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Probably the most fun RTS I've ever played

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: June 04, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Since I first bought this game, I've gone through three computers - a PII, a PIII, and a P4. Now I'm still playing this classic on my dual-core, and its just as fun as ever.

I don't care if the graphics don't wow me, or if the score is old and familiar like the Marx Brothers' "Duck Soup", or if the sound effects were designed for a SoundBlaster in 1998, the game is FUN.

This is a rare RTS that can accomodate any general's strategy. You can focus on air power, artillery, tank rushes, infantry rushes, naval bombardment, airdrops... you name it, you can do it.

C&C Generals has a "strategy center" that allows you to "hold the line" or "bombard" or "search and destroy". But Total Annihilation does it better, and without spending 2,500 credits building a "Strategy Center".

Seriously, this game is great if you just want to kill half an hour, or if you need an all-night gaming session.

Fog of Stupidity

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 05, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Ok I remember playing this game a long time ago and LOVING it. But after installing the latest patches and giving it another go I have to wonder...WHO decided to make the enemies be able to shoot you from so far away?
Whoever did that and made that decision...ruined the game. I am going to uninstall the patch and play again and see if it changes things because I swear it wasnt like that when I played it the first time around. I will update after trying it sans patch.

Great game, but an old one.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 08, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I like this game a lot. The multiplayer, either skirmish or with some friends, is among the best out there. The game allows for many different ways to attack, like ground invasion, missiles, air strikes, artillery fire, or just nuke the enemy bases. Plus, every attack has a defense, so good players can stop just about every attack against them. This can lead to very long matches with no clear cut winners.

The largest flaw with this game is its age. The engine doesn't allow zooming in or out. Most commanding happens through the mini-map, which can take some adjusting. However, a more advanced engine that supports Total Annihilation maps and mods has been released. It's named "TA Spring". I highly recommend that engine as well. Aside from the engine, there were no major flaws to this game. It is one of the best RTS games ever made.

Good game, but sometimes annoying

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 06, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I have owned this game for several years and decided to buy another copy for a friend.
Strategy is somewhat the most important role, but knowing what to build and what to destroy.
An annoying thing I realized is that sometimes you just can't defeat the other opponent even if you rush in with 150+ aircrafts if vehicles, kbots, or ships cannot do so. There are times when it will seem to be like a tie and I save the game and deal with it later. I'm talking about playing against the comp. btw...Playing against other players is great when you learn more about the game.
There are some overpowered items in this game so I find that if you attack in smaller mobs than come in in a large group you might be able to slow down their building of weapons. When they have the most advanced weapons/robots you can't really beat them and neither can they beat you as you would probably have the top items as well. That's the only problem I really found in this game against the computer.
This is an amazing game and you'll be playing it for hours since it's so much fun. Some weapons are really cool and you basically just own tons of enemies with them. I find ships useful for defense since some have powerful or fast attacks. Vehicles are what I used for to attack in smaller groups. Bombing aircrafts literally wipes out a group while only sacrificing a few of your own robots.
If your into strategy action games, you must own this or at least play it a couple of times. What's more fun than blasting metal while using your brain to defeat them.

TA Still rules

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 10, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I am a long time fan of this game and came across it again here. I bought another copy on a whim, and it is still as fun as it was years ago. I did see someone is working on an open source version and a possible TA 2.

Got my fingers crossed.

Still the best RTS game after 10 years

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: March 07, 2007
Author: Amazon User

What began as a conflict over the transfer of consciousness from flesh to machines escalated into a war which has decimated a million worlds. The Core and the Arm have all but exhausted the resources of a galaxy in their struggle for domination. Both sides now crippled beyond repair. The remnants of their armies continue to battle on ravaged planets. Their hatred fueled by over four thousand years of total war. This is a fight to the death. For each side, the only acceptable outcome is the complete and total annihilation of the other...

Total Annihilation, Cavedog Entertainment's groundbreaking 3-D real-time strategy game, was simultaneously launched in three languages and 14 countries on 09/27/1997, blasting more than 250,000 games into retail stores during its first month of release.

It is recognized as one of the best PC games of all time (as well as the best RTS of all time). It defined the third-generation class of real-time strategy games when it was released (NOTE: Read the history behind Total Annihilation). "Real-time" means that both the human and computer players do not take turns in sequence, but simultaneously. In effect, each player takes a turn whenever they want, without waiting for a turn. Total Annihilation is often compared to another very popular RTS game from Blizzard called Starcraft, of second-generation design. Though Starcraft has three races and an involving storyline, Total Annihilation has a more realistic physical environment in which battles are fought. But how good is its gameplay?

Well, part of what makes Total Annihilation fun to play is how its game engine handles terrain. For starters, the terrain is 3D. This means that hills and mountains can block combat units that don't have climbing abilities, so they'll have to move around or shoot over them to attack their enemy. Bryce was one of the first 3D terrain programs used in the 1990's for creating many of the game's maps. Newer programs like Carrara have been added to the growing list of programs being used now.

The units in the game are rendered (in real-time) in 3D. Vehicles tilt up and down, left and right, when travelling on a slope. Weapon turrets rotate 360 degrees to get their best aim on enemy targets.

The terrain is also deformable, meaning trees and rocks can be blown up so that units can traverse forests and rocky canyons. Forest fires can cause damage to units and buildings that are nearby. There's also the gravity and wind elements in the game engine that can cause units to travel slower and cause their weapons to miss their targets. Seas are also 3D. Submarines can be used to build secret underwater bases on the ocean floor, as long as the enemy isn't using sonar to discover it and sends in Attack Subs, Depth Charges, and Torpedo Bombers to ruin things.

Another nice thing about the game is its graphical user interface. It is very intuitive as well as informative. Commands are given to units either by mouse or by keyboard. The interface allows players to plan and strategize more instead of micromanaging everything. Factories can build units unattended by queuing up the number of each unit to be built. Factories can order the units how they'll behave against enemies and where to relocate to after they're built. The game map's overhead camera angle is fixed, pointing down at a 63.44° angle. This allows players to get a good view of a battle and give orders to their units. All units on the map (not just on the screen) can easily be selected and given orders. Holding down the SHIFT key allows players to queue up move/patrol/attack/capture/guard/repair/recycle orders given to units. There is no limit to queuing orders. However, there is a limit to the number of units players can have for their army which is 500.

Playing against human players in Total Annihilation is one of the best features in the game.

If you are at all interested in playing an RTS, just get Total Annihilation.

You won't regret getting it

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: July 29, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Most people will want me to start at the negative parts of the game, but that's simply impossible, I mean Starcraft doesn't even come close! My friend first introduced total annihilation to me and I didn't think much of it but I soon realized how wrong I was. The graphics aren't the best but they're still above average. The unit selection is great and the multiplayer is brilliant.

Great Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: November 08, 2005
Author: Amazon User

TA is one of my all time favorite games. It is old, the graphics aren't very good, and it's somewhat two dimensional but it is an amazing game. The economy is simple, yet satisfying; the military part of the game (definitely the more comprehensive of the two) is AMAZING. This is one of the only games where it is futuristic but still makes sense. There are plenty of units for the two nations, arm and core, and I find that this game has the most variety out of all the strategy computer games I have ever played. The campaigns are great. The skirmish on the game is also good, although I find computers, given the time, will rise up and may tend to be a little too hard. I find that this game is a great way to spend $8.00, and you may find yourself coming back to this game again and again and find that it never really does get boring (I've been playing this game for about 6 or 7 years) and it is extremely fun, especially in multiplayer. Get this game.

A tidbit extra

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: March 13, 2005
Author: Amazon User

You can also download units and add them to the game and use them in multiplayer wich changes the stratagy used by most people 10 fold.

BEST REAL-TIME GAME EVER!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: January 21, 2005
Author: Amazon User

i love this games from all the units to the maps mining goodies to built ur army it has it all never gets boring must by!!!

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