Planetary Annihilation

 PC
User Score
5.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 418 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 188 out of 418
  2. Mixed: 64 out of 418
  3. Negative: 166 out of 418
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. ce111
    Sep 12, 2014
    4
    The game itself is pretty awesome. It has all the best bits of Supreme Commander with an interesting concept thrown in. Unfortunately this is seriously under minded by its horrendous performance issues. The game eats up RAM like its going out of style which leads to crashes. The devs response to such issues is pretty much "Its probably your fault, not ours." You basically need to jumpThe game itself is pretty awesome. It has all the best bits of Supreme Commander with an interesting concept thrown in. Unfortunately this is seriously under minded by its horrendous performance issues. The game eats up RAM like its going out of style which leads to crashes. The devs response to such issues is pretty much "Its probably your fault, not ours." You basically need to jump through hoops to get this game to perform moderately well. Quite frankly, its not worth the time or the money. So do yourself a favor and just play Supreme Commander if you are craving a massive RTS.… Expand
  2. Viperjed
    Sep 8, 2014
    3
    Purchased this game this summer when it was still in development. It was really fun despite the problems it had and even more fun when I discovered how to create multiple planet systems. The downside is that this game is full of serious bugs and bizarre glitches. Try and snap to a tactical message and get a blank screen. Suddenly lose control of all camera functions for no apparentPurchased this game this summer when it was still in development. It was really fun despite the problems it had and even more fun when I discovered how to create multiple planet systems. The downside is that this game is full of serious bugs and bizarre glitches. Try and snap to a tactical message and get a blank screen. Suddenly lose control of all camera functions for no apparent reason. Play hour after hour only to have the game crash whenever a planetary annihilation is attempted. The last straw was when they released this game last week despite the obvious flaws and broken promises. Should change the name of this game to Improbable Planetary Annihilation!… Expand
  3. System_operator
    Sep 8, 2014
    4
    Not a terrible game by any stretch of the imagination, but one full of missed opportunities.

    While it is stable it can be a lot of fun, especially with friends. PA is probably best surmised (in my opinion) as a dumbed down version of TA/Supreme Commander played across planets instead of flat maps. It does have a few interesting features to draw in the crowds; epic scale, planet    Not a terrible game by any stretch of the imagination, but one full of missed opportunities.

    While it is stable it can be a lot of fun, especially with friends.

    PA is probably best surmised (in my opinion) as a dumbed down version of TA/Supreme Commander played across planets instead of flat maps. It does have a few interesting features to draw in the crowds; epic scale, planet smashing and the metal planet 'anniahlaser' being the three.

    The reason I have only given PA a 4/10 is because of the missed opportunity this game represents. I was an early Alpha backer - paying upwards of £70 for the privilege. I backed after reading the promises made on the kickstarter page and the hope that we were going to get a 'supreme commander killer'. Unfortunately upon release I am disappointed. I feel like the game lacks polish (from wonky unit animations and odd planet smashing textures to poor strategic options when invading planets and the navy STILL feeling like a second class army choice) and has a pretty poor choice of units - none of which feel interesting or innovative!

    To compound matters elements from kickstarter and early development don't feature in the release version: where is the unit cannon?! where are the 40 player games?! where is the DRM free server?!

    I wish Uber had delayed longer, fleshed out the unit roster more thoroughly, really thought about planet invasion (instead of the JUST SPAM ASTREUS tactic) and ensured the promises they made in development were fulfilled.    … Expand
  4. mpmumau
    Sep 7, 2014
    0
    Uber Entertainment should be absolutely appalled by the way they handled the sale of this game from day one. They took complete advantage of the concept of crowd funding, and they have now "released" a largely unfinished, DRM-riddled version of their game to the public in return. If you buy this game, you are essentially telling developers "Please let us give you money so that you canUber Entertainment should be absolutely appalled by the way they handled the sale of this game from day one. They took complete advantage of the concept of crowd funding, and they have now "released" a largely unfinished, DRM-riddled version of their game to the public in return. If you buy this game, you are essentially telling developers "Please let us give you money so that you can half-ass your job for as long as you'd like and crap out whatever garbage you'd like in exchange for the public's showing of good faith." Shame, shame, shame on this company.… Expand
  5. bctwticzdfio
    Sep 7, 2014
    0
    Uber Entertainment really cashed in with this cash cow. There's nothing revolutionary about PA's gameplay, you win by superior micro and spam. The game has no save feature for the anemic singleplayer and every part of it is DRM'd. No private server hosting, no LAN (how can you have this kind of game without LAN?). Performance is just as bad as the pre-release. I'm shaking my head that IUber Entertainment really cashed in with this cash cow. There's nothing revolutionary about PA's gameplay, you win by superior micro and spam. The game has no save feature for the anemic singleplayer and every part of it is DRM'd. No private server hosting, no LAN (how can you have this kind of game without LAN?). Performance is just as bad as the pre-release. I'm shaking my head that I spent $60 on this turd. This company's practices aren't far off from publishers like EA. They edited things out of their KS campaign and Steam page about the release being DRM-free and coming with ACTUTAL LAN. Game doesn't support multiple GPUs properly, not like it matters because it's unoptimized. A bloody paid store for cosmetics in a retail game. Developers are drag queens that only answer questions about their development process when it benefits them. Would not recommend any Uber products.… Expand
  6. werrs
    Sep 7, 2014
    0
    Next-gen RTS without a save support? Are you kidding me?

    It's almost impossible to find any RTS in history which doesn't have the saving possibility, beginning from the very first Command & Conquer in 1995. Now it's 2014 and the caption on Kickstarter tells us that "Planetary Annihilation - A Next Generation RTS". Are you kidding us, seriously? Here is the quote from Kickstarter:    Next-gen RTS without a save support? Are you kidding me?

    It's almost impossible to find any RTS in history which doesn't have the saving possibility, beginning from the very first Command & Conquer in 1995.

    Now it's 2014 and the caption on Kickstarter tells us that "Planetary Annihilation - A Next Generation RTS". Are you kidding us, seriously?

    Here is the quote from Kickstarter:

    "Folks at Uber Entertainment have worked on games like Total Annihilation, Command & Conquer, Supreme Commander and Demigod. We are hugely passionate about Real-Time Strategy and can’t wait to show you our vision for the future of the genre."

    Is it a real future of RTS genre, where even save is not possible in single player campaign? Is it so hard to implement? We have tired from **** console ports on PC recently, but now we have got even worse release of the "PC exclusive". Even the backers who have financed the game production on Kickstarter cannot change anything, because nobody listens to them.

    Should we blame the online-only DRM which prevents game from saving because it's being played on the remote servers instead of local PCs? Previously developers were promising to make the LAN play possible, but what we have got at the release? Nothing except of online DRM.

    During the Kickstarter campaign developers should have warned all the potential backers about what will be the game's state on release. That it will have online-only DRM and no save possibility, etc. I believe that not a single cent would be given to them in this case.

    Honestly, developers should return all the money to the backers. Only in this case they will have the moral right to keep that online DRM without a save possibility and sell the game in its current invalid condition. It's not a next-gen RTS, it's even worse than every current-gen and past-gen strategy games.    … Expand
  7. SeriousMike
    Sep 8, 2014
    0
    I loved SupCom. And hearing about PA was just amazing. I dint buy it in the Early Acess program. I wanted a full game.
    Well I bought it 2-3 days before release. Played just a small bit. But than problems came. I wanted to convert my key to a steam key as their FAQ states, but they disabled it and left for PAX Prime. So no support for me. After a week I got my key. Finally nice.
    I started    I loved SupCom. And hearing about PA was just amazing. I dint buy it in the Early Acess program. I wanted a full game.
    Well I bought it 2-3 days before release. Played just a small bit. But than problems came. I wanted to convert my key to a steam key as their FAQ states, but they disabled it and left for PAX Prime. So no support for me. After a week I got my key. Finally nice.
    I started playing on Steam. Wait a second. WHERE THE **** IS THE SAVE BUTTON ? Yes. You heard me. There is no save button. No where.
    Ok. Well that is really terrible design, but the game runs good I intend to finish it. But the game started crashing. For no reason. After trying to do many stuff I updated my drivers,(which under any circumstances should not be necessary). It worked. NICE.
    In my recent game I got to the point where I can shoot the death star weapon. I had my recording software ready to record it and put on YouTube. I click and CRASH. What the **** ?
    Well I can of course load the game back right ? NOPE. No there is no save button anywhere. So 45 minutes of playing lost. And now after I click play the game crashes.
    Well this surely is not 0/10.
    Than I hover over something called a STORE. Yes a STORE. And that was even in the early access version. You can buy addtional commanders for about 10 DOLLARS ! Not to mention they are already selling DLC on their website.
    Well thats disgusting. But you don't need them.
    You think ? You are right. Yeah **** the commanders. But, the game is ALWAYS ON. No offline mode of any description. As they promised there will be one at the release.
    AVOID THIS LIKE A PLAGUE.    … Expand
  8. EuthaNAZI
    Sep 7, 2014
    1
    The development is slow as hell and in more than 6 months the game almost remains the same. Menus are very incomplete and all the content is barely playable. To avoid quoting the impossibility to save a game, it is literally to impossible to play 15 seconds without encountering a troublesome bug or a difficulty to hand the gameplay, and the IA is retarded.
    This game is all the time on    The development is slow as hell and in more than 6 months the game almost remains the same. Menus are very incomplete and all the content is barely playable. To avoid quoting the impossibility to save a game, it is literally to impossible to play 15 seconds without encountering a troublesome bug or a difficulty to hand the gameplay, and the IA is retarded.
    This game is all the time on sale at reduced price, something like all 2 weeks you can see it on the first page of the humble store, which tends to tell us this is pure scam. In addition there will be an in game cash shop.

    It seems fantastic when you see the videos but this is all but what you think, I never enjoyed playing this game in it's current state and you WON'T, not because the concept is bad but because NOTHING is actually enjoyable. People reviewving 10/10 haven't played the game yet, or are paid by the company to write fake comments.

    In conclusion, this is NOT sellable. It is good on the paper, but actually: unfinished (if not just started), unpleasant to play. All leads us to think that the game will never see the daylight and will be sold cheaper and cheaper until the very moment. So now you can vote my review as negative and stay into your disillusion, go waste your money.    … Expand
  9. ThiagoF
    Sep 9, 2014
    0
    Uber made us invest on their promisses and now at the "Release" they lied to everyone.

    The game is full of bugs, have an Always Online DRM, no Offilne Mode, no Save Game Option. They said in their FAQS, and i quote: "Is there Offline Mode? During Beta, an internet connection is required to play PA. When the game releases, offline play will be allowed, as well as LAN" Uber    Uber made us invest on their promisses and now at the "Release" they lied to everyone.

    The game is full of bugs, have an Always Online DRM, no Offilne Mode, no Save Game Option.

    They said in their FAQS, and i quote:

    "Is there Offline Mode?
    During Beta, an internet connection is required to play PA. When the game releases, offline play will be allowed, as well as LAN"

    Uber solution to the problem ? They take down the FAQ lol.

    They lied to everyone and made us support something we all hate, this Always Online DRM Crap.

    And guess what, there will be no refunds from valve.

    Stay Way from this. This guys don't deserve been called Developers.    … Expand
  10. TAG_MaximuS
    Jul 2, 2014
    0
    Can or might say this is a game to ipads or androids games only,PA its too plastic cartoonish, and really really the worst rts i saw play since 2007 poor design ,and worst idea make a rts on a Sphere for a rts on 2014....

    So Taking some other words since, i rts lover (Starcraft ,the amazing Nr1 best rts ever FAForever(http://www.faforever.com/?page_id=2) and soon Etherium) and some    Can or might say this is a game to ipads or androids games only,PA its too plastic cartoonish, and really really the worst rts i saw play since 2007 poor design ,and worst idea make a rts on a Sphere for a rts on 2014....

    So Taking some other words since, i rts lover (Starcraft ,the amazing Nr1 best rts ever FAForever(http://www.faforever.com/?page_id=2) and soon Etherium) and some others...

    Rediculously Overpriced, on Track to FAIL Miserably.

    When I saw the listing at $90 for a game in early alpha, that quite frankly looks pretty lame I was shocked and worst my sister bought the game and I can see why her displeasure .
    Graphics look below average, the idea is completely unoriginal, and quite honestly I wouldn't even pay $60 for this game. I'm just quite honestly confused as to who thought they could justify a $90 price tag. Anybody else think thisthis a good rts ?

    Then you guys never try a real RTS ,Planetary Anhilation will and is already a fail, almost 2 years build and still the same .

    Im totaly disappointed with Uber team ,Lot Rts gamers hope Chris Taylor bring again the epic rts like Supreeme commander.....And FAForever...    … Expand
  11. Cyliann
    Jul 4, 2014
    0
    An utter disappointment. Where the game Isn't absolutely smacking It's face down to 2-5 FPS on high-end machines with even the most modest of firefights at lowest graphics, Its instead delivering an overwhelming mainstreamed RTS experience whereas you simply spam, spam and spam to win. And I mean it. You can literally hunk up to thousands of queues to produce units in singular factoriesAn utter disappointment. Where the game Isn't absolutely smacking It's face down to 2-5 FPS on high-end machines with even the most modest of firefights at lowest graphics, Its instead delivering an overwhelming mainstreamed RTS experience whereas you simply spam, spam and spam to win. And I mean it. You can literally hunk up to thousands of queues to produce units in singular factories and have them run there, at the end of time with a nigh infinite amount of resources. And those factories? Why, they go up in mere seconds and can spout out workers even quicker which can also build more factories..

    These wouldn't be big problems if it was applied correctly with sufficient amounts of variation but anything can wipe out anything else.. If in a sufficient quantity. Which It will be, because everything has an astonishingly long range and the concept of "walls" in this game is perhaps the biggest laughable thing. Does it block flamers? Nope. It goes through. Does it block tanks? Nope, they do splash damage on say, turrets behind the wall. Do they block artillery? Nope. Do they block airplanes? Go guess. As of right now, literally any base defense is to counter "singlar scout" harassment ordeals and nothing else so sadly, It's a massive gimmick instead of being an integrated feature of the game.

    The same goes for alot of the units as well. Take, the flamer for example. Incredibly slow moving and stubby-ranged flamethrower on wheels, boasting "alot of armor" while being 2-3 shot by sniping semi-automatic tanks which do not only boast impressive HP themselves but can also more while firing. I mean, what were they thinking? "Oh, yeah this unit will be great to crawl into enemy bases If they're 95% defenseless, oh man It's gonna wreck so much havoc with that cool fire lol" The resource system is a pathetic collection of endless money pocket pants which can only be expanded upon by increasing your max storage cap with warehouses, the combat is an unitellgible, imbalanced and poorly implemented mess and the "universe seemless combat" ordeal is a gimmck, and nothing more as literally all conflict enders are either planet collisions or uber spaceship ra!p

    The fact that the devs were trying to sell this rubbish at first for about 90€ Is enough proof for me of their narrow-sighted child mentalities but playing the game really seals the deal on just how poorly made this game is right now, and how It will almost guaranteed be in the future. Stay away,    … Expand
  12. Phry
    May 13, 2015
    3
    Not often will I go to metacritic to voice displeasure. However, this game is special in that regard. Not only did they originally charge an absurd amount for alpha access (70£ or so, a scummy move and a I sorely mourn the loss of money for anyone who paid that price), but upon 'releasing' the game, it's still, in the eyes of myself and many other RTS fans, not complete. This game doesn'tNot often will I go to metacritic to voice displeasure. However, this game is special in that regard. Not only did they originally charge an absurd amount for alpha access (70£ or so, a scummy move and a I sorely mourn the loss of money for anyone who paid that price), but upon 'releasing' the game, it's still, in the eyes of myself and many other RTS fans, not complete. This game doesn't even have co-op campaign mode. Well, it doesn't even have a campaign mode, simply a galactic war clone that 2005 titles like Star Wars Battlefront II could provide. Pathetic. In terms of innovation, the planetary aspect of this game is cool, it's just not done or fleshed out enough to warrant it's price at the moment. And what's more, there are other games that are similar, are better supported, provide a better singleplayer and multiplayer experience, and are cheaper (e.g. Supreme commander). Mostly unfufilled promises that taint what could have been a standout for its genre.

    It's also disheartening to hear the devs have already moved on to their next game. I'd suggest you don't support their new endeavor nor this one.    … Expand
  13. theirrelephants
    Mar 7, 2016
    3
    Take Supreme Commander one. Now make the graphics a hundred times worse, remove most of the interesting units, and add one mildly entertaining gimmick and a whole load of bugs and framerate issues, lots of them. There, now you know what planetary annihilation is like. Oh, and I hope you have 60 gigs of ram as well.

    Worth picking up for an hour or two of fun if you can get it for a    Take Supreme Commander one. Now make the graphics a hundred times worse, remove most of the interesting units, and add one mildly entertaining gimmick and a whole load of bugs and framerate issues, lots of them. There, now you know what planetary annihilation is like. Oh, and I hope you have 60 gigs of ram as well.

    Worth picking up for an hour or two of fun if you can get it for a couple bucks. Otherwise, don't bother.    … Expand
  14. UnDeAdOvErLoRd
    Sep 28, 2014
    3
    If you are a fan of RTS's and strategy games in general stay away from this it will leave a bad taste in your mouth. I Backed this on kick-starter and was extremely exited for it. The betas had promise to them and im unsure how the release got worse than the betas however it did and im very sad i invested 90$ into this game let alone a few hours of my life. I highly encourage and RTS fanIf you are a fan of RTS's and strategy games in general stay away from this it will leave a bad taste in your mouth. I Backed this on kick-starter and was extremely exited for it. The betas had promise to them and im unsure how the release got worse than the betas however it did and im very sad i invested 90$ into this game let alone a few hours of my life. I highly encourage and RTS fan that is looking for a new game to get Supreme Commander Forged Alliance still the best IMO.

    Like other reviews have said single player is a joke as long as you spawn more units and are lucky with the tech you find its a guarantee win no strategy involved. I am not a huge multi-player on these games so I cant really comment on that aspect of the game however from reading other reviews not good. We were promised an RTS just as good as SC and TA and were given something that should be on the APP STORE for 5$.    … Expand
  15. James009
    Sep 28, 2014
    3
    This game was supposed to be the spiritual successor to Supreme Commander but I have no idea how they ruined this game so badly. Firstly, the interface is lacking for a modern RTS, this is especially blatant when you have multiple planets and areas of operations. I feel that, given the scope, it is just too difficult to control everything as a solitary human.
  16. BrotherAlpha
    Sep 11, 2014
    4
    Summary: An incredible vision marred by poor execution. The battles are epic but the interface and campaign bugs are overtly frustrating.

    Planetary Annihilation is a real time strategy game aimed to achieve epic battles over entire solar systems. It can almost be termed a 4E's game (that's explore, expand, exploit and exterminate) presented in the fashion of RTS. Unlike traditional    Summary: An incredible vision marred by poor execution. The battles are epic but the interface and campaign bugs are overtly frustrating.

    Planetary Annihilation is a real time strategy game aimed to achieve epic battles over entire solar systems. It can almost be termed a 4E's game (that's explore, expand, exploit and exterminate) presented in the fashion of RTS. Unlike traditional RTS games, battles are forged across a the spherical landscape of planets and between one planet and the next.

    The goal is simple - eliminate your competition. The game provides many means to achieve your goal, from standard land battles, to transporting units to other planets and even by exploiting moons to crash into your opponent's planet.

    It all sounds well and good. Epic struggles with a host of weapons at your disposal. The problems start to occur with the rather clunky interface which (somewhat understandably) has failed to evolve effectively with the scale of the battles. Navigating your solar system is unnecessarily time consuming and transporting units is painful at the best of times.

    There is a chronic lack of information on how to control your units effectively which may leave you hunting through Google for information repeatedly. The tutorial also did not work for this user. Key binding options are there, but there are no options to re-bind mouse controls.

    The Galactic War (campaign) is fraught with strife. Often battles will end in a stalemate because you don't have the technology to find the enemy commander (eg. they're in an transport unit over lava and the game hasn't yet provided the necessary technology for you to produce aircraft to shoot them down).

    The AI is both cunning and annoying. It is well aware of how to play guerrilla warfare tactics and will launch full scale attacks where you least expect it. The AI will make full use of resources it can find and use them to see to your demise.

    Planetary Annihilation is a game with huge potential, but the clunky interface and inherent problems in the campaign will soon lead to frustration. If you are the kind of player who can overlook these issues, you may find a true gem under the somewhat grimy surface.

    About myself: I am an avid RTS player originating from the Dune 2 era. I have played heavily Command & Conquer, Total Annihilation and Supreme Commander but never fell fond of the Starcraft/Warcraft series.    … Expand
  17. hw75
    Dec 1, 2014
    0
    The game is now down to 5 bucks but still not worth buying. Completely unfinished, many promises were made when it was still at a whopping 90 euros (!) in alpha stage. Without doubt this title was just aimed to make profit with early access rip off. The publishers even tried to create another kickstarter project while this one still had lots of work, plenty of bugs and lack of basic RTSThe game is now down to 5 bucks but still not worth buying. Completely unfinished, many promises were made when it was still at a whopping 90 euros (!) in alpha stage. Without doubt this title was just aimed to make profit with early access rip off. The publishers even tried to create another kickstarter project while this one still had lots of work, plenty of bugs and lack of basic RTS elements and simple game features like saving. People who wrote bad critics in Steam forums simply got banned.

    The concept and idea of planetary warfare was pretty nice, but the final result is just a joke. I wouldn't be surprised if the company dissolves and they come up with another name because their reputation is completely down the drain now.    … Expand
  18. GiantJunkBox
    Sep 11, 2014
    4
    Just picked up this game a few days ago with the hopes of a Supreme Commander like experience. No such luck ;(.

    The system requirements state that the game requires 4GB of memory and that 8GB is recommended. I have 8GB of memory, and even in small solar systems, the game quickly consumes the entire 8GB then crashes to the desktop - talk about a buzz kill... But between the crashes I    Just picked up this game a few days ago with the hopes of a Supreme Commander like experience. No such luck ;(.

    The system requirements state that the game requires 4GB of memory and that 8GB is recommended. I have 8GB of memory, and even in small solar systems, the game quickly consumes the entire 8GB then crashes to the desktop - talk about a buzz kill...

    But between the crashes I have a chance to play, what appears to be, a completely unfinished game. There is a very limited number of units, weapons, and strategies. Many of the game play mechanics are underdeveloped. Also I appreciate the idea of a plant down sphere view instead of the typical flat map. I can see how it could be really cool - but it isn't. It's hard to use and just awkward.

    I think if they actually finished this game it could have been and '8', but as they get a '4'.    … Expand
  19. Gamma117
    Sep 14, 2014
    3
    Planetary Annihilation is not a game that deserve the time or money it asks from you, especially when its predecessors will considerably over-deliver in every regard. The concept of the game is certainly unique but unfortunately it is to its own detriment as the game-play feels forcibly wrapped around the idea of fighting across different bodies in space. The game's existence is so focusedPlanetary Annihilation is not a game that deserve the time or money it asks from you, especially when its predecessors will considerably over-deliver in every regard. The concept of the game is certainly unique but unfortunately it is to its own detriment as the game-play feels forcibly wrapped around the idea of fighting across different bodies in space. The game's existence is so focused around this one idea yet it isn't particularly well executed nor is it actually rewarding to the player in any meaningful way. You will play PA wanting to love the ability of playing a real time strategy across a solar system but the experience is unfortunately severely hindered by many shortcomings in features and design. Here are my thoughts as to where Uber's game goes wrong:

    At its core PA is a basic RTS. Battle for resources, use those resources for development of stronger armies and then destroy your opponent's commander. You're most engaged when you can keep track of those tasks at the most basic technology level. The game shines when things are kept simple but that's not saying much because it doesn't feel like there's much of a strategy beyond building a mob of units of the same type and hurling them at your enemy's weakest point of entry. In order to win you'll have to travel to other planets and build more advanced units, this is where the game quickly breaks down. The game becomes frustratingly unforgiving when you're expected to always be making the best decision as to what to do over multiple planets, across the orbital layer, the air layer and the ground layer. Focus is a resource in its own right and it just becomes unreasonable to pay attention to so many things going on. It can be better to play on a system with one or two planets, which defeats the premise of the game entirely.

    Nothing makes planets particularly interesting beyond there being multiple planets. Each body in space is created through procedural generation by an algorithm which in turn means there's no level design to speak of. Literally most of the planets you come across are simply more-or-less smooth spheres which makes them devoid of interesting game-play situations created by map design. Earth-like and lava planets do have some features such as ravines and mountains but these aren't placed with any purpose. You can create your own planets but there's no way to place features or paint tools to increase height or draw water. Map balance goes out the window which might of helped to relieve some of the pressure of having to defend your every outpost and every base from all angles.

    The sense of scale is surprisingly poor. Whilst you fight in a solar system there's no way to immediately get a good idea of what's happening all at once. At any given point you can only see, at best, half the face of a single planet or less. You'll have to awkwardly navigate around the entire solar system to understand what's going on or deal with problems as they arise, further draining your attention.

    The single player component is pathetic. You're essentially briefed that robots of other colors are bad and that you need to kill them. That's it. You then navigate a procedural generated map of the galaxy made up of 30-50 star systems. You start with almost no tech and gain it from exploring systems. You're given 5-13 freebie pieces of tech, most of which will be useless, then expected to fight on every other star system with an AI to the point of completing the map. The game's AI is brutal, it can micro every unit everywhere which makes it almost impossible to beat after a certain point. Your best bet is to bum rush it soon after the match begins in hopes that you cripple it long enough for you to gain an economic lead. If you win, you gain a new technology (which will likely be useless) and move onto the next fight. I've always hoped there was a chance you find a pocket of empty star systems where you can find upgrades but you're denied this reward and expected to jump straight back into another fight. The galactic war is essentially a skirmish match but you're gimped in a randomly given way. There's no balance to this. You'll often be missing advanced tech in the early stages which disadvantages you considerably. This entire mode is a waste of time.

    The game is nowhere close to what could be considered a finished release, it's as if the game is still in alpha but has been pushed out to retail. There's no offline mode, so you can't even play the single player component without internet access. There's no laddering system, so you're frequently go up against better players who will considerably outperform you which is very disheartening. There's no documentation to speak of, you're expected to figure everything out yourself. Lots of promised features are missing. Naval is useless. The game performs extremely poorly, bringing even the most powerful computers to their knees. The list goes on.

    I can't recommend PA to anyone.    … Expand
  20. psyfox22
    Sep 12, 2014
    4
    This game was a beautiful concept, and it still has the chance to be great, but it is currently just not ready to move beyond beta. I've logged over 50 hours playing the beta. I'm a single player kind of gamer. It's what I like. The campaign map is great, though you can easily end up with an extremely underwhelming load out if you get a bad luck of the draw, to the point even the easiestThis game was a beautiful concept, and it still has the chance to be great, but it is currently just not ready to move beyond beta. I've logged over 50 hours playing the beta. I'm a single player kind of gamer. It's what I like. The campaign map is great, though you can easily end up with an extremely underwhelming load out if you get a bad luck of the draw, to the point even the easiest game play setting would be impossible to beat. Water units are next to pointless. Most of the planets with water are covered by more than 90% land anyhow. Also the game requires that single player missions occur on a remote server. It is not unusual for the server to freeze up and lag out on you. I had a great example of this today. I beat a campaign and it froze out. I still could move around the map and select units, they just didn't do anything because the remote server was locked up. I decided to test to see how long it would take the explosion for the enemy commander. I was done with the computer for a while anyhow. In the end it took over 4 hours for the final enemy commander to complete his nuclear blast and me to get credit for beating the map. I wasn't at the computer for most of it, I just walked off and would check on it occasionally.… Expand
  21. Faust291
    Dec 10, 2014
    0
    Game isn't finished, despite being 'released.'

    Short list of Pros: Very, very rarely you can crash another planet into a planet. It's awesome. Long list of Cons: Constant glitches make the game unplayable. Game lags because the tech used to run it is garbage. There is ZERO strategy behind this. Zergrush, or die. I'm not joking. Calling this a strategy game is a joke. UI and    Game isn't finished, despite being 'released.'

    Short list of Pros:

    Very, very rarely you can crash another planet into a planet. It's awesome.

    Long list of Cons:

    Constant glitches make the game unplayable.
    Game lags because the tech used to run it is garbage.
    There is ZERO strategy behind this. Zergrush, or die. I'm not joking. Calling this a strategy game is a joke.
    UI and Camera are weird, and due to glitches, may not always show up and don't work right.
    Textures don't always work. I've had the entire game become a series of indistinguishable red blobs, rendering an hours worth of gameplay useless.
    Absolutely NO Unit balance. None. Go Air or Die.

    If you're looking for an awesome strategy game, this isn't the one for you. Believe me, I supported this game when it was in Kickstarter, and I defended it for a long !@#$ing time. Sadly, Uber has a loooong, long history of releasing games well before they are actually finished and claiming that they'll fix it later via patches. This NEVER happens. (Check out Super Monday Night Combat as a very very handy example.) This is one such example. Nothing they promised during the kickstarter was released until AFTER the game launched, and seemingly only because of the huge and negative backlash from the player base. Worse yet, many of those promises have yet to be fulfilled, but the developers suck and this game may never actually see a build where it actually delivers on everything that they've promised.

    This game has a LOT of potential, but unless Uber gets a reality check and gets their act together, it'll just be a game you'll regret buying.    … Expand
  22. lurch
    Nov 7, 2014
    0
    This is the game that made me stop and say "never again" to buying early access. I can't believe I spent $70 on this game only for it to be discounted on steam (still in early access) a mere week later. A huge slap in the face by Uber. The game is terribly bland, unfocused, and boring. It is full of bugs, has little to no documentation and a joke of a tutorial. Uber did very well to hypeThis is the game that made me stop and say "never again" to buying early access. I can't believe I spent $70 on this game only for it to be discounted on steam (still in early access) a mere week later. A huge slap in the face by Uber. The game is terribly bland, unfocused, and boring. It is full of bugs, has little to no documentation and a joke of a tutorial. Uber did very well to hype this game up so much and laughed all the way to the bank releasing a very bad game in the process. The game is worth $10 at absolute best.… Expand
  23. Avadon
    Sep 13, 2014
    0
    I had Planetary Annihilation on my radar, but only just got it because I never buy early access games. Now that it's "released", I decided to give it a shot. I really can't remember the last time I was that disappointed in a game. Most of the stuff that made the older games great are gone. No factions, underwhelming unit variety, no map design. Battle takes place on mini planets that areI had Planetary Annihilation on my radar, but only just got it because I never buy early access games. Now that it's "released", I decided to give it a shot. I really can't remember the last time I was that disappointed in a game. Most of the stuff that made the older games great are gone. No factions, underwhelming unit variety, no map design. Battle takes place on mini planets that are impossible to defend, so everyone zergs everyone else down as fast as possible. The game crashes all the time and performance is pathetic. Everything is always online and you can't save your game. They said they will remove the always online requirement in the future, but that will impact the performance even more. Really? How much worse can it get? I'm on a 4790k, 16g ram and a 780 Ti and the game slows down to a crawl, and we're talking about a game that looks more like Godus rather than having the detailed beautiful graphics of Forged Alliance. To summarize, the game is in such a pathetic state right now that I don't think even 1 more year of active development would make it worth buying. There is no reason to play this over Forged Alliance. None. It does everything worse in every possible way. Absolutely pathetic.… Expand
  24. HAOS57
    Sep 16, 2014
    3
    This game makes me never want to contribute to another Kickstarter game ever again. I contributed to this game since day one on Kickstarter. I was extremely excited of what would come out of this game. When alpha came out, it was bad but I kept saying to myself "it is still being built." Beta was bad still "It was being built." Even now, they fixed a lot of issues but the game isThis game makes me never want to contribute to another Kickstarter game ever again. I contributed to this game since day one on Kickstarter. I was extremely excited of what would come out of this game. When alpha came out, it was bad but I kept saying to myself "it is still being built." Beta was bad still "It was being built." Even now, they fixed a lot of issues but the game is bland as it could be. Just does not have that excitement and fulfillment of a game I was expecting. I REALLY tried to like it, but it was a HUGE disappointment.… Expand
  25. mongojunge
    Sep 23, 2014
    3
    Playing PA since December and today I realized that it has been launched 3 weeks ago. The sad thing is that there are so many things to be improved and so on that it is a shame that this should be the final version. I just could not believe that they are serious. I always liked the game and saw great potential in it.

    But what is actually good: + It is very complex. You fight on land,    Playing PA since December and today I realized that it has been launched 3 weeks ago. The sad thing is that there are so many things to be improved and so on that it is a shame that this should be the final version. I just could not believe that they are serious. I always liked the game and saw great potential in it.

    But what is actually good:
    + It is very complex. You fight on land, water, air and in the orbit
    + Solar systems with many different planets of all sizes and structures to be conquered
    + Powerful weapons like smashing planets and the "Death Star"
    + If your opponents are skilled you can have a very intense fighting that can get very complex and challenging

    What is not so nice:
    - Only one faction
    - Gameplay still a bit laggy when you have to move really a lot of units
    - Game lobby and "social components" very bad
    - Some bugs known for weeks not fixed. E.g. a bug in the lobby or path finding
    - I think the game is not so good balanced. E.g. the Death Star shoots very fast (I would call it rapid fire). Then I think that T1 units outgun T2 unites because they are cheap and fast.
    - The menu UI is ok but a bit boring and quite functional
    - The UI in the game is more or less ok. There are some bugs that should be fixed.

    If this is really what you can expect from your money. Don't buy it.    … Expand
  26. MaGicBush
    Sep 17, 2014
    3
    I really wanted to like this game, but they forced the release way to soon and led us on with some false promises unfortunately. Another EA title that let me down, and the last I will purchase most likely. The gameplay is fun, however the lack of an offline mode(DRM free) and the fact you cannot save your game is ridiculous. Some games can last more than a few hours easily, and I cannotI really wanted to like this game, but they forced the release way to soon and led us on with some false promises unfortunately. Another EA title that let me down, and the last I will purchase most likely. The gameplay is fun, however the lack of an offline mode(DRM free) and the fact you cannot save your game is ridiculous. Some games can last more than a few hours easily, and I cannot remember the last game I was able to finish all the way. The DRM in this game is worse than some Ubisoft games for crying out loud. Do not purchase and stay far away unless this gets removed(which they have stated multiple times it will be removed, but never did remove it and the game is now released).

    Other than that there is also the server instability, as the few times I tried playing with my friend one of us was disconnected randomly and we would have to restart. Again if we could save this would not be as big of an issue.

    And finally a lot of the features promised for single-player were never implemented, and as a result the campaign is repetitive and boring. You are honestly just trying to spam more units than the AI can(and the AI uses no strategy really).    … Expand
  27. Honeybadgers
    Sep 11, 2014
    4
    The game is playable. Mostly. That's the highest praise I can give it. I absolutely adored total annihilation and supcom1 (2 was fun but overly simple) and was looking forward to PA with serious intent. even bought in at $60 when it was "gamma" phase. I was blown away by the terribleness of it. The connectivity issues, the performance, the plastic feel of the units, the visual clusterf**kThe game is playable. Mostly. That's the highest praise I can give it. I absolutely adored total annihilation and supcom1 (2 was fun but overly simple) and was looking forward to PA with serious intent. even bought in at $60 when it was "gamma" phase. I was blown away by the terribleness of it. The connectivity issues, the performance, the plastic feel of the units, the visual clusterf**k that the rounded planet and constantly shifting angle of the camera was, the fact that certain units are blatantly overpowered (annihilation games have never grasped the concept of making ground and naval units actually good) and the mechanics that make the whole planet concept even remotely interesting are impossibly hard to implement smoothly into gameplay.

    overall, the game is just poorly done. I applaud the devs for the idea, but the execution is appalling, and the amount of money they were demanding for alpha access (when the game was absolutely unplayable in that state) was just insulting.

    The game is basically in a very early beta state right now. that's the nicest way I can put it. bring up the balance, make it less of a visual headache, and fix the performance and implement smoother progression of tech and we'll talk. Until then back to starcraft and supcom FA    … Expand
  28. Zillah
    Sep 17, 2014
    3
    Released in a half-baked state, Planetary Annihilation has ambition in spades, and very little follow through. Ostensibly the action takes place on planets, but they're actually just small sphere where curvature is distracting even when fully zoomed in, and remains a hindrance even zoomed all the way out. Gameplay favours speed and logistics over any sort of tactics or strategy, resultingReleased in a half-baked state, Planetary Annihilation has ambition in spades, and very little follow through. Ostensibly the action takes place on planets, but they're actually just small sphere where curvature is distracting even when fully zoomed in, and remains a hindrance even zoomed all the way out. Gameplay favours speed and logistics over any sort of tactics or strategy, resulting in massed waves of units sent to die, unwatched against the enemy, as you spam the next wave ready to go - it turns into a smush of coloured icons making each other blink out of existence.

    Most egregiously of all, the "single player" options require you to actually play online, with the hosting on an Uber server. If there is any interruption to your connection the game is lost permanently, and there is no ability to save in any fashion.

    All of this would be forgivable if they had not rushed a game to official launch status that was still replete with missing features and beta-esque bugs, all while begging indulgence, declaring that missing features will be added at some later, unspecified date. That is not acceptable behaviour for developers supposedly in possession of a game ready for full release.

    Anyone that was going to wait for the end of the beta should keep waiting.    … Expand
  29. Kellerkind
    Aug 20, 2015
    0
    Greetings,

    First and foremost: The game itself is decent. It lacks soul and has no Singleplayer content, but the Skirmish and Multiplayer battles are good. The gameplay has been improved over Planetary annihilation. However, the Developers decision to try and circumvent review system by pulling PA from stores and re-releasing it as a standalone "Expansion" was a hamfisted approach.    Greetings,

    First and foremost: The game itself is decent. It lacks soul and has no Singleplayer content, but the Skirmish and Multiplayer battles are good. The gameplay has been improved over Planetary annihilation.

    However, the Developers decision to try and circumvent review system by pulling PA from stores and re-releasing it as a standalone "Expansion" was a hamfisted approach.

    They actively took a DUMP on ALL buyers of the game that were not kick starters, totally ignoring the fact that The Game went to steam with a 90 dollar price tag, and more when you consider the "DLC" commander skins.

    They just went a said "You are second class citizens now, please pay us more money and g f+ck yourself!".

    They threw the PA buyers under the bus, and that gives reason to expect they will be throwing Titans buyers under the bus too.

    Do not support this company. Do not buy the game.

    Wait a few month, then snatch it up for cheap from a third party key retailer.

    Do not support the sort of anti customer behavior that UBER entertainment just displayed.    … Expand
  30. Earofcorn
    Aug 24, 2015
    0
    The game went from "pre-release" alpha to being "full release" AND a full-price expansion. What a scam. The developers should be ashamed and customers should avoid purchasing. Maybe worth $5, expansion included. The game has hardly changed or improved since early access. Still full of exploits and terrible AI. Still extremely repetitive and lacking the grandoise feeling of planetary combatThe game went from "pre-release" alpha to being "full release" AND a full-price expansion. What a scam. The developers should be ashamed and customers should avoid purchasing. Maybe worth $5, expansion included. The game has hardly changed or improved since early access. Still full of exploits and terrible AI. Still extremely repetitive and lacking the grandoise feeling of planetary combat it was marketed as. The maps are small, the combat is weak, and the game is completely uninteresting after very little time. This is a dishonest and manipulative trick by Uber Entertainment, that saw declining sales, and instead of working to revive a failing project, decided to release the game as is, package their recent additions into an overpriced expansion, and make as much money as they could with what pathetic little content they had. I've reported this product to Steam and recommended they take action against the developers at Uber Entertainment.… Expand
prev
Page:

Awards & Rankings

42
#42 Most Discussed PC Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
62

Mixed or average reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 18
  3. Negative: 2 out of 18
  1. PC PowerPlay
    Nov 1, 2014
    50
    A frustrating experience. [Nov 2014, p.60]
  2. GameSpot
    Oct 31, 2014
    70
    True, its best qualities can be obscured in the early going by its unforgiving difficulty and the absence of good tutorials, but even when you're overwhelmed, speedy combat and smart AI reel you in. Give it time, and the fast and furious combat smooth out the rough edges into a compelling and challenging strategy game.
    Read full review
  3. Pelit (Finland)
    Oct 25, 2014
    70
    Planetary Annihilation looks and feels underwhelming. Interplanetary combat might seem fun on paper, but gameplay-wise it's an absolute chore. And that's just it, Planetary Annihilation is missing all the FUN which was present on Supreme Commander - a much better successor to Total Annihilation. [Oct 2014]
See all critic reviews »