A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, scientists developed a method of transferring humanoid consciousness into machines. Due to the fact that people could become virtually immortal, the government, known as the "Core," decided it should be a mandatory procedure for all its citizens.
Naturally, not everyone was interested in having their minds downloaded into robots and a rebellion began. That rebellion turned into an all-out war that has lasted for 4,000 years, decimating both the Core and the rebels, who were later known as the "Arm," and laying waste to almost every star system in the galaxy.
This is where the story stands when you begin Total Annihilation. Your army of robots, whether you choose to command the Core or the Arm, is in shambles; resources are scarce and reinforcements are non-existent. Driving you is four millennia of hatred, and you will not rest until every last one of your enemies is reduced to a smoldering pile of scrap metal.
In typical real-time-strategy fashion, you control your units, gather resources (metal and energy in this case), build structures and do battle. There's nothing really new here‹if you've played WarCraft, StarCraft, Command & Conquer, Age of Empires or any other game in this incredibly crowded genre, you won't have a problem with the interface or game structure. But you may very well be struck with the feeling that you've been here too many times before.
Deja vu? I think not.
Total Annihilation does have a small number of unique features, but not enough to separate it from the rest of the pack.
The terrain in Total Annihilation is 3D, meaning that hills, trees and wreckage of destroyed units gets in the way of your fire and can also be used to provide cover. Small touches add flares of realism to the game; leaves are blown off by explosions, trees start on fire, and whole forests can go up in a raging inferno. You can reclaim resources from wrecked units, trees (burnt or living) and other organic or metal objects.
Total Annihilation also boasts one of the most impressive soundtracks ever to grace this type of game. Composed in a rich symphony orchestra style, the score is dramatic enough to be compared with themes from movies like Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and Star Trek.
Unfortunately for a game of this genre, some of the storyline aspects don't make an awful lot of sense. For starters, the Arm seemed to have a moral objection with the idea of transferring their consciousness into machines, but to grow their own army they clone themselves and are physically placed inside machines, known as kbots. The Core also uses kbots, but the only difference is they download their brain matrices into them.
This brings up the next issue: both sides use kbots and they are almost identical. It's surprising that after 4,000 years the Core and the Arm have the same technologies. The units even look more-or-less the same. It's also illogical and disappointing that the Arm, being a rebellion, didn't develop more units specializing in hit-and-run tactics.
The replay value of the single player game is severely limited by this "red team/blue team" limitation. I began playing the Arm scenarios, but after half a dozen or so I switched over to the Core, only to discover that although my units and buildings looked slightly different, they're behaved the same way. Sure, there is the challenge presented by the 25 different missions but after a while it's like watching the same re-run over and over again.
Of the units available in single-player, none stand out except for the one you start with: the Commander. Here is one tough kbot. Equipped with a matter/anti-matter energy generator, a nano-lathe for constructing buildings, and the terrifying Disintegrator Gun (destroys anything in one shot), he's more than capable of defending himself and can set up a functioning base within minutes of making planet-fall.
Total Annihilation's saving grace is its multi-player mode. Unlike the single player scenarios, you are given the ability to build all of Total Annihilation's units, including expansion pack units and ones downloaded from the net. Suddenly an incredible array of kbots clash on the battle field. No more wave after wave of boring drones to fend off. With the large variety of units and buildings, each player (up to a total of 10) can take a totally different approach to kbot warfare and it's unlikely that you'll encounter similar units in battle. Personally, I prefer to concentrate on long-range weapons like nuclear missiles and the awesome Electro-Magnetic Pulse cannon (which can blow units to bits halfway across the world). Your opponent might build up his/her airforce or navy, and so on.
Total Annihilation: Gold Edition includes a couple of add-ons to the game. Battle Tactics is a collection of over 100 short, medium, and long scenarios designed to teach various aspects of the game and different tactics to novice players. The Core Contingency adds 75 extra units and buildings to both armies while adding six new planets, 50 maps, and 25 extra missions; more than enough to bolster the replay value of the game.
The Last Word
Total Annihilation is a solid real-time-strategy game with some cool special effects and a brilliant soundtrack, but it's hampered by the similarities between the two armies and, more importantly, by the similarities between it and other similar games. If you're a fan of these games you'll still enjoy Total Annihilation, just don't expect anything ground breaking, especially on the single-player front.
