Total Annihilation

 PC
Total Annihilation Image
Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 218 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
Rate this:
  • 10
  • 9
  • 8
  • 7
  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1
  • 0
  • 0
  • 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 andLong 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]… Expand
Buy Now
Buy on

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. Adrenaline Vault
    100
    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.
  2. Gaming Age
    100
    It has beautiful graphics, eerie music, and a very low learning curve. Each level is different enough to keep the gamer interested.
  3. TotalGames.net
    93
    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.
  4. Computer Games Magazine
    90
    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.
  5. All Game Guide
    90
    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.
  6. Gamezilla!
    88
    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.
  7. Hot Games
    60
    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.

See all 10 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 42 out of 45
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 45
  3. Negative: 0 out of 45
  1. IvarH.
    Oct 31, 2007
    10
    Total Annihilation... What to say? It's not only the best RTS game ever, but the best game ever as well.
  2. LukeF.
    Jun 28, 2005
    10
    Best RTS ever, Core contingency best expansion ever. Wish that kingdoms lived up to the first. My favorite all time game. It had an Best RTS ever, Core contingency best expansion ever. Wish that kingdoms lived up to the first. My favorite all time game. It had an innovative multiplayer system (boneyards) that i have yet to see matched. Perfect 10/10.… Expand
  4. TylerF.
    Jan 28, 2008
    10
    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 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!… Expand
  5. ShellbyC__GT500
    Jul 9, 2018
    10
    10/10
    Best RTS ever made. Great soundtrack, graphics look alright 20 years later, tons of mods, and 1080p support. Better than overrated starcraft
  6. Nurgling
    Sep 10, 2014
    10
    The grandfather of RTS, the benchmark for everything that has and will follow in the genre, a masterpiece.

    Few can argue that even with the    The grandfather of RTS, the benchmark for everything that has and will follow in the genre, a masterpiece.

    Few can argue that even with the nostalgia goggles taken off that this is one of the finest games ever to steal money from our wallets.

    But enough with the compliments, lets explain why this game was superb from the ground up.

    Resource gathering, rather than the generic "pool" you are required to upkeep your 'economy' or 'eco' for short in metal and energy. This dynamic system which is drained and restored at the same time will allow you to build and queue many units as their cost is deducted from your stockpile over the course of their build time, if you run out the build time slows and if not it leaves you free to construct all the more units. Monitoring this economy is key to success and the glorious thing about it is that attacking your enemies metal extractors/generators can directly harm their ability to inflict pain on you.

    The trick is to maintain that eco while ensuring your opponent cannot do the same, real time STRATEGY. Unfortunately for you if you do not use this advantage to wipe your enemy out there is a strong chance that the wreckage left from the battle by destroyed buildings/units can also be extracted for resources, you are thus feeding the enemy which again is another thing to think about.

    The combat itself is fantastic and is supplemented by an amazing score by Jeremy Soule, the guy behind the OST of skyrim/oblivion. Vehicles explode leaving wreckage and flying debris going everywhere, (debris that can actually DAMAGE nearby units!), endgame final tier units and artillery cannons that can fire across the map, nukes... anti nukes? I can leave the imagination to picture that while trying to keep all your buildings switched on (yes, running out of power means a lot of buildings will not work).

    The music also changes from track to track depending on your situation in game, during the build phase you get some eerie foreboding music, when a fight starts the orchestral stuff kicks in and when the battle is done with unit wreckage strewn across the map you get a nice slow spooky song to go with your build units collecting resources from the dead. You can also switch that off and play what you want when you want it, put the game disc in a CD player to just play the music, boot the game and replace the CD with a DIFFERENT music CD and play that music?

    It has two campaigns for both factions, the Arm and the Core. Lots of mods are available to add new units and even lift the unit cap from 200 to whatever you feel like. The beautiful thing is that it is still actively played today and many servers are available to duke it out online.

    This came out back in 1997, you could probably pick it up for peanuts or find it online to download.

    While I do not feel my words do it justice it is definitely worth taking the time to play it, especially if you enjoyed SupCom.    … Expand
  7. Hellfire
    Dec 16, 2011
    10
    This game is a multiplayer action game. D-gun enemies into flying shards of burning metal, and construct that vehicle factory while surfacingThis game is a multiplayer action game. D-gun enemies into flying shards of burning metal, and construct that vehicle factory while surfacing from water to deploy fast Flash light tanks to immediately attack your enemy while bombers and fighters are battling for supremacy on the sky. This game is truly epic and deep. Playability 10. AI not so good but campaigns are well built. You can build your own AI though. Over the internet 10 players can play simultaneously with a total of 10000 units on the field. Massive long range artillery will shell the battlefield while nukes blast away at wreckage over which high energy lasers are targeting enemy mechas and battle-vehicles.… Expand
  8. gbarules2999T
    Sep 19, 2007
    5
    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 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.… Expand

See all 45 User Reviews

Awards & Rankings

6
#6 Best PC Game of 1997
3
#3 Most Discussed PC Game of 1997
8
#8 Most Shared PC Game of 1997

Current PC Games

Full List »
93 Dwarf Fortress
92 Resident Evil 4
91 Chained Echoes
89 Portal with RTX
89 Pizza Tower
89 Hi-Fi Rush
88 Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania
87 Dead Space
86 8-Bit Adventures 2
86 Kynseed
86 The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure
86 A Space For The Unbound
86 Returnal
85 Meg's Monster
77 Contraband Police
75 Dead Island 2
75 Atomic Heart
75 System Shock
72 Firmament
70 Storyteller
All Current Games »