Total Annihilation
| Developer: Cavedog Entertainment | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: GT Interactive | Sound: |
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| Year: 1997 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Strategy | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 1* | Rating: |
9/10 | |
(*) The game consists of a rather long single-player campaign (CD1) and an online or local multiplayer mode (CD2). Several expansions have been released, as well as numerous player-created mods.
Here lies the absolute reference in real time strategy gaming. Like Command and Conquer (1995), the game’s objective is to build a base, gather resources, and create units (infantry, tanks) to destroy the enemy base(s).
The differences from the latter include a more futuristic style, the introduction of 3D models, superb “orchestral” music, and greater richness in terms of unit numbers and controls (keyboard shortcuts, the ability to give a series of successive orders and automate certain tasks, naval and aerial units…).
Many contenders have emerged since, with ambitions to reinvent the genre. But for me, there are no improvements is required. The concept is perfect and doesn't need any changes.
Update (2024):
This page was published in 2010 (it could use a rewrite, on a day when inspiration strikes), but I must now acknowledge that perfection has aged a tad. There exists an acknowledged successor called Supreme Commander (2007). Objectively, it brings numerous improvements: such as gigantic maps allowing for extensive zoom capabilities, as well as more numerous and evolving units (up to giant mechanical monsters by the endgame).
Personally, I was disappointed by this title at the time. It required a powerful hardware that I lacked. Moreover, I remember finding it cold compared to its predecessor. The larger scale encouraged us to “zoom out”, and units were reduced to tiny dots on a map. I also disliked the overabundance of multicoloured visual indicators. Finally, the solo campaign proved rather dull. The game was primarily intended for multiplayer.
Supreme Commander was followed by a stand-alone expansion, Forged Alliance (2007), and then a pseudo-sequel, Supreme Commander 2 (2010), which was far more “accessible” (extremely simplified to adapt it to consoles and increase its profitability by reducing development time).
Other successors are discussed in this video. I’m particularly interested in the one most faithful to Total Annihilation, namely: Beyond All Reason, an amateur, open source and free project (still in development).
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