The minds behind Total Annihilation and the original Supreme Commander crowdfunded an even more ambitious game: Planetary Annhilation!
It was recently "released" as 1.0 though it had actually been available for at least the past year as an early access title. I got in while it was on sale at one point.
The premise is simple and if you've played TA or SupCom you already know the basic idea: it's an RTS game in which you control a command unit (the Commander in this case) and build up a base with the intention of wiping out your enemies. The AI in PA is, in many cases, pretty unforgiving. A new player will likely be crushed by the AI unless it runs into one of its stupid bugs (like getting stuck in a ditch.)
I would say I have a love/hate relationship with this game. It is micro and econ as all hell. You will not win by turtling, basically ever. Victory is accomplished with two parts: secure metal and energy, and never stop building. This is crucial. If you stop building, you're dead. You always want to run a slight deficit in your input materials. It is better to choke out your supply chain than have it accumulating resources that aren't being used.
The game sports some unique features, which may not be everyone's cup of tea. Perhaps the most notable feature is that you can attach engines to moons and ram them into planets or other moons. Moon vs. moon destroys both, so if your enemy is only based on a single moon, it's pretty much an "I win" button for you. Likewise, if two planetary bodies have intersecting orbits and collide, it's devastating. In that sense, you can build a map with a ticking time bomb scenario, in which two moons (or planets) are destined for collision.
There's also a planet that can basically be turned into the Death Star and used to obliterate whole planets. The game does not cheap out on the promise of its title. Blowing up entire planets is possible (and lots of fun!)
That said, it is not without its flaws. The single-player campaign is really just a series of maps in which the tech tree is gated/crippled. There is no single-player save feature, either. You play a map to completion (victory or defeat) or you quit early, which is counted as defeat. Some consider this an unforgivable omission, and I'm inclined to agree that a 1.0 product shouldn't ship without something like that.
Even so, this is very much a multiplayer/skirmish-focused game. The single-player campaign is really an afterthought, and it shows. This is a game where you practice skirmishing the AI and then go online to see how you are at trashing n00bs. The good news is, most people are going to be just as bad at it as you are, because it's not an easy game to learn. There's no handholding, no tutorial, no room for error. You can read guides online, watch videos, or flail blindly through the tech tree.
Another common criticism is that many planets are simply flat and offer no strategic use of terrain. This is true. Only a few planet types offer terrain obstacles that affect strategy. Spherical battlefields are a novel concept in this genre, and Uber definitely had to work out some kinks (and is still working them out.)
All that said, if you like a challenge and aren't intimidated by games that don't hold your hand, and you have fond memories of TA or SupCom, this is the game to get. The graphics are very colorful and full of effects, though the game's features are what you'd probably call bare-bones. The game knows what it's about and doesn't waste a lot of effort on bells and whistles. It's either your cup of tea or it isn't.
Be warned that it has rather high requirements. I wouldn't even attempt to play it without at least 6GB of RAM, and 8GB or more is preferable. A good graphics card is also a must. The game is also very much CPU-bound thanks to the complex AI (which is still involved even if you're playing against humans) so make sure you've got a reasonably beefy CPU. My 3-year-old quad-core Athlon does a reasonably good job with it, so it's not too unforgiving, just don't think you're gonna play it with a Core 2 or something.
Now, some links to beauty shots so you can see how it looks in action:
http://i.imgur.com/hMORCLk.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/vRY28tZ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/PMsaqtP.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/wzx3FMs.png
http://i.imgur.com/onCgX6p.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/SaCr9ln.jpg
http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/26213116502060934/DF43AC4D5D8EBB1B8EDF0F36F9F607C3527D2319/
http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/26213116502065520/9957DB60E0C5A5211A81BD61F2913B69DF0C9858/
http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/26213116502054938/CEC2A96C38ACCC1C406C83DD0A7117E90BE41C02/
http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/26213116502053604/238C0F0BA511A1C6C551844DB34D507B0E267F8F/
It was recently "released" as 1.0 though it had actually been available for at least the past year as an early access title. I got in while it was on sale at one point.
The premise is simple and if you've played TA or SupCom you already know the basic idea: it's an RTS game in which you control a command unit (the Commander in this case) and build up a base with the intention of wiping out your enemies. The AI in PA is, in many cases, pretty unforgiving. A new player will likely be crushed by the AI unless it runs into one of its stupid bugs (like getting stuck in a ditch.)
I would say I have a love/hate relationship with this game. It is micro and econ as all hell. You will not win by turtling, basically ever. Victory is accomplished with two parts: secure metal and energy, and never stop building. This is crucial. If you stop building, you're dead. You always want to run a slight deficit in your input materials. It is better to choke out your supply chain than have it accumulating resources that aren't being used.
The game sports some unique features, which may not be everyone's cup of tea. Perhaps the most notable feature is that you can attach engines to moons and ram them into planets or other moons. Moon vs. moon destroys both, so if your enemy is only based on a single moon, it's pretty much an "I win" button for you. Likewise, if two planetary bodies have intersecting orbits and collide, it's devastating. In that sense, you can build a map with a ticking time bomb scenario, in which two moons (or planets) are destined for collision.
There's also a planet that can basically be turned into the Death Star and used to obliterate whole planets. The game does not cheap out on the promise of its title. Blowing up entire planets is possible (and lots of fun!)
That said, it is not without its flaws. The single-player campaign is really just a series of maps in which the tech tree is gated/crippled. There is no single-player save feature, either. You play a map to completion (victory or defeat) or you quit early, which is counted as defeat. Some consider this an unforgivable omission, and I'm inclined to agree that a 1.0 product shouldn't ship without something like that.
Even so, this is very much a multiplayer/skirmish-focused game. The single-player campaign is really an afterthought, and it shows. This is a game where you practice skirmishing the AI and then go online to see how you are at trashing n00bs. The good news is, most people are going to be just as bad at it as you are, because it's not an easy game to learn. There's no handholding, no tutorial, no room for error. You can read guides online, watch videos, or flail blindly through the tech tree.
Another common criticism is that many planets are simply flat and offer no strategic use of terrain. This is true. Only a few planet types offer terrain obstacles that affect strategy. Spherical battlefields are a novel concept in this genre, and Uber definitely had to work out some kinks (and is still working them out.)
All that said, if you like a challenge and aren't intimidated by games that don't hold your hand, and you have fond memories of TA or SupCom, this is the game to get. The graphics are very colorful and full of effects, though the game's features are what you'd probably call bare-bones. The game knows what it's about and doesn't waste a lot of effort on bells and whistles. It's either your cup of tea or it isn't.
Be warned that it has rather high requirements. I wouldn't even attempt to play it without at least 6GB of RAM, and 8GB or more is preferable. A good graphics card is also a must. The game is also very much CPU-bound thanks to the complex AI (which is still involved even if you're playing against humans) so make sure you've got a reasonably beefy CPU. My 3-year-old quad-core Athlon does a reasonably good job with it, so it's not too unforgiving, just don't think you're gonna play it with a Core 2 or something.
Now, some links to beauty shots so you can see how it looks in action:
http://i.imgur.com/hMORCLk.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/vRY28tZ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/PMsaqtP.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/wzx3FMs.png
http://i.imgur.com/onCgX6p.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/SaCr9ln.jpg
http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/26213116502060934/DF43AC4D5D8EBB1B8EDF0F36F9F607C3527D2319/
http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/26213116502065520/9957DB60E0C5A5211A81BD61F2913B69DF0C9858/
http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/26213116502054938/CEC2A96C38ACCC1C406C83DD0A7117E90BE41C02/
http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/26213116502053604/238C0F0BA511A1C6C551844DB34D507B0E267F8F/
I'll have to check this one out, as it seems really intriguing (this coming from someone who hasn't played an RTS in nearly a decade), warts and all.
