DESCRIPTION

A long time ago, the civilization of the galaxy was divided between those who wished to gain immortality by transplanting their consciousness into machines and those who thought it was madness to lose the bodies that made them human.

War broke out between the two factions, a war lasting thousands of years. When it ended, both civilizations were gone and all that was left were pockets of scattered troops that still fought over ancient hatreds.

It is your job to take on the task of fighting the last battles, over 175 of them, for the galactic core and the galactic arm. At your command are troops, battle machines with the minds of humans on one side and humans in battle suits on the other.

Since the resources of the galaxy are nearly exhausted, you'll have to work with what you've got. Unfortunately, that isn't much but it's do or die time. The only way to win is through Total Annihilation.

Total Annihilation Gold consists of the original game Total Annihilation plus two expansions, Total Annihilation: Battle Tactics and Total Annihilation: The Core Contingency. Each adds new tactics, units, maps and missions to the basic game.

Individually, in their original forms, the games break down as follows:

After thousands of years of bitter conflict, two great armies have been reduced to mere shadows of their former selves. Yet the war rages on. The galactic struggle for supremacy began some four thousand years ago, with the Core deciding to preserve their culture by transferring human consciousness into durable machines.

Not everyone was willing to submit to such a radical procedure, however, and these dissidents formed their own group called the Arm. Using sophisticated combat suits instead of pure robotics, the Arm was able to battle the Core until the once fertile planets became nothing more than barren wastelands. Now there is only one thing on the minds of those involved in this epic war: Total Annihilation!

The game employs real-time strategy that features 3D environments and units, allowing for elevated terrain, realistic firing trajectories and explosions that show flying parts as well as billowing smoke. As with most games in the genre, players begin by constructing a base, mining resources (by extracting or reusing metal) and building units.

Fifty different single-player missions allow players to take control of either side in the struggle and the battles will take place on such terrain as snow, water, lava, mountains, metallic worlds and other futuristic settings.

Besides offering 3D graphics, the game includes a lineup of over 150 units, including various land, air and sea vessels. Multiple players can compete via LAN, Internet, modem-to-modem or null modem with a maximum of ten supported at one time.

Total Annihilation: Battle Tactics is an add-on package for Total Annihilation. The expansion contains 100 new missions divided into eight campaigns and also includes a number of multiplayer maps.

The missions are short by design and have varying degrees of difficulty. Choose from very short (approximately 5 -10 minutes), short (approximately 10 -20 minutes), medium (approximately 20 -40 minutes) or long (usually over 40 minutes).

Scenarios in Total Annihilation: Battle Tactics offer multiple paths to victory and the game features text boxes that suggest beginning and advanced tactics. While the game features many of the elements found in the original, there are a variety of new units from which to choose.

Total Annihilation: The Core Contingency seems like a whole new game or at least a sequel to Total Annihilation. A short list of game elements added include 25 new missions for both the Arm and Core groups, over 75 brand new units, a map and mission editor and a whopping sum of 50 new multiplayer levels. Internet play allows players' to play against the computer AI.

Total Annihilation was named by some critics and magazines as the 1997 Game of the Year. The fight to determine whose philosophy wins is on. Can you come out victorious in Total Annihilation Gold? ~ Lisa Karen Savignano, All Game Guide