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Total Annihilation

EMAIL PRINT pc

9.5 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 10 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 33 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: GT Interactive

Developer: Cavedog Entertainment

Genre(s): Real-Time Strategy

Players: 10

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: August 25, 1997

Summary

Long ago, the galaxy had known peace. Paradise was ruled with the hand of science, and the hand was that of the galactic governing body known as the Core. Ironically, it was the Core's ultimate victory, the victory over death itself, that brought about the downfall of its paradise and started the war that would decimate a million worlds. The immortality process, known as "patterning," involved the electronic duplication of brain matrices, allowing the transfer of consciousness into durable machines. Effectively it meant immortality, and the Core decreed the process mandatory for all citizens in order to ensure their safety. However, there were many citizens unwilling to toss aside their bodies so casually, many indeed who regarded patterning as an atrocity. They fled to the outer edges of the galaxy, forming a resistance movement that became known as the Arm. War began, though it was never officially declared by either side. The Arm developed high-powered combat suits for its armies, while the Core transferred the minds of its soldiers directly into similarly deadly machines. The Core duplicated its finest warriors thousands of times over. The Arm countered with a massive cloning program. The war raged on for more than 4,000 years, consuming the resources of an entire galaxy and leaving it a scorched wasteland. [Cavedog Entertainment]

Also On Metacritic

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Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central

Also On The Web: GameSpy's #1 RTS of all Time Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Adrenaline Vault

This is the best, most fun game I have ever played. It represents everything that a five-star game should be. It's different, original, and most importantly, solid. I could find no glaring omissions, or bugs, or problems that indicated that it is a rushed product.

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100

Gaming Age

It has beautiful graphics, eerie music, and a very low learning curve. Each level is different enough to keep the gamer interested.

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TotalGames.net

Though I never though I'd say it, Total Annihilation rises above every strategy game there has ever been. To put it bluntly, it is the best.

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GameSpot

Cavedog has done a commendable job of taking the basic mechanics of real-time strategy and using them to create something new: A game that relies less on constant mouse-clicking than careful planning and strategic thinking.

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Computer Games Magazine

As a game of resource management and tactical combat, Total Annihilation is not fundamentally different from anything that has come before, but it is nonetheless an evolutionary leap for the genre of real-time strategy.

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Yahoo! Games

If you managed to afford that high-end system then treat yourself to a game that will keep you hooked for some time to come and that will have your friends' jaws dropping in awe. It's a fresh game and a deserved GDR Gold winner. The real-time ante has been well and truly upped.

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All Game Guide

An impressive contender in the real-time strategy genre. An easy-to-use interface, coupled with intelligent AI, establishes the game as one of the best of its kind.

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Gamezilla!

Total Annihilation lacks one critical element that would have put it on my all-time list, and that involves immersion. In other words, the storyline and between-mission cinematics (which were somewhat lacking) did not suck me in as C&C did.

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PC Gamer

A significant improvement in the genre, but it's not quite all it could have been. [Jan 1998, p.295]

Hot Games

The fully three dimensional landscapes are stunning, and animation is equally so - units move around the area with superlative realism, and weaponry is as full of life as a piece of machinery can be.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 9.5 (out of 10) based on 33 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Tyler F. gave it a10:
This is a true classic. Even today, TEN YEARS after it was originally released, the graphics look great on new PCs. I still have the original discs and the Core Contingency expansion pack. This game pioneered RTS games. All the modern RTS games still draw from TA...there have been few major features introduced since (in a decade of refinement!) other than realistic graphics. I still get a kick out of building up massive bases in TA, and the unit diversity as well as fantastic overall interface and incredible custom soundtrack just make this game a timeless masterpiece that can be played for years to come. I wonder if any game studio would be willing to take on the daunting task of (official) Total Annihilation 2? Revise the graphics, add new storylines, etc..but keep the heart of the game intact!

Ivar H. gave it a10:
Total Annihilation... What to say? It's not only the best RTS game ever, but the best game ever as well.

tro gave it a10:
TA was, and continues to be the most innovative RTS until recently. Physics, terrain, weather, theatres of war, and map intel all contribute to TA's virbrant gameplay. Intuitive interface, unit AI, and order queue makes your massive army a breeze to command. The fully orchestrated soundtrack, 3D units, and fiery explosions brings the battle to life. The original game's massive unit count is also supplemented by an equally loaded expansion as well as endless fan made content available for download.

gbarules2999 T gave it a5:
The game plays great and has a nice presenation (coupled with an amazing soundtrack). Too bad the rest of the game is linear and boring as heck. Being a war of attrition, tyhe game never reatches the status that makes StarCraft look up and think. TA is fun, but it's not a strategy game. It's an action game. Very little thought goes into selecting all your units and pressing attack, and no matter how nice it looks and plays, that very fact makes the game aged and whithered on the vine. That's why the AI sucks so bad, a well: the gameplay is not designed for thought process. It's for clicking really fast, and here is where you can see the beginning of the end for a lot opf modern franchises (like C+C). Unless you have the nostalgia, stay away.

Tyler gave it a10:
The best RTS out there to date...Amazingly advanced for its time, never gets old.

[Anonymous] gave it a9:
Excellent RTS, ambitious and innovative for its time, if a bit dated today.

Angus L. gave it a10:
The game that got me into gaming the best RTS game ever.

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Total Annihilation

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