In short:

By far the best game from my childhood. 5/5, a must buy for any strategy fan.

A fantastic game that makes interesting changes from usual RTS games. Though it has some hickups, these are greatly overcome by the games other great aspects. Better still the game appears to be future proof with no compatibility issues for newer systems.

Quick tip to get the most out of the game is to head over to forums, there are excellent guides out there. (main one is to never let your metal reach full, build SOMETHING).

In full: (the bad below)

This game has seen me reinstall countless times over the last 15 years. When i found the expansions on here that nostalgic feeling returned and i found myself playing through it once again.

To start of with it has the best mission log narrator of all time xD. (returning in the squeal)

A staggeringly complex engine for its time, projectiles have trajectories which are effected by gravity which also various between planets. Missiles track in real time, which means basic missile units have a hard time hitting advanced aircraft.

(now a long bit :(, but it is the heart of what makes the game stand-out from the rest)

It has a continuous economy system where you gather resources at rates per second, rather than the usual 'send harvester there, wait for a lump income'.

This system has allowed for another interesting game-play mechanic to be used, continuous construction. It means you dont have to wait for 'X' amount of resources to being building. If you run out of resources construction slows but continues at income rate. At the other end if you think you have to much you can assign numerous workers to help speed up construction.

This works well in the game as units get expensive, mods take this to another level! You normally have a pool of around 500 of the major resource where normal combat units cost 50-200, seems pretty generic so far. The 'Krogoth' costs 30,000!. This means you cant normally build it in one go.

The economy system allows you, if wanted, to queue thousands of units from a factory, set a way point and forget it for the remainder of the game, letting you focus on other things.

The bad:

So no game is perfect. Most problems you wont even notice and some aspects of the game you'll thing 'why isn't that in game' when it is but well hidden...

There are more, but this review is getting long lol.

The options main is fairly pointless, for a game with so many changeable options i dont know why they werent added to the the menu. Instead codes must be entered in game, though a simple process they must be entered anew each game.

Examples are,

'+showranges' (weapons, radar etc) which could be useful for new comers due to the sheer number of units in the game.

Player trade, the game has no window for this though it has a fully functional one through codes.

+Shootall, units will ignore some structures, presumably so you can capture them or because they are not a threat and not currently providing the other play with a benefit. Idle factories or resource storage. There is little point to this its usually easier to build your own one.

Lastly there is no unit stats. So you have no idea if its any good in combat or not until you build a couple of them, and some can cost a lot and be useless.

(popping off to work will have a look over again when home)

This is the best, most fun game I have ever played. This is a true classic. The game plays great and it has beautiful graphics, eerie music.

This game was the very first RTS I ever played, and it's still one of my favorites. I still have the original game in my collection, but I never picked up the expansions. So this pack is still a pretty good deal. It's a fairly unique RTS, for it's time, in it's gameplay. The commander unit does the building. While you have structures to gather resources instead of worker units. Like others below have said, Supreme Commander is the spiritual successor to this game. So if you're put off by outdated graphics then you might want to try that game. But if you want to see where it all started, then give this excellent RTS a try.

Total Annihilation (1998) has set the parameters for strategy games to come. Balance, wonderful graphics, lovely crafted units and many possibilities controling and playing the game. Although it's storyline isn't as well evolved as eg. Starcraft's the game will engulfe the player in it's gloomy atmosphere, adding to- and, ensuring hours of addictive gameplay. The player chooses a side - Core or Arm - and after finishing the campaign, he (or she) has a full campaign (the other side) with new units, left. The Gamersgate version comes with enhanced possibilities in choosing screen-resolution and expansion pack The Core Contingency.

It is highly subjective, but I believe this game is still a must-have for fans of the genre.

Windows 7 Premium, 32-bit. Downloaded and installed to C:\Total.... Ran first time, no problems. I played this gem for about 40 minutes, no problems, all looks exactly as it did all those years ago. Good Fun then, and even better fun now, as this game is STILL one of the best ever! AND the sound worked too.

I had previously read about guys having problems with Windows 7, well I didn't have any problems whatsoever. I didn't use any compatibility settings.

One note though: I have previously played old games and had to install old drivers to be able to play. So, maybe this could be the reason why I had no problems? ??

One of the best RTS games of all time. Many many units to choose from with ground, air, and sea combat. It diverged from other RTS of the time by having many resource locations with unlimited quantities.

Very dated graphics at this time, but still great gameplay if you have a system that can run it.

An excellent way to initiated in the real time strategy games(for those who have not already), a great game for those nostalgic for the rst games with basic graphics, and an excellent addictive for real rst players. 100% suitable for all ages.

Back in the days when it came out,Total Annihilation blew my tiny middle school mind and "totally annihilated" my old 386 PC,good times.An amazing game till this day,anyone who interested in RTS games shouldn't miss this gem,seriously,BUY IT.

Total Annihilation has been a favorite game of mine when I was younger. I spent many hours playing over Lan with friends. SO I was happy to see it on Gamersgate.

Pro

Runs on old pc

Contains all expansions

Game play is very good

Cons

Looks outdated

only two factions

So in conclusion: If you look for a game that preforms well on old machines go for this one. If you have a better PC check the Supreme Commander games. they are the sequels of total Annihilation.

An utterly brilliant RTS game. It's a crime that this never received as much publicity as games such as C&C and Warcraft. Be sure to check out the mods available for this game as some offer a staggering amount of fun new units to play with.

this game is awsome great strategy game lots of units and loads of maps never the same skirmish twice.one of the best in its class even for its age

10 out of 10

leeroy

In my opinion one of the best games ever made.Gameplay follows that you build a base and so does the enemy, then after a while you attack each other, most of the time your aim is to totally wipe out your opponent but the campaign offers a bit more diversity. This is a game that you can just keep playing especially with new units and campaigns, fun for hours.

I didn't play Total Annihilation back in the day when it came out ('97). I didn't get into RTS games until later, and first tried this game after buying it from GamersGate. I had heard it was a classic of the genre and did a lot of things differently. The game holds up very well, but if you've played more modern RTS games, it probably won't seem quite as unique as it once did.

That said, it's easy to see why Total Annihilation has built communities based on creating new engines and fan games to emulate it. The balance is very good and each mission compels you to move forward, manage your resources and build effectively. The way resources 'stream' makes building more fun and there's less of a waiting game to move on with the mission. I haven't delved into Skirmish mode, but I'm enjoying the campaign a lot.

This game seems like a great point of entry for the RTS genre if you've never played one. If you have an interest in the genre and want a cheap classic to test the waters, this game will likely be all the convincing you need.