Computer Games: |
Total Annihilation |
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Cavedog Entertainment
Real-Time Strategy Game
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Once in a while a game comes along that is apparently more of the same but is actually very good. For example TA, the recent real-time strategy game from Cavedog Entertainment. Unless, that is, you really don't like strategy games like this one, in which case I don't know what the hell you're doing with your computer. It didn't really start with Warcraft II at all. My first conscious memory of an RTS was playing Dune II at a friend's house (you know who you are!) and staring in awe at how cool it was to command all those units and see them carry out their orders in an instant. Also, the intense level of building and constructing appealed to me very much. Total Annihilation is a very fun and rewarding game, especially when played multiplayer.
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Visuals |
The unit graphics have a neat 3D-rendered look and they rotate and move in a 3D fashion, with enough frames of animation to look very nice and fluid. The pre-rendered playing maps are beautiful, and, trust me, there are enough pretty explosions to blow up your speakers and drive an epileptic child insane. |
Music and Sounds |
The music in this game rocks! It is mostly fast-paced, epic battle music, but it also contains some moody, slow atmospheric songs, so be sure to place it on 'random' play! The sounds in this game are very nice, ranging from the metallic responses from units to the whooshing explosions and engine sounds. The unit sounds are a nice change from the usual "Your command?", "Yes, sir!" and "Affirmative!", and are actually pretty cool. You can distinguish when a unit has reached a destination or has just been produced by just listening closely. |
Merits |
Well, the game's fast-paced explosive action paired with the kick-ass music is enough to keep most gamers glued to the screen just to see their opponents suffer. Also, there is a pretty big variety of units, falling under the categories of land, sea and air units. Thanks to these, the game allows countless strategies in which to lay waste to the enemy, so the fighting is not all mindless. Also, being able to build structures anywhere in the map allows for flexibility and the re-growing shadow of nothingness of which I am a fan of is here as well. But the best part of all, in my opinion, is that you can download new units and maps from several web sites! (Check out my page of links for some of these) |
Flaws |
It would be innaccurate to say that this game is perfect and has no flaws, but trust me, it is hard to find something that Cavedog did wrong. First of all, the units corresponding to both factions, The Core's and The Arm's, are exact reflections of each other (I am talking about the units that are included with the game). The next small flaw is in the opponent's AI. In one stage there was this big steep hill that covered the entire width of the screen so no land units could go up or down it. The idiot computer built thousands of land units and amassed them together on the rim of the hill, cause they couldn't go down anymore. So what did I do? Well, I constructed like 20 plasma batteries and fired away! And so I wasted all the precious units the computer took so long to build... But enough with this review, go ahead and buy this game, and if you already have it....when do we play?
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