Total Annihilation

Total Annihilation is set in the far future in the midst of a galactic war, with battles taking place on the surface of planets and moons. The efforts of the player are centered on constructing a defensive base and an offensive force, and conquering opponents. The player is also concerned with gathering resources, reconnaissance and stealth, and evaluation of units and terrain. Battles take place against AI in a story-driven campaign, with the option of playing against other players in a skirmish mode.

When starting a new game, the player normally begins with a lone Commander. The Commander is a powerful and irreplaceable unit that has a number of unique abilities such as a destructor weapon that vaporizes anything it hits, the ability to use cloaking and become invisible, and the ability to travel through bodies of water. Construction is governed by the possession of the game's two unlimited resources, Metal and Energy, and can be undertaken by factories or mobile construction units. Every unit belongs to a level of technology (tech level); the higher the level, the more advanced the unit and the more resources and thus time required to construct it.

The game's start-up credits give a summary of the game's narrative:

"What began as a conflict over the transfer of consciousness from flesh to machines escalated into a war which has decimated a million worlds. The Core and the Arm have all but exhausted the resources of a galaxy in their struggle for domination. Both sides now crippled beyond repair, the remnants of their armies continue to battle on ravaged planets, their hatred fueled by over four thousand years of total war. This is a fight to the death. For each side, the only acceptable outcome is the complete elimination of the other."

Total Annihilation received a global marketing effort at launch, and was concurrently released in 14 countries with English, French and German localizations. In the United States, it debuted at #19 on PC Data's computer game sales chart for September 1997. It rose to 15th place the following month, at an average retail price of $48, but was absent from PC Data's top 20 by November. Shipments to retailers worldwide had reached 250,000 units by the end of October, and an analyst for Merrill Lynch noted that the game was performing well by the start of December, which she felt was a positive sign for GT Interactive's financial recovery at the time.

Total Annihilation ultimately sold-through 83,900 copies in the United States by the end of 1997, according to PC Data. PC Gamer US reported that this performance set it behind rival Age of Empires over the same period, but ahead of Activision's Dark Reign: The Future of War.