are still doing something, and if you don't do it right you have to learn from your mistakes otherwise you won't get any further.

And on the subject of control, how can it be any easier? Want that unit type? All yours. Want every unit on the screen? Sure thing mate! Want to select every unit you have so you can swarm your opponent? Why the hell not?!? There they go. Happy hunting! Set a rally point for your base and all your units go there. Set a global rally point and your whole army assembles there as they are built, even from multiple bases. Sure, the Ai can be a bit dense the first few times, but with the automatic scaling option, the better you get, the better the game gets, so you are always challenged until you can beat any opponent while you are making dinner and watching a movie on the PC at the same time. If you get to that stage, please let me know so I don't challenge you if I ever get Xbox Gold and go online.

See, this is what I love about the genre. It is easy to learn, but it takes time to master the different races, the tactics the AI will use against you in certain situations, what other people will use to find your strengths and weaknesses. Playing against other people is truly how you measure the skill a person has in a RTS. That's why I loved StarCraft. I was never good enough to say I was a master, but I was good at what I did, whether it was a zergling rush in the first 2 minutes of the game, or building a carrier fleet before I was attacked and surprising my enemy by taking out their resources while they searched for me. Even getting 2 lurkers into position at the front door of my opponents base to keep them penned in for a little while was a challenge, but it was something I practiced till I could do it every game if I wanted. Halo Wars is giving me the same challenges now. Getting a few flyers into my defenses to hold the emeny off for a few more minutes is a good start. Defending an outpost base while trying to get my army across the map unseen is a good way to find out what units counter what.

All in all it has been a fun game, one I won't be trading in for quite a while - unlike Universe at War.

Leveling

Leveled my Hunter to 60 today. It's been a long time coming but I couldn't get the energy to get him over the 50 mark and just keep going. Well now I have and once again running through Outlands.

It's a bit different this time though. Each time so far I've been a part of a group for many of the quests, but now with Northrend well and truly settled, there aren't very many of us left to battle the Fel Orcs, Naga or Kael's Blood Elves. So I have to skip the dungoens and just stick to questing as fast as possible through so I can get to the North, to where the action is.

It is sad though. At this rate I'll never get my hunter into Kara or face off against the High King and his cronies. Yeah, I might get the chance to see the Sunwell if someone in the guild decides to organise a run, but that will be at 80 and very different to doing it at the original level with the original gear.

I wonder if Blizzard will keep the idea they started when they re-zoned Naxx and made it an 80 raid. I hope they do. I would love to see Molten Core as a level 80 raid, even if only 25 man instead of 40. Another one I would like to see redone is Zul'Gurub. Let the trolls there be conquered by Arthas and proclaim the beginning of the conquest of Stormwind from STV, much like the Horde who start from there and run up through Duskwood and across the river into Goldshire to harass lowbies and generally cause mischief. Sounds like a plan, doesn't it?? See you in Goldshire!!!

More waiting

StarCraft, best RTS I have ever played, and it is still one of the best, even 11 years after original release.

So the news is that StarCraft 2 is going to be released this year, totally redone - new units, new lore, new nerds and geeks to introduce to the Swarm.

Yes, the Swarm! How will they work now? The Overmind is dead, along with most of the Protoss and their home world, Aiur. Do we get Kerrigan back in all her Zerg Queen glory?

And the Terrans... What are they still doing out here? Kerrgian handed them their arses on a plate and then disappeared. If I was Mengsk I would have gathered up the survivors and found a new galaxy to ruthlessly govern. Let the Protoss and the Zerg fight each other to extinction.

Definitely looking forward to the new units in the game. Moveable pylon ships for the Protoss will make establishing a beachhead much, much easier. The new dragoons, complete with stronger shields, able to walk up cliff faces (if that is actually added)... somehow it makes an already powerful unit even more powerful. New Terran ships, hyped up Marines with jump packs flying across the treetops... Rocketman!!! And finally the Zerg, still swarming, having added new species to their genetic structure. Haven't seen any of their new units yet, but a Zerg/Protoss cross would be insane.

Speaking of the Swarm, why have they done nothing in the 4 years between the end of Brood Wars and the beginning of SC2? That will be an interesting story to discover.

Get out there, play some StarCraft, rush some zerglings into your enemies base. It won't be long till we are doing it all again, one map at a time.

Bored, bored, bored

What to do... I'm bored. Not enough time to get settled into a good session of WoW or even do a few missions of H.A.W.X before I go to bed. Instead, I have turned to my iPhone for inspiration. And boy, did I find it!!

Introducing Stick Wars, the quick boredom reliever that costs a huge $1.19.

What is Stick Wars you ask? Well, you control a castle and have to defend it from advancing stick men, some wielding swords, carrying shields or pushing large siege engines. To begin with you are all alone, a god-like presence that cannot be seen, only felt as you throw the attackers into the air, gravity doing the rest of the dirty work for you as the stick men come crashing back to the earth in a spectacular explosion of blood.

Then you get the chance, at the end of every level, to gather up your gold (that you get for killing the attackers) and buy upgrades to your castle, like a prison to capture and convert attackers, an archery range or wizard's school, to train your converts into defenders, or just upgrade that wall a bit more so it takes more of a punishing before you lose.

So, only at level 32 so far, yet I don't know how long I can put the game down for. Maybe when the battery is fully charged again I'll go for Round 2.

Stick Wars for the iPhone. Check it out!