Same here. I think RTS genre is beaten to the death now. I've spent countless hours in Warcraft 3 and Starcraft 1, and Command and Conquer. It all started with Dune of course. There is simply nothing to see any more until something new is invented.
I'm a bit shocked by this.
Have you even tried Company of Heroes or Wargame?
Warcraft 3, Starcraft 1, and C&C were all somewhat similar. They all used the same building mechanics, similar unit control mechanics, similar resource mechanics, and similar map control mechanics. Those 3 games are much different than CoH or Wargame.
CoH and Wargame are, among other things:
1. Extremely realistic. This may not sound like much, but if all you've played are the super-fictional type games like the 3 you've mentioned, you might be surprised at how enthralling the realism aspect can be (connects you to the game).
2. Squad-based. Starcraft and WC3 were squad-based in some ways, but only to a superficial degree. Company of Heroes is completely squad-based, so much so that it is impossible to remove your units from a squad; everything operates under squads. Wargame gives you more flexibility in this area, but in the same sense, moving any unit on its own typically ends with disastrous consequences. It's realistic in that no units are heroes, you've gotta keep your army in small groups to succeed.
3. Resources are territory-based. Starcraft, Warcraft, and C&C all based their resources on minerals, which you start by, and can even expand to by only moving a few feet usually. This creates, in many ways, boring, defensive, and stagnant gameplay, which often boils down to victory or defeat being decided by a few major key battles (no reason to fight before that, since you can't cripple your opponent's economy; unless you're a really good player).
Resources in CoH and Wargame are handled much differently than in the games you've mentioned. You gain resources by holding points on the map, so there are constant battles and territorial disputes which makes the gameplay much more active and engaging than in mineral-based resource games.
In addition, CoH has a REALLY cool "promotion" mechanic which lets you specialize in a certain field (so like Infantry, Armor, or Airborne), and get unique bonuses/call in reinforcements based on your specialization (like paratroopers or an airstrike); it's really neat.
Wargame has the full-map zoom feature, which doesn't sound like much, but is a glaring flaw of the 3 games you mentioned. Being able to observe and give commands from a full-battlefield perspective really changes the experience and the level of control you have over the game.
These are just a few things I could mention off the top of my head that are
massively different between the games we're discussing here, and the one's you've played.
Comparing Red Alert to Company of Heroes is like comparing Zelda to Diablo 2. Yeah, I guess they're both RPGs, but if you think they're even remotely the same you're sorely mistaken.
