Total Annihilation: Battle Tactics
Encyclopedia
Total Annihilation: Battle Tactics is the second of two expansion pack
s for the popular RTS
computer game
Total Annihilation
, released on June 30, 1998 in the United States. Its features include 100 new missions as either the Arm or the Core, four new units (the Arm Stunner & Phalanx and the Core Neutron & Copperhead) and new keyboard shortcuts. Six new multiplayer maps are included, and, for the first time in the Total Annihilation
series, some single-player missions are set on acid and crystal worlds.
(and several small units designed for light defense until a secure base could be established), placed amongst a variety of enemies, with limited resources in which to create and defend a base.
Battle Tactics broke from this trend, focusing missions on battles, as the title would suggest. In many missions, particularly in short or very short campaigns, the player begins with all of the units required to complete the mission objective, perhaps even lacking the Commander in certain missions. This tests the player's ability to control and micromanage large groups of units, rather than their ability to manage a vast economy, which results in rather large battles, sometimes even requiring the player to reduce the game speed or else allow the AI computational freedom and lose control of the battle.
This was met with mixed reactions and became one of the sources of criticism for Battle Tactics. Many gamers loyal to the original gameplay methods disliked how many of the scenarios eliminated resource management as critical component of the game, since its revolutionary economy system is part of what made Total Annihilation unique and popular. Other players came to accept Battle Tactics for what it was meant to be—a completely different side of the RTS, to be discovered in its own way.
Mission-balancing was also an issue with the expansion pack. Some missions in the very short campaign could turn out to take longer than others in the long campaign. Furthermore, some missions played on the Hard setting could be amply completed by novice players, while some missions set on the Easy setting would be extremely difficult even for an experienced player.
ARM Stunner EMP Missile Launcher that can stun enemies with ICBM-style missiles.
CORE Neutron ICBM-style missile launcher that destroys only mobile units and leaves buildings unharmed.
ARM Phalanx Mobile Flak Vehicle, produced in the Adv. Vehicle Plant.
CORE Copperhead Mobile Flak Vehicle, produced in the Adv. Vehicle Plant.
Aqua Verdigris
Brilliant Cut Lake
Canal Crossing
Coremageddon
Metal Gridlock
Wretched Ridges
Some blame its poor design on Chris Taylor
's departure from Cavedog Entertainment, who had originally spearheaded the other two works in the series, as Battle Tactics was made without him.
Expansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
s for the popular RTS
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
computer game
Computer and video games
A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device, but following popularization of the term "video game", it now implies any type of...
Total Annihilation
Total Annihilation
Total Annihilation is a real-time strategy video game created by Cavedog Entertainment, a sub-division of Humongous Entertainment, and released on September 30, 1997 by GT Interactive for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. It was the first RTS game to feature 3D units and terrain...
, released on June 30, 1998 in the United States. Its features include 100 new missions as either the Arm or the Core, four new units (the Arm Stunner & Phalanx and the Core Neutron & Copperhead) and new keyboard shortcuts. Six new multiplayer maps are included, and, for the first time in the Total Annihilation
Total Annihilation
Total Annihilation is a real-time strategy video game created by Cavedog Entertainment, a sub-division of Humongous Entertainment, and released on September 30, 1997 by GT Interactive for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. It was the first RTS game to feature 3D units and terrain...
series, some single-player missions are set on acid and crystal worlds.
Gameplay
The two previous installments of the Total Annihilation series bore a distinct focus on resource and economy management, requiring the player to show an adept knowledge of economic skill to successfully complete a mission; lack of the ability to manage resources would usually result in the player's downfall. Missions would often begin with the player's CommanderCommander (Total Annihilation)
The Commander is a unit in the fictional world of the Total Annihilation series of games by Chris Taylor. This unit is of specific importance to the game, arguably the most important unit, and is available to both the Arm and the Core factions, although there are minor differences between the...
(and several small units designed for light defense until a secure base could be established), placed amongst a variety of enemies, with limited resources in which to create and defend a base.
Battle Tactics broke from this trend, focusing missions on battles, as the title would suggest. In many missions, particularly in short or very short campaigns, the player begins with all of the units required to complete the mission objective, perhaps even lacking the Commander in certain missions. This tests the player's ability to control and micromanage large groups of units, rather than their ability to manage a vast economy, which results in rather large battles, sometimes even requiring the player to reduce the game speed or else allow the AI computational freedom and lose control of the battle.
This was met with mixed reactions and became one of the sources of criticism for Battle Tactics. Many gamers loyal to the original gameplay methods disliked how many of the scenarios eliminated resource management as critical component of the game, since its revolutionary economy system is part of what made Total Annihilation unique and popular. Other players came to accept Battle Tactics for what it was meant to be—a completely different side of the RTS, to be discovered in its own way.
Mission-balancing was also an issue with the expansion pack. Some missions in the very short campaign could turn out to take longer than others in the long campaign. Furthermore, some missions played on the Hard setting could be amply completed by novice players, while some missions set on the Easy setting would be extremely difficult even for an experienced player.
Units
The Battle Tactics expansion came with four units, which are also included in the 3.1 Patch by Cavedog.ARM Stunner EMP Missile Launcher that can stun enemies with ICBM-style missiles.
CORE Neutron ICBM-style missile launcher that destroys only mobile units and leaves buildings unharmed.
ARM Phalanx Mobile Flak Vehicle, produced in the Adv. Vehicle Plant.
CORE Copperhead Mobile Flak Vehicle, produced in the Adv. Vehicle Plant.
Maps
The Battle Tactics expansion comes with six multiplayer / skirmish maps.Aqua Verdigris
Brilliant Cut Lake
Canal Crossing
Coremageddon
Metal Gridlock
Wretched Ridges
Reviews and reception
Battle Tactics received low ratings compared to the other games in the series. Gamespot cited its lack of new content, saying it had "a mere handful of its own unique additions".Some blame its poor design on Chris Taylor
Chris Taylor (game designer)
Chris Taylor is a computer game designer and entrepreneur most famous for developing Total Annihilation and the Dungeon Siege series and for founding Gas Powered Games...
's departure from Cavedog Entertainment, who had originally spearheaded the other two works in the series, as Battle Tactics was made without him.
| Publication | Score | Comment |
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PC Zone PC Zone was the first magazine dedicated to games for IBM-compatible personal computers to be published in the United Kingdom. Earlier PC magazines such as PC Leisure, PC Format and PC Plus had covered games but only as part of a wider remit. PC Zone was founded in 1993.The magazine was published... |
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GameSpot GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which... |
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| Compilations of multiple reviews | ||
Game Rankings GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive... |
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External Links
- Official Web Site (Mirrored 2000-12-07)
See also
- Total AnnihilationTotal AnnihilationTotal Annihilation is a real-time strategy video game created by Cavedog Entertainment, a sub-division of Humongous Entertainment, and released on September 30, 1997 by GT Interactive for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. It was the first RTS game to feature 3D units and terrain...
- Total Annihilation: The Core ContingencyTotal Annihilation: The Core ContingencyThe Core Contingency is a 1998 expansion to the popular 1997 real-time strategy computer game Total Annihilation. It contains extra units and maps, as well as a campaign of 25 missions and a long-awaited official map editor.-Story:The Core Contingency picks up where the original game finishes...
- Cavedog EntertainmentCavedog EntertainmentCavedog Entertainment, or Cavedog, was a video game developer based in Bothell, Washington. Cavedog gained the attention of gamers and the gaming press alike with the 1997 release of Total Annihilation , winning many accolades such as multiple Game of the Year honors or being one of The Greatest...
- Chris TaylorChris Taylor (game designer)Chris Taylor is a computer game designer and entrepreneur most famous for developing Total Annihilation and the Dungeon Siege series and for founding Gas Powered Games...
- GT Interactive