Some great new ideas, solid execution and a whole lot of replayability right of the box. European Wars and Fate of the Dragon have both hit store shelves recently. The resurgence of the genre is, in every respect, a good thing. RTS gaming had fallen into the terrible state where it was trapped by its own success.
Developers seem to be more willing to push the boundaries.
They seem to have realised that simply exploiting the latest graphics chips to provide eye-candy doesn't cut it anymore. In short, they are finally focussing on introducing challenging game-play and new concepts to the genre. Concepts such as strategy. Kohan's strategic focus and feel is apparent in everything about the game. You build towns, not buildings.