Care to tell us which last RTS was 'good' then? Blizzard has a lot to prove after the SCII split idd but the BlizzCon panel showed some promise and not only because a branching star map popped up on the screen, it seems that at least now they have the guts to look past multiplayer balance and units. Even then though, just choosing missions is simple when real choices and consequences can be applied in other ways in missions, War Wind II and Original War being big examples of that.

I want to believe that RTSs can have significant narrative woven into the gameplay -- but as Tom says, the fact that you're mentally solving puzzles the whole time is much more important than the narrative you see playing out. I wonder if streamlining/simplifying the RTS model would help make the narrative more prominent. One parallel would be the transition from System Shock 2 (some heavy inventory management, RPG-type stats) to BioShock (same elements, but in a more straightforward FPS model).