Herzog Zwei - the first real time strategy game

RTS games are pretty much my favorite game type in existence. When a new one is released, i will almost always have a go, even the not-so-great ones will hold my attention for a while. The strategy of gathering resources and placing units strategically in order to protect those resources for future conquest is just such as wonderful concept.

Earlier I had spoken about how DUNE was the first game of this type but that is not entirely true. It was the first one in the sense that we imagine them today in a StarCraft sense with massive unit deployment being a possibility and what not. The first game that inspired all the future ones was actually a little-known game by the name of Herzog Zwei on the Sega Genesis.

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As complex as RTS games such as StarCraft 2 is, utilizing half of the keyboard and a mouse it is difficult to imagine that a game could be played with a controller that only had 3 buttons but it was possible, and it was one of my favorite Genesis games of all time.

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You would control either the red or blue team on a map where your home-base was normally in the opposite corner. The idea was to destroy the base at the other end. Your jet/robot hybrid is the only unit you directly control and you are capable of firing upon enemy units, you must also transport the units to take control of multiple outstations that are necessary in order to reach the enemy base. Each of these "outstations" allow you to refuel and repair damage to your main unit. They are taken over by placing 4 infantry into them.

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There was a limited number of units and a very limited number of commands for said units. Both sides have access to the same units. The ultimate objective is to destroy the main base of the enemy and damage from your personal fire does no damage. This is why it is necessary to control the outstations. You could, in theory direct your units to attack the main base all the way from your home base, but this is very unlikely to work unless your enemy allowed you to do it.

The amount of outstations you control also dictates how much "G" you receive each second, and this is essential to creating new units.

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This game, despite its graphical limitations is still a lot of fun to play today. There have been attempts at remakes such as Air Mech Arena, but in my opinion they made the game too complicated... It was better when it was simple.

These days, playing an RTS game with a controller is almost impossible and that is why these games are rarely ported. I recall that Starcraft was ported to consoles and it was a complete mess. I don't think that many others even attempted to do this.

This fairly-unknown and poorly-selling game that defined some of the best franchises in existence and is at least somewhat responsible for the very existence of Blizzard can be played on a ROM for free here