I enjoy games like Starcraft and Age of Empires, but usually I prefer playing the campaign modes or skirmishes against the AI. Competitive multiplayer can be fun, but I'm not really willing to put in enough time and effort to get good at playing against other people. Also, I imagine that for most of the RTS games here on GOG, the online communities aren't very active.

so yeah, any help is appreciated. I would prefer if people suggested games on GOG, but I'm also willing to look at games on Steam and other services.

one last note, they probably can't be too recent, since my PC is kind of terrible :P

Original War (links to my thread with detailed description - yes it's sold on GOG, link in the ... Linked ... Thread.) OW's campaign is very story and character-driven, giving you a lot of opportunities to make your own dialogue choices, with consequences biting you in the arse, in some cases even several missions later.

I know its not on GOG but Dawn of War and especially its expansions have awesome campaign modes - the also did a WW2 one whose name escapes me at the moment.

You ever played... Sacrifice?

Sacrifice? Never heard about it. :P

Company of Heroes is the second one. CoH has got a very good campaign, original Dawn of War only has a decent one - Winter Assault is amazing.

Kohan 2. It's good both in plot and game dynamic. It really should be on GOG given they'll take newer games now.

RUN, RUN!!!

Sacrifice is a good game here on gog.

I would also like to mention the Myth series (I and II mainly) which are RTS games from Bungie (before they moved to consoles/halo). One of the best RTS games imo. However sadly it's not available on gog or any digial distribution site IIRC, you'll have to go the ole physical box route on ebay or amazon, as the IP is tied up with Take 2 after bungie sold it off to another dev who then got shut down and it defaulted to take2, who seems content with doing nothing with it, no new games or interest in it at all.

The games, unlike most other RTS, do not focus on base building nor resource gathering, rather it's purely about the storyline and combat. Each mission unfolds part of the storyline as you play it and you are given a set number of troops to command and that's that, you have to make the best use of them you can and get to the end with troops left. Sometimes you can get reinforcements (for story related purposes) but that's about it.

The combat is one of the best in any RTS games. Evelation, weather, all play a part in combat. Archers and your range units all get longre/better range at higher evelations, rain/snow/water can stop explosives or fire arrows. Combat is also very brutal and bloody. The battlefield becomes littered with bodies , gibs, blood, and it all uses phyics (one of the first games to do so IIRC, this was back in the mid-late 90's).

The game also when it came out was like the "half life" of RTS games, a huge mp fanbase and a ton of mods and coversions (from old west mods, to vietnam, new maps/units, etc). Sadly bungie.net is no more but that didn't stop them, you can play it online via mariusnet.com now, while it's not as huge as it once was there's still some die hard fans that play it online and you can generally find plenty of games online, if you wish to play it online that is. Also of note is that the single player campaign is fully playable co op.

I never play MP so I love this topic.

Empire Earth. It's not the best game in the world but SP camp is HUGE and it's extremely varied, especially if you get the Gold edition, available right here on GOG!

Homeworld 1 + 2

Both have very fun single-player campaigns and I used to love playing against A.I in Skirmish mode.

Supreme Commander 1 and 2 + ofcourse good old Total Annihilation with its expansion. The single player stories arent exactly Nobel quality, but I happily played them all through. Skirmish and multiplayer rocks too.

AI War: Fleet command is supposed to be great RTS, but I have never had the time to properly get into it. Its goddamn DEEP - which is great if you have the time :)

Oh man, of course! How could I miss those two!? They are hard as hell but they are classics. Also, two of the best looking titles out there; I personally think visually they hold up well with a lot of the new stuff.

SpellForce I and II are quite good SP games, especially the second one with the expansions. Good mix of RPG and RTS.

Earth 2150
Three distinct factions. Research and customise units. Units gain experience. Unit carry over and gameplay mechanics that tie in with the main storyline. All in all a very strong single player game.

KKND
C&C if it were made by Aussies. Enough said.

Total Annihilation
Perhaps more multiplayer orientated, but is still worth mentioning here as everything about it is fantastic. I'd probably go with Supreme Commander instead though now. If you can run it. It's the spiritual successor with a stronger campaign and better controls and interface.