Upcoming RTS Games of 2009

If you thought gaming in 2008 was swell, do we have a treat for you. Starting today we're going to bombard you with extensive coverage of all the games releasing in 2009 divided by genre for your viewing pleasure. Kicking off the festivities today is the Real Time Strategy (RTS) genre followed by RPGs, Shooters, Racers and so on so sit back, relax and enjoy the show.

The real-time strategy genre didn't see too much action in 2008, with Red Alert 3 standing out starkly amongst a puddle of lackluster titles. 2009 on the other hand looks rather promising, with RTS offerings that are sure to bring out the warmonger in every last one of you. Here's a look at what you can expect this year:

Halo Wars

StarCraft II

Platform: PC
Release Date: TBA 2009

If you're a strategy gamer who hasn't played StarCraft yet, you've missed out on the most refined and intense story driven strategy game the bless gamerkind. The game was released back in 1998, when it took the industry by storm and set the benchmark for competitive multiplayer strategy gaming. Following closely in its footsteps, StarCraft II seems extremely reminiscent of the first, with everything from unit design to the user interface working as a massive overhaul of the success formula applied by Blizzard ages ago. The game will feature the extensive multiplayer functionality of what's rumored to be Battle.NET 2.0, which will supposedly offer even more functionality and flexibility than the current version of Battle.NET including enhanced ladder and tournament support that's sure to push the online strategy gaming community into overdrive. The game will be split up into three parts - StarCraft II and two expansions called Wings of Liberty, Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void. All our favorite heroes from the StarCraft will make a return, including Jim Raynor, Artanis and Kerrigan. There's no concrete release date announced yet, but rumor has it that it's due for a Q4 2009 release.