Star Craft II vs Red Alert 3

Hi all ,
I've never played Star Craft before but I've read a lot of positive reviews. I was wondering in what ways it is better than Red Alert 3 (especially multiplayer-wise). I dont know which to buy.

Thanks

Q

 

Pretty sure you won't get unbiased opinions on this Starcraft2forum.com.


... get both if you can.

 

There's a ten year gap in release dates for the games too. It's not exactly an apples and apples comparison.

 

Completly different games.
Red Alert 3 will probably be just another RTS game.. like the previous ones, you will get bored of playing it in like... 3 months, tops.
Starcraft 2 on the other side is pretty different. If we rely on how the games are gonna be by its precuels (which is kinda dumb, but so far we dont have lots of other quick ways to evaluate em) Sc1 has still a solid fan base after 13 years of it's original release (10 after bw).. and red alert.. well, there might be some lan games? I really dont know.

 

Don't forget that Starcraft2 will have a better mod editor. You'll be able to do everything, and most importantly its already supplied at launch.

 

Just remember that if you ask this question in a Red Alert 3 forum...i have a feeling they all gna bag Starcraft 2 out.

 

StarCraft II = Lord Of The Rings / Star Wars

Red Alert 3 = "Google Worst Fantasy / Science Fiction"

I'm not saying Red Alert 3 is a bad game. Far from it. I'm just saying, in my humble horribly biased opinion, I feel that this comparison is accurate

 

No they wont. They will say Sc2 ftw, Idk what Im doing on these forums, let's all move to starcraft2forum.org asap OMGZORS

 

It's a common misconception that fans of other RTS series like to "bag on" StarCraft 2. That's not really accurate unless you're talking about the .. ehemmm ... Dawn Of War "Fans"

 

I want to try both, but Ill probably buy starcraft2 first.

But as of right now, first thing is first. I need more RAM...

 

In Red Alert, you can make limited buildings but unlimited units, in Starcraft, you can make unlimited buildings and limited units.

In Red Alert, your units are not always well responsive, but you don't really care, as the game is not much about micromanagement; in Starcraft, your units are responsive and you have to manage them, otherwise you will not have much fun online.

In Red Alert, well, in most versions, your resources collectors come to your base at a low rate, but drop like 700 ore, which enable you to make many low tier units; in Starcraft, your collectors make trips all the time, but you can't buy anything with just what one of them brought in one trip.

In Red Alert, you can repair your building by simply clicking on them; in Starcraft, you can't repair your buildings unless you play terran and take a SCV and tell him to do so.

In Red Alert, you can win by building strong defenses and then teching; in Starcraft, if you turtle, you just postpone and make more violent and certain your loss.

In Red Alert, most campaigns refer to human history with some humour; in Starcraft, you have a science-fiction, but more serious universe.

In Red Alert, a power outage can lower your defenses at a level that could make base almost defenseless; in Starcraft, such feature does not really exist, unless you are a f#cking nub building all your photon cannon on the same pylon.

In Red Alert, you can sell your buildings and units; in Starcraft such feature would be beyond the understanding of most players.

In Starcraft, you can tell a group of (standard fighter) units to attack-move at the other side of the map, and they will grossly make their way until there, defend themselves etc, in Red Alert, most of the units will hardly defend him/her/itself, will get lost mid-way etc, and you have to monitor your units all the time.

In Starcraft, your units are all super-heroes, in the way that if one of them see something, even if it's the weakest unit of the game seeing the most powerful unit of the game, it will chase it, until the other side of the map if it can, until the end of the game etc, but sadly most of the time just to be violently slaughtered by a group of enemies that was just around; in Red alert, the unit will take some cover if it is some infantry (crawling on the ground), and don't give a damn most of the time.

In Red Alert, until the latest versions as far as I noticed, most units didn't have any abilites beyond move/attack/die; in Starcraft, most units have some passive and/or active abilites. In Red Alert, most units are basically just a more powerful version of another unit, while in Starcraft every unit has its own purpose, and cannot really be replaced by any other.

In Red Alert, players don't really know what upgrades are about; in Starcraft, upgrades belong so much to the gameplay that you can't really win without considering them in your strategy.

In Red Alert, as far as I noticed, most players just play to have fun; in Starcraft, most player play to be able to call everybody around "nub".

In Red Alert, the level editor is just a basic map editor (in most versions I checked); in Starcraft, the level editor is good and will probably be the most advanced RTS game editor in the new version to come.

Red Alert 3 is available; Starcraft 2 will probably not be before another year.

Red Alert 3 requires one of the computers used to monitor the launch of the last stuff in space, while Starcraft 2 will more likely be playable on any decent configuration.

The Red Alert 3 community is and will remain ridiculous next to the Starcraft one. And so will be the official support and the unofficial creation and organisation around the game.


If you like little soldiers and tanks, and are not really netpicking about balance and responsiveness etc, go for Red Alert, and you will have fun, but if you want a game where every bit has been thought tens of time, and that the game mechanics (actions / reactions, the tree of events given a given situation etc) are simplier and clearer and more developed (like chess: simple rules but intensive games), then go for Starcraft. But be ready for a merciless slaughter if you play online. Be ready to lose and to meet people who take it very seriously.

I would buy Red Alert 3 if my computer was more powerful. I used to be a fan a decade ago, before to discover Starcraft, and while I know Westwood did a loooot of sh#t after the first Command and Conquer, I am pretty sure this version is good. For a Command & Conquer. The gameplay is light-years from the Starcraft's one, but man it can be so much fun with few friends.

 

I just wanna let you know RA3 had parabears... THATS RIGHT PARACHUTING BEARS... And a 3rd faction that has samurai's using katanas.. Katanas that light up... Think about it...

 

starcraft 2.
I even fukkin dreamt about it yesterday.

 

dude the new red alert is a JOKE man, it's getting just too weird with the Japanese fraction

 

If you are seriously trying to figure out which to buy, let me make it much simpler for you: Red Alert 3 can be purchased, at stores and online, now. StarCraft 2 cannot.

 

Omg you trashed everyone elses post on her Neon.

It does make sense tho lol.

 

Doesn't take a theoretical physicist to know that he meant when both games are released or waiting for the release of StarCraft II: Wings Of Liberty instead of buying Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 now.

 

seriously i've been a big fan of red alert because it's one of the games that I played when i was young (red alert 98 everyone ?) but after red alert 2 the story was kinda over but not starcraft , so sc2 > RA3 even the 2 games are very good and got different mecanism

 

• Psy blades
• Restoration
• "War of the Worlds" style Colossus
• "Galactica" style Battlecruisers
• "Warhammer 40000" style Hydralisks and ultralisks
• "Star-Trek" / "Stargate" style Protoss
• "Starship troopers" style private marines
• Lot of water and no ships and/or submarines units
• Monsters able to survive in deep space
• Infantry able to fire forever, and to destroy buildings with machineguns
• Auto-summoning of the buildings
• Minerals and gas as only resources
• Flying units who/that never need to land or even just take off, and can levitate on the same location forever
• The most advanced of the species is totally unable to repair its own units and buildings
• It's like year 3000 maybe, given our current western calendar, and none of the factions are able to scan the whole map through some detection device, or fire long-range missiles, beside the nuke.
• Universal cloaking devices/abilities

Think about it.

I don't say that the game sucks because of these features, it's precisely interesting thanks to these choices in the universe and the gameplay, but I wanted to make you keep in mind that Starcraft may be the best game around, it's doesn't make it perfect either. Other developers and editors may make other choices regarding the developments and the releases of their games, and they may be right too.

 

I've played Red Alert 3, and I was very disappointed in it. Everything was so 'ugly' thrown together. The game is kinda pretty on it's own, but for instance, if you get in a decent sized battle, you better hope you can pause the game every 2 seconds to figure out wtf is going on. The colors don't mix and match well, along with the sizes of the units not being proportionate enough to anything *why are 3 conscripts the same size as an Apocalypse tank?*

I just have an insanely difficult time picking anything out of a group, because they all blend in together so perfectly. Also, the gameplay bored me to tears. I haven't finished the Russian campaign yet, and I don't know if I will....