Over the last week, I’ve been attempting to play developer Numantian Games’ smash hit They Are Billions on my PS4. Like Command & Conquer, Warcraft 2, Supreme Commander 2, and Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, and other real time strategy games on PC, gameplay experiences like these haven’t been enjoyable for me on consoles. I keep trying, and I’ve come to the realization that it’s never going to work for me. This is incredibly disappointing because I am not a PC gamer (haven’t been for the last 10-15 years), so I am missing out on a genre that I used to really enjoy, and probably still would if I were a PC gamer.

But what is the real problem? Is it a bad control scheme, lack of crisp visuals, frame rate issues, or what? Maybe it’s a little bit of all of the above. For me, the control scheme is the biggest culprit. RTS games demand speed, precision, and foresight. Console controllers essentially strip all of those away. Another big culprit is the scale of the map. An overhead, isometric view of a massive map with various types of terrain, resources, structures, and units is a little overbearing on consoles. 

Another problem could come from within. Maybe I am hanging on to my gaming past. When I was in middle school, Command & Conquer: Red Alert was my favorite game. I loved the campaign and absolutely loved playing against the computer in skirmishes. I almost always played as the Soviets and was all about Mammoth Tanks, Tesla Coils, and Atomic Bombs. To hell with naval units!!! I also thoroughly enjoyed Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 and playing against friends online, even though I had dial-up. I probably lost numerous matches because of it. Maybe it’s the fondness of that stage of my gaming life that keeps me coming back for more. Despite moving on, I keep falling down that path once again.

In conclusion, I need to get back into PC gaming! Any good rig recommendations that are reasonably priced?