Let's Play Total Annihilation #2 | ARM 2: CORE Kbot Base, Destroy It!
15Annihilate the base!
Playlist: • Let's Play Total Annihilation
Total Annihilation is a real-time strategy game developed and published by Cavedog Entertainment. It was originally released on September 25, 1997 for Windows and Mac OS. Total Annihilation uses 3D-animated units, being an early game to do so.
The game features resources gathering, base building, and army management, but sets itself apart in a number of ways: resources are collected via structures, and do not necessarily need harvested from specific locations. While worker units are available, only a side's Commander unit comes with full construction and combat capabilities.
Set in a far future, Total Annihilation depicts a conflict between the CORE, who transferred their consciousness into machine bodies, and the ARM, who reject the idea of leaving their physical bodies behind. 4,000 after the start of the conflict, both sides are exhausted, and the war is drawing to a close.
The game received positive reviews, and Cavedog Entertainment released two expansions for it, The Core Contingency and Battle Tactics, as well as a spin-off with a medieval theme, Total Annihilation: Kingdoms, which in turn also received an expansion pack.
Cavedog Entertainment folded in 2000, but lead designer Chris Taylor went on to work on the Supreme Commander series, a spiritual successor to Total Annihilation. There are also several community projects based on the open source Spring Engine which follow the game, such as Balanced Annihilation, Balanced Annihilation, or Zero-K.