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
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  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. Terrier
    Oct 13, 2014
    4
    This game is a mess. Basic storyline (only sparse text at some corner of the screen, no picture, audio or video), only 4 perks at the same time (that could be maxed out without even fight a single battle), basic tech tree (again, could be maxed out easily), most units and building are useless (specially walls), warning messages are hit-or-miss (no logs), this game is fast (a round couldThis game is a mess. Basic storyline (only sparse text at some corner of the screen, no picture, audio or video), only 4 perks at the same time (that could be maxed out without even fight a single battle), basic tech tree (again, could be maxed out easily), most units and building are useless (specially walls), warning messages are hit-or-miss (no logs), this game is fast (a round could lasts minutes) so we should forget about strategy and more to build fast and powerful units. Also, the game is highly unbalanced.… Expand
  5. 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
  6. Sjalka
    Oct 14, 2014
    4
    In its current state : This game is very bare-bones with tons of potential. If that potential is being realized it may well be one of the biggest RTS games for years to come. If not - it will just sink into oblivion.

    in a more detailed review visuals: the style is clean, the units are recognizable. the design is somewhat boring though. detail and animation seems to be FAR below    In its current state : This game is very bare-bones with tons of potential. If that potential is being realized it may well be one of the biggest RTS games for years to come. If not - it will just sink into oblivion.

    in a more detailed review

    visuals:
    the style is clean, the units are recognizable. the design is somewhat boring though. detail and animation seems to be FAR below Supreme Commander standards - and much closer to the old Total Annihilation - which is kind of a shame considering TA is pretty old.

    UI:
    I do disagree with the UI style because it reminds me too much on a cheap mobile phone UI. There is no finesse about it. It is in one word "boring". it is however functional enough and does not hinder gameplay.

    Sound:
    Kind of dreadful. The sound effects have no "weight". If the game is meant to be similar ( in size ) to Supreme Commander - those units, even the smallest ones, are meant to be HUGE ( from a humans point of view ). Yet the sound of firing and impacts does not really convince.

    gameplay:
    currently it is simplistic - It might change tremendously with different factions and more terrain variety though.

    So i can conclude that this game "can" be great - if more efford is put into it - but in its current state it is well below average and quite a disappointment.    … Expand
  7. JJthis
    Sep 25, 2014
    4
    Good solid game. Bugs here and there, but nothing serious.
    What's not so good is how it's still not a patch on Total Annihilation. The planetary bases are great fun, the mechanics are good and the gameplay exciting. But it's not addictive.
  8. Silaith
    Oct 8, 2014
    4
    I am on a late 2011 Macbook Pro, I am playing a lot of strategy games, without a single problem. This one doesn't work! Graphics in low or high change nothing, a friend of mine tell me that the reason of the very huge lag of the play is because the studio (Uber), has chosen to "stream" this game from their servers, which are weak and dumb.

    Too bad.
  9. 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
  10. 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
  11. Xenofact
    Sep 15, 2014
    3
    No tiers 3 units, servers crash quite often even on single player .
    All units looks like the same: looks like a mess.
    Only "one race", no differences like total annihilation (ARM/CORE) No Solo campaign: only solo skirmish. As first kickstarters, i'm quite disappointed. It's fun, but not as a Supreme Commander which it should inherit. Even Total Annihilation is more strategic. The    No tiers 3 units, servers crash quite often even on single player .
    All units looks like the same: looks like a mess.
    Only "one race", no differences like total annihilation (ARM/CORE)
    No Solo campaign: only solo skirmish.

    As first kickstarters, i'm quite disappointed.
    It's fun, but not as a Supreme Commander which it should inherit. Even Total Annihilation is more strategic.

    The "unit catapult" shown on the kickstarter video doesn't exist.    … 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. 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
  14. reijison
    May 26, 2017
    3
    Game 'released' today. I'm disappointed in the game and feel cheated by my support throughout the game's development. The game's AI, UI, tooltips, and just about everything else is still in an Alpha state. The game has since improved and I've come to realize that this game is for hardcore fans only.
  15. 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
  16. 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.
  17. 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
  18. 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
  19. MatthewAMEL
    Sep 22, 2014
    3
    I was hoping for a true successor to Supreme Commander. Not even close.

    This game makes SupCom 2 look good.

    Almost enough to make me swear off the 'crowd funding' model of development.
  20. 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
  21. 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
  22. 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
  23. 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
  24. Nerdgunner
    Oct 22, 2014
    3
    Does not hold a candle to Total Annihilation or Supreme Commander series. Waste of my money. Broken mechanics and U/I. Just try to build a wall that makes any sense. Somehow manages to have over simplified tech, and way too much unit variety with very little visual difference. Almost the same size little mech as any other mech will walk up later in the game and just lob rockets that singleDoes not hold a candle to Total Annihilation or Supreme Commander series. Waste of my money. Broken mechanics and U/I. Just try to build a wall that makes any sense. Somehow manages to have over simplified tech, and way too much unit variety with very little visual difference. Almost the same size little mech as any other mech will walk up later in the game and just lob rockets that single shot kill every defensive battery you have from outside it's range. The enemy AI can micro manage a thousand units spread across multiple planets all at once while you struggle in each little area. If the enemy AI moves to a new planet before you, you are done. It becomes unwinnable especially if you dont have satellite weapons tech. The game is unplayable and entirely unenjoyable. I wanted so badly for it to be good, but it just wasn't. Good concept though.… Expand
  25. Banhammer0
    Dec 7, 2014
    2
    This game is a steaming pos. First, they sell it at a ludicrous price screwing over their fans withotut very deep wallet. Second they promise tons of features, but they do not complete most of them leaving their game very shallow. Now they claimed they have finished it and moved on to another game, ignoring what they have promised. Third, their game still has massive technicual issues andThis game is a steaming pos. First, they sell it at a ludicrous price screwing over their fans withotut very deep wallet. Second they promise tons of features, but they do not complete most of them leaving their game very shallow. Now they claimed they have finished it and moved on to another game, ignoring what they have promised. Third, their game still has massive technicual issues and poor performance. Fourth, gameplay itself is shallow and the only innovation is the idea of battles being held in a few planets at once. This sounds interesting but is executed very badly, there is no difference between planets so each one is the same flat, boring arena for the spam fest that PA is. It was certainly a promising title that seemingly was too much for the devs to handle.
    With the devs being that greedy and incompotent I have to give it a 2/10.    … Expand
  26. RoofieColada
    Jun 17, 2015
    2
    Pure disappointment, wasted potential, and another massive knock against crowd funding. I can only recommend that any truly interested watch many, many ,many hours of CURRENT gameplay video. Then beat there smurfin faces with there keyboard to knock some good god damn sense back into themselves before taking a bite out of this big, steaming, **** sammich.
  27. dmastri
    Jan 9, 2015
    2
    Did you grow up playing Total Annihilation? Did you rekindle this love with Supreme Commander and its excellent expansion Forged Alliance? Only to be sorely disappointed by the lackluster Supreme Commander 2?

    Did you follow the Uber kickstarter? Did you watch the cool trailer and have those warm fuzzing TA/SC feelings all over again? Then you can experience the same heartbreak I    Did you grow up playing Total Annihilation? Did you rekindle this love with Supreme Commander and its excellent expansion Forged Alliance? Only to be sorely disappointed by the lackluster Supreme Commander 2?

    Did you follow the Uber kickstarter? Did you watch the cool trailer and have those warm fuzzing TA/SC feelings all over again?

    Then you can experience the same heartbreak I did with this terrible game! I bought it for $80 and for my money it's not worth the $6 it's on sale for now. Lack of unit diversity, tech, boring terrain, the list goes on... something is wrong over at Uber, this thing was mismanaged into the ground after being funded EXTREMELY well on Kickstarter.    … Expand
  28. Gamesmaster123
    Sep 10, 2014
    2
    The worst DRM since SimCity (always online to play single player vs AI), game ending lag within that online experience, constant crashing,inability to field large armies (lag again), failure to meet kickstarte promises (missing units, DRM) and absolutely no dev communication on why the game was released in such a poor state, or when it will be fixed?

    This is simply a failed game at the    The worst DRM since SimCity (always online to play single player vs AI), game ending lag within that online experience, constant crashing,inability to field large armies (lag again), failure to meet kickstarte promises (missing units, DRM) and absolutely no dev communication on why the game was released in such a poor state, or when it will be fixed?

    This is simply a failed game at the moment, not worth buying, it's full of bugs and doesn't work. There is a rabid core of fanboys on Uber's forums bigging it up and claiming all this stuff is coming, but as an average consumer, this was a big mistake. Do yourself a favour and avoid, at least until there have been a number of patches and things are fixed (not sure this will ever happen).    … Expand
  29. juanmatog
    Sep 27, 2014
    2
    This game promised much, but the end result is far from the promises. It is far from the quality levels of Total Annihilation or Supreme Commander series. This game lacks manual, has no tutorial, no ability to save games, very limited in many aspects of gameplay, and in others points is unfriendly, several flaws in the AI, naval units are useless, the whole control system the planet isThis game promised much, but the end result is far from the promises. It is far from the quality levels of Total Annihilation or Supreme Commander series. This game lacks manual, has no tutorial, no ability to save games, very limited in many aspects of gameplay, and in others points is unfriendly, several flaws in the AI, naval units are useless, the whole control system the planet is chaotic, the transport system between planets is very bad, the two factions in the game are the same (structures and units are the same). PA is not a good strategy game, or even add something really new to the world of gaming, as something similar, but without planets, it did years ago a game called Metal Fatigue. In PA, the planets are just maps, and very small, it is an arcade game, compared to the Supreme Commander is an insult to the strategy, and the game of Chris Taylor. All this, without going into depth on how bad it is optimized and tested with crashes or errors of any kind, especially for a game in 2014.
    Today, it is impossible to recommend to anyone to buy this game. Let no one be fooled, because they say that the game follows the steps of Total Annihilation or Supreme Commander, because that is a lie by 90%.    … Expand
  30. scarletblade
    Oct 3, 2014
    2
    The presentation simply did not meet the expectation nor the goal set out by the developer in Kickstarter.

    Game content: Single player is non-existent, without storyline, PA only has the galactic conquer mode is just skirmish games with minimal alterations(with certain units/buildings locked until you equip it in the meta-game map.) Units and technology is very basic. I've counted    The presentation simply did not meet the expectation nor the goal set out by the developer in Kickstarter.

    Game content:
    Single player is non-existent, without storyline, PA only has the galactic conquer mode is just skirmish games with minimal alterations(with certain units/buildings locked until you equip it in the meta-game map.)
    Units and technology is very basic. I've counted more units in the old classic , Total Annihilation, which is a 1997 game for god's sake.
    The space part of the game is also underwhelming, with only 3 buildings, and 7 units. (These are, builder, scout, adv scout, fighter, transport,bomber, turrets, 2 types of resource generators, and finally the factory)
    It's basically a water-down version of a new dimension like air, or naval, with less units!
    Ground based orbital defenses , unit-firing cannon (showcased in the pledge of Kickstarter), or more orbital combat units than 2 of the fighter/bomber is nowhere to be found.

    Stability:
    Game crashes.
    Server crashes.
    Other player crashes.

    Combine all three of the above, with the fact that the game has to log-in to play, you'll get a very frustrating experience where you can't play single players when the server is down, and when you want to play multi-player (and the server is actually up and running!) chances are someone will crash mid-game.

    Other thoughts:
    I understand this is a small-production studio trying to re-create a classic RTS game with new ideas, but overall even when that is taken into consideration it's still disappointing.
    The fact that the game was unstable, and simply has not met the goals set out by kickstarter when they officially released it a month ago was disappointing(not to mention how they rip people for $100 with the even more unstable version during Alpha)
    But today when I received an email from the developer about their new kickstarter project it's simply heartbreaking - It meant they'll be shifting their focus onto the new project. Updates to PA will be limited to say the least.    … Expand
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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.
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  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]
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