What are some games similar to Starcraft on Steam for <$20?

[Lifted]

I'm looking for a strategy game that will run on my laptop (i5 M540). Anything on Steam that is similar to Starcraft and has online multiplayer? Greed Corp looks a bit too simplistic. I'd like something with a bit more depth.

 

[heat901]

what do you mean by similar like as rts of any kind or does there have to be aliens and stuff?

 

[fatpat268]

Universe at War: Earth Assault
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3*
Hegemony: Philip of Macedon*
Company of Heroes*
World in Conflict: Complete Edition*
Warhammer&#174; 40,000&#8482;: Dawn of War&#174; II*
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars

* Denotes the game has a demo

Check out some demos. Most of these games are quite different from Starcraft and are a different breed of RTS. But you can't can't go wrong with most of those on that list.

 

[Lifted]

Just something similar, like Command and Conquer. Would that run on my i5? I used to play Tiberium Wars on a laptop with a mobile 6800GT, and it would get HOT. I'd rather get something different though since I feel like I've played that game to death and would probably get board fast.

 

[Lifted]

Thanks fatpat. I actually just finished watching the Red Alerts 3 trailer when you posted that. There is no link for the demo on the page when in Steam, but the page you linked to has the Demo link... odd. Anyway, I'm downloading the demo now to see how it will run, and I'm checking out the others you posted.

 

[Lifted]

Warhammer looks interesting and has a good score, but the only benchmarks I could find are for an ATI 4850. How would the i5-540m graphics compare to a 6600 or 6800? Would I be able to run the game at 1280x800?

 

[fatpat268]

Thanks fatpat. I actually just finished watching the Red Alerts 3 trailer when you posted that. There is no link for the demo on the page when in Steam, but the page you linked to has the Demo link... odd. Anyway, I'm downloading the demo now to see how it will run, and I'm checking out the others you posted.

Out of that list, Company of Heroes and Dawn of War II were the most popular RTS games before Starcraft II came out. CoH and DoW2 both play similarly and are a completely different style of RTS.

Universe at War, the Command and Conquers (skip 4), andWarhammer Dawn of War 1 are pretty similar to Starcraft's style of RTS games.

Don't forget to check out World in Conflict as well. It's a pretty good game that doesn't get talked about a whole lot.

 

[Lifted]

Just logged into Steam and all the C&C games are 50&#37; off. So I jumped on in and ordered Red Alert 3 and Tiberium Wars. Tried the Red Alert 3 demo last night and it ran fine @ 1280x800 on low settings using the i5 integrated graphics. Looks fine now, but I'll try bumping the settings a bit to see if I get any slow downs. Not really the type of games that I'm worried about amazing graphics anyway.

 

[zerocool84]

Company of Heroes is probably the best RTS made in the last decade.

 

[Nintendesert]

Company of Heroes is a really good game, it's a lot of fun and plays much different than a typical RTS. It's worth playing.

 

[Skurge]

Do people still play it online?

 

[manimal]

COH and warhammer series gives pc gamers hope for the future!

 

[bigshot]

by far the best RTS ever to grace this earth is supreme commander (number 1...not 2). The multiplayer is fantastic, competitive and a close knit community. Check it out!

 

[shortylickens]

I think Dawn of War is even better, but thats just my opinion.
Act Of War is my favorite but its not much like Starcraft or Starcraft 2, except for having 3 distinct factions.

 

[DefDC]

Not like Starcraft, but one of the most fun RTSs that will run on a low end machine would be Freedom Force. (Get the Freedom pack so you get the sequal too) It WAS on sale for about $4. Shouldn't be much even off sale. Just started playing this gem again...