I remember playing this revolutionary game as a kid growing up in the 90's, it was probably one of the most addictive and captivating games alongside titles such as X-COM, Dune 2, Elder Scrolls 2, Master of Orion 2, Star Control 2, Wing Commander 2 and more. Sadly, so many games these days do exactly the opposite or fail to replicate that same stellar and memorable experience. Perhaps the gaming industry as a whole has reached a low point and needs a new breed of game developers brave enough to say no to the norm and go back to the roots of what made games so legendary and unforgettable. What this game lacks in graphics and sound (by today's standards), it more than made up for by its wide open sandbox environment where half the fun was simply interacting with the game world in ways that you will not find in many of today's games and the other half was following the main storyline and side quests. Rich in history and lore, I never ran out of places to explore or discover and there was danger aplenty every time I ventured out for adventure because I never knew what was out there from one day to the next. This was not a strictly linear and scripted game where you knew how many and what type of monster you were going to encounter. There were many long-forgotten ruins as you travelled the game world, just exploring and investigating them was rewarding and enjoyable as there was no detailed backstory to some of them and it left you to wonder and imagine what might have become of the inhabitants, who they were and what these ruins used to be before they fell victim to the ravages of time and nature. I could recall making a small cave by the hillside my permanent safe haven; I put a bedroll and a few other items there to make it feel more like home. Since you had to eat, drink and sleep in this game I would always go back there to rest and recover before going out again. Just some of the many memories I have of this masterpiece.
Loading up this old but timeless classic instantly brought back fond memories of just a little over a decade ago when it was first released. I was overjoyed to see the intro movie in all its glory just the way I remembered it, as it sets the stage for the gameplay that was to follow which is no less deserving of five out of five stars. This is one of the very few RTS games that strives to implement a plethora of laws of physics and dynamics that are absent in most other titles of the genre, and succeeds with flying colors. There is line-of-sight, advantage of terrain height, splash damage, friendly fire, unguided ordnances can miss moving targets, artillery arc-fire over small obstacles, and so on. It requires you to intelligently manage all your units, not just mass produce your favorite Kbot, vehicle, aircraft or ship and "zerg" your opponent's base because all it takes is a few strategically well-placed base defences by your opponent to wipe them all out. In the case of the Arm side, a small group of six or seven Maverick Kbots, supported by anti-air defences, can cut down an advancing army of lesser units in short order. In terms of graphics, it is considered outdated by today's standards but it is by no means sub-par. It used what was available back in the day and used it well to make the units, terrain, explosions, vegetation and wreckage look aesthetically pleasing to the eye. When a high value target like a Commander is destroyed, it sets off a thermo-nuclear explosion that destroys everything on the screen and sends bits and pieces of debris flying all around and leaves piles of mangled wreckage in its wake. While the storyline may be a bit lacking, this does not detract from the overall enjoyment of the game as the gameplay more than makes up for that. Sure, a good backstory would have given it an even deeper level of appeal and character but given a game of this calibre, such an shortcoming can be overlooked. In terms of AI, the computer opponent can put up a good fight but isn't very intelligent as it produces random units and uses them to varying results. After a while, it would stop building new units altogether and just sit there waiting to be annihilated (an intentional design choice?). Against a novice player, however, the AI will tank-rush very early on and employ high-end weaponry like the Buzzsaw (Core) or Vulcan (Arm) rapid-fire long-range fusion artillery cannons to single-handedly wipe the player off the map, forcing you to be quick and gain the upper hand before the computer opponent does. If you've never played Total Annihilation before, you are missing out on something which is, in one word, EPIC. What this game has manage to achieve is nothing short of legendary, as today's simplistic, mindless and unsatisfying RTS clones and wanna-be's leave much to be desired.
