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. sdgdsgsdgs
    Dec 31, 2015
    10
    Unique and beautiful game. The game is not very dynamic, but interesting. Also, the game is very stylish. There are a variety of units and a lot of different levels.
  2. Zenketsu
    Oct 25, 2015
    10
    OCTOBER 2015

    Planetary Annihilation is the best startegic game I ever played!!! It is very similiar to Supreme Commander.
    There are no bugs and glitches anymore. This game does not deserve such bad ratings...
  3. Snicker
    Oct 19, 2015
    8
    I kickstarted this game, it looked so promising. I hate to be alfa and beta tester, I dont have time to report bugs and test games, but I tried the beta once just to get a picture of the game, and it was to say mildly horrible. The units moved like static figures, and the planets was dead and boring, and the AI just ran over me like a train. It was no fun at all. I uninstalled it and neverI kickstarted this game, it looked so promising. I hate to be alfa and beta tester, I dont have time to report bugs and test games, but I tried the beta once just to get a picture of the game, and it was to say mildly horrible. The units moved like static figures, and the planets was dead and boring, and the AI just ran over me like a train. It was no fun at all. I uninstalled it and never played it again. I thought this game would never live up to its expectations. But last week I saw a trailer of the Titans expansion, and found out I got that for free since I had kickstarted the game. And I was blown away by it. Lots of units, more life like planets much more balanced AI, and so much fun! Love the orbital units, and all the destruction. The weapon effects are awesome, but I still miss some of the things I found really cool about Total Annihilation, and that is the physics and terrain effects. The units just walks trough trees, you don't see any effect when the unit walks in water, and no cool physics effects when large battleships fire from the water. But the game has become so much more than I was expecting after trying the beta witch killed my hopes for it. Now I love it. Good job Uber!… Expand
  4. SantoWare
    Oct 7, 2015
    10
    Planetary Annihilation: Best RTS ever, but not easy to play as a Hunter to get up in ranking games. Just learn to be fast to make a big army and every time you play you ll love PA more and more. PA must be Olimpic Sport.
  5. vomov
    Aug 15, 2015
    8
    It is awesome. Simple as that. Building a MASSIVE army that swoops over a planet, then rolls through a stargate-like structure on to the next planet, only to be annihilated in a rain of nukes. Then use the the ultimate overkill to destroy the enemy stronghold; drop a moon on his planet. Awesome.

    However, then the downside: the camera rolls with every move, navigating between planets is    It is awesome. Simple as that. Building a MASSIVE army that swoops over a planet, then rolls through a stargate-like structure on to the next planet, only to be annihilated in a rain of nukes. Then use the the ultimate overkill to destroy the enemy stronghold; drop a moon on his planet. Awesome.

    However, then the downside: the camera rolls with every move, navigating between planets is difficult, if not impossible, units are frequently 'lost' (meaning I can't find them), and the speed of construction and destruction is such that the gameplay becomes a chaos of little icons. It's impossible to play the larger maps with this game.    … Expand
  6. Balili
    May 6, 2015
    10
    A new take on the RTS genre Planetary Annihilation offers massive scale and variety. The game overhauls the players world by offering multiple planet game play and the variety of units offers a wide array of strategy and game scenarios. The added perk of massive end game weapons like nuclear missiles, planet crashing, and the Annihilaser ensure that any intense conflict has a epic ending.
  7. FWordFizz
    Mar 7, 2015
    10
    It's cheap, has pretty fun multiplayer and robot designs and lets you fulfill your dream of being a robot overlord beating the crap out of planets. What more can you ask for? Well probably alot, but because of my personal robot overlord fetish I'm willing to let this one slide. 10/10 A+
  8. Trueduck
    Jan 30, 2015
    10
    Despite the flaws and problems of an early launch, now the game looks way better. Developers managed to optimize code, so game runs smoothly, even with all that rumble on a screen. No more lagging lobbies, and starting menus. Final game looks very fun, with all those strategic layers and weapons of mass destruction. I like the resource flow realization, like the way, game forces you toDespite the flaws and problems of an early launch, now the game looks way better. Developers managed to optimize code, so game runs smoothly, even with all that rumble on a screen. No more lagging lobbies, and starting menus. Final game looks very fun, with all those strategic layers and weapons of mass destruction. I like the resource flow realization, like the way, game forces you to battle for map control on every level, or else you'll see how your defenses are getting crushed by unending wave of units. Currently this game needs community -- mapmakers, streamers, players, modders and so on.… Expand
  9. bluesmoke97
    Jan 12, 2015
    10
    With all the RTS games I have purchased this ranks #1 in my book age of empires coming in second.
    Why this game is getting such a bad rep is beyond me most people are rating it bad because there computer cant handle it or they cant micro enough once they have units on multiple planets, which honestly to rate a game like that isn't fair to the game at all its infact slightly ignorant of    With all the RTS games I have purchased this ranks #1 in my book age of empires coming in second.
    Why this game is getting such a bad rep is beyond me most people are rating it bad because there computer cant handle it or they cant micro enough once they have units on multiple planets, which honestly to rate a game like that isn't fair to the game at all its infact slightly ignorant of you. I can tell you right now microing in this game is actually easy once you get the hang of it but hey some people are ♥♥♥♥♥ who cant do 2 things at once.
    Enough of my ♥♥♥♥♥ing as to why this game is getting bad ratings lets talk about why the game is good.
    Now One of the big complaints i have been seeing on review websites such as meta critic and ign is that they are saying the game is unfinished now these reviews i have been reading are several months old and in my opion i think need to be removed.This game has so many units and so many methods of strategy and depth its insane and all i have been seeing is its unfinished and its gliching and there aren't enough units, And i cant understand why, this game has more means of combat then any other strat game i have played and to list some i have played age of empires all three of them Ruse, company of hero's, stronghold the complete collection, supreme commander, battle of empires, civ and several others. To list some means of strat you can do land air sea orbital you can freaking launch bots to another damn planet out of a cannon that is freaking badass, you can nuke them use cannons that have massive range or just straight up shoot there planet with a damn laser. This game is balanced i have also seen people rating it bad because it has one faction and that i don't understand as well most games have 1 or 2 factions and even with that they have issues staying balanced that is why age of empires is such a great game but with all the unit diversity this game has it might as well be all the civs in age. NOT to mention how big your army can get from what i have played thus far there is no limit to size its insane and with no lag as well and you can control of them even in age you cant select all of your military units over 60. SO I BEG YOU STOP RATING THIS GAME BECAUSE YOU ARE BAD AT IT OR CAUSE IT DOESNT RUN RATE THIS GAME FOR WHAT IT IS AND IF YOU WROTE A REVIEW AWHILE BACK PLAY THE GAME AND REWRITE IT. People need to rate this game on what it does good and bad and the bads are a minimal but lets talk about some.
    SO what does this game do bad not much actually i have encounter one screen glitch but it was most likely my computer instead of the game, sometimes all my units wont move up when the frontlines attack but that is easy to fix.
    So to end this i would give this game a a 9/10 and honestly from what i have played so far it deserves it. its the most innovative rts i have ever played and highly recommend you pick it up for 30$ and if it goes on sale buy it while you can.    … Expand
  10. Fyeris
    Jan 11, 2015
    9
    Review for Early 2015: After many updates, and after quite a few balancing patches, this game is very fun and enjoyable. I've sunk many hours into online skirmish mode with friends, and we always have a blast. The AI is competent, but not unbeatable, and being able to share an army with three friends is hilariously entertaining. I would definitely recommend this game to any strategy gamingReview for Early 2015: After many updates, and after quite a few balancing patches, this game is very fun and enjoyable. I've sunk many hours into online skirmish mode with friends, and we always have a blast. The AI is competent, but not unbeatable, and being able to share an army with three friends is hilariously entertaining. I would definitely recommend this game to any strategy gaming fans, knowing that the fast paced action and "easy to learn/difficult to master" gameplay is a guaranteed good time.

    Money well spent.    … Expand
  11. Ragmash
    Dec 2, 2014
    9
    If you're looking for a standard SC-type RTS, this will not be your cup of tea. Your resources are not limited. There are not multiple factions. There are no upgrades for your units. There are no Tech 3 game ending experimental units.

    This game is highly innovative. It is not standard. It has rough edges. Planetary Annihilation dares to try new mechanics and capabilities in a fairly    If you're looking for a standard SC-type RTS, this will not be your cup of tea. Your resources are not limited. There are not multiple factions. There are no upgrades for your units. There are no Tech 3 game ending experimental units.

    This game is highly innovative. It is not standard. It has rough edges. Planetary Annihilation dares to try new mechanics and capabilities in a fairly rigid market. Rewind the game mid-game to see what happened to your proxy base. Picture-in-picture display to monitor activity in another theater of war. Spherical battlefields increase the importance of strategic intel gathering and unit maneuvering. Limitless numbers of units balanced by your strategically established and guarded streaming economy structures.

    I.e. it's one player's wits against another's. A truly even playing field.

    There is no more exciting moment in an RTS I've played as the moment of a planetary invasion. Dozens or hundreds of fragile space units, attempting to build the other end of a teleportation network, to stream out your hundreds of queued tanks and bots and building units. Defending your beachhead. Will my enemy nuke me? Or smash me with a small moon? Or incinerate my planet with a Death-Star-like laser weapon? Or snipe my commander while I'm unawares?

    Throw in the wonderful and varied mods the community has crafted, along with continued support by the developers to improve upon this work, and I'm certain this is a game I will be playing for at least the next several years.    … Expand
  12. DinamitFM
    Nov 29, 2014
    10
    The best strategy i have ever played. Difference of planets and units. Building your own system.This are the best pluses of Planetary Annihilation. 40 PEOPLE BATTLES. Nobody can do that except Uber Entertaiment.Stability of updates (1-2 every month). I think there are no minuses of this of this game.
  13. Blazor117
    Oct 25, 2014
    10
    I enjoyed this game honestly. They do have saves and offline play. I am a major backer and id do it again. I enjoy hunting down the enemy on planets and if i cant find them i just blow them up whats not to love.
  14. Ricoo
    Oct 19, 2014
    10
    A great following to Total Annihilation and Supreme Commander.
    Not perfect but very entertaining, fun, and challenging.
    It has many possibilties for victory.
    It has great AI and is full of fresh ideas for a RTS.
    I like this game!
  15. Kryoclasm
    Oct 10, 2014
    8
    Planetary Annihilation is by far the best RTS experience I have had since Dune II. It has its roots in the Total Annihilation franchise, plus a good mash of Supreme Commander, but don't that lead you to think it is the same game.

    PA is a complexly different animal. The game play mechanics are unique, and enjoyable. This is a complex game to get your head around, but if you enjoy a good    Planetary Annihilation is by far the best RTS experience I have had since Dune II. It has its roots in the Total Annihilation franchise, plus a good mash of Supreme Commander, but don't that lead you to think it is the same game.

    PA is a complexly different animal. The game play mechanics are unique, and enjoyable. This is a complex game to get your head around, but if you enjoy a good challenge look no further!

    PROS:
    - OFFLINE play is now available with LAN support and soon to get official personal server support.
    - Single player.
    - Online Multi-player: 1v1, 2v2, 1v1v1v1v1v1v1v1v1v1, 5v5, etc...
    Any combination you can think of using. Max of 10 players.
    - Separate or shared armies in multi-player.
    - Hardcore career mode.
    - Lots of MOD's available and being developed by the PA community.
    - Continued and ongoing development, bug fixes, and new features being added. (Think Minecraft).
    - Lots of videos by the PA community.
    - AI can be tweaked to match your ability in single and multi-player.
    - Land, Air, Naval, Orbital units.
    - Simultaneous Interplanetary combat.
    - Picture in picture (PIP) for viewing and commanding 2 different locations at the same time.

    CONS:
    - Lack of a proper Tutorial. (Don't let that stop you, it should be added in the future.)
    - You will get Crushed by the AI at full strength until you learn.
    - Naval game not fully realized but not a deal breaker.

    TL;DR
    8.5 out of 10
    Play this game without any pretenses and you will love it.    … Expand
  16. Snowybear
    Oct 7, 2014
    9
    ok so as you can tell by reviews it is a multi-planet supreme commander style game, and this review is more going to be pointing out some flaws with other reviews, but first the actual review, since I cannot be bothered explaining it imagine supreme commander, except with multiple planets. Now there is only one faction which results in a lack of variation, and unlike the original supremeok so as you can tell by reviews it is a multi-planet supreme commander style game, and this review is more going to be pointing out some flaws with other reviews, but first the actual review, since I cannot be bothered explaining it imagine supreme commander, except with multiple planets. Now there is only one faction which results in a lack of variation, and unlike the original supreme commander it only has two tiers which can be limiting... until you consider that they have made up for it with orbital, which is something that I have actually never seen in an rts with the exception of maybe a satellite in one. However the games most notable feature is planetary destruction, consider them the experimentals of this game, you have two choices a: strap rockets onto a small celestial object and throw it into a planet, or b: attach catalysts onto a metal planet and use it as a death star to wipe out other planets.You can even use the planets crevices, trees and lakes to your advantage.

    Anyway onto rebuttal for some of the reviews that confuse me.
    2-5 fps on a high end machine: really? I mean the only time I have crashed or even been put below 15 was when about 5000 planes flew over my base full of flak and it could no longer handle the particles

    no offline mode: really, its an online game, I rarely play the singleplayer

    no save: meh, finish it within 1 1/2 hours

    can't see entire map.... stupidest one by far..... its supposed to be a planet its supposed to be a globe, we don't live in the 2nd century, the planet is not flat... also there is a picture in picture mode which you could use to see the other half

    walls don't block flamers.... Umm yes they do, they just don't block the animation

    walls don't block artillery.... seriously that is the dumbest thing I have read so far

    finally for these: slow development and in six months they do next to nothing..... yes that is why we now have teleporters, new units, combat builders, a giant planet laser, the ability to intercept interstellar travelling units and a new unit factory

    oh wait no one more just read another one giving it a zero because of two things, one a crash with no save (OMG THE WORLDS ENDING FOR ME) and the purchasable vanity commanders..... ummm if you think these are bad then do not look at planetside 2

    anyway to sum up, it has great game-play, great strategy, a unique idea, great effects and really the majority of reviews against just have stupid reasonings such as no offline game-play when it was always supposed to be an online game, also they did kind of just add offline anyway    … Expand
  17. Mark16642
    Oct 6, 2014
    8
    Had my eye on this game for a while now and decided to buy it in a sale. Don't regret it one bit. Never seen a game so easy to get the hang of and the battle are massive. The only cons are some bugs i am coming across but i am sure that these will be ironed out as time goes on. Really quirky game and it is pretty darn cool.
  18. jagasian
    Oct 5, 2014
    10
    RTS fans know that the genre has two main flavors. There is the flavor popularized by games such as Warcraft and Starcraft and then there is the flavor popularized by games such as Total Annihilation and Supreme Commander. Planetary Annihilation is the latest game in the flavor of Total Annihilation and Supreme Commander. This flavor is the more hardcore RTS flavor. The learning curveRTS fans know that the genre has two main flavors. There is the flavor popularized by games such as Warcraft and Starcraft and then there is the flavor popularized by games such as Total Annihilation and Supreme Commander. Planetary Annihilation is the latest game in the flavor of Total Annihilation and Supreme Commander. This flavor is the more hardcore RTS flavor. The learning curve is higher for these types of RTS games and when it comes to Planetary Annihilation, the learning curve is even higher. The scale of battles is epic! There are several types of units: ground, water, air, and now space units. The fact that battles can span a solar system makes the game truly 3D. You have to worry about fights on the ground, in the sky, as well as fights in orbit!

    People that give this game low reviews need to realize that it was developed by an indie game studio on a shoestring budget. You won't get cinematic cut scenes and that kind of crap in this game. You will, however, get an innovative variation on a hardcore flavor of RTS games. If you love RTS games, and especially if you love the TA and SupCom flavor, you should support this game since it does a great job of innovating in PC gaming's last great genre: the RTS.    … Expand
  19. javanse
    Oct 4, 2014
    8
    PA is full of unique ideas and features not to be seen in many RTS games (Share Army!!), which lets you build and manage big scale armies across multiple planets...and smash moons into planets or annihilate them with a death star if you like so.
    The graphics style isn't very realistic, but serves its purpose and is quite nice looking. And as you'll be playing zoomed out more often than    PA is full of unique ideas and features not to be seen in many RTS games (Share Army!!), which lets you build and manage big scale armies across multiple planets...and smash moons into planets or annihilate them with a death star if you like so.
    The graphics style isn't very realistic, but serves its purpose and is quite nice looking. And as you'll be playing zoomed out more often than not, it's not a big deal anyway. The game isn't bugfree atm, no way around this, but there's a passionate developer behind the game making PA a little bit better with every single update they publish.
    Fast and exciting gameplay on a very big scale, many ways to defeat your enemies, solar system and planet editor included, runs on Win+Mac+Linux...Planetary Annihilation is a fantastic experience and i highly recommended it to all RTS gamers.    … Expand
  20. Dryani
    Oct 3, 2014
    10
    Don't let neckbeard reviewers keep you from the best RTS game this year.

    If you like RTS games, buy this one immediately. If you like total annihilation or supreme commander, then buy this game. PA is fun, polished, and engaging.
  21. Andweeb
    Oct 2, 2014
    10
    I think this game deserves better ratings than what it's currently got. I would think it's at 6 right now because of all the early adopters writing reviews before the game was even finished. It's come a long way and unlike many other eary access games the developers have been consistent and updated the game regularily - they have not left us in the dark. I am a TA and FA player and II think this game deserves better ratings than what it's currently got. I would think it's at 6 right now because of all the early adopters writing reviews before the game was even finished. It's come a long way and unlike many other eary access games the developers have been consistent and updated the game regularily - they have not left us in the dark. I am a TA and FA player and I really, really enjoy this game. It's more polished than people have been giving it credit for. It's fun, fast and exciting gameplay. The AI is intelligent and provide a challenging game. Multiplayer is addicting and being able to launch into space and smash planets ect. is the icing on the cake. There are many innovations in this game also, it's not just a copy of the originals with a few extras as people have suggested. There's a 4th dimension to this game that's absent from the originals (which only contain land, water, and air units)... now we have SPACE. Graphics are really nice with realistic day/night planet rotation effects. I'm really glad I bought in early on this game and I now can't wat until I play my next game of PA... I'm at work at the moment damnit!… Expand
  22. Hackworth
    Sep 25, 2014
    8
    PA is a great game, It did deliver a lot of things promised in the Kickstarter campaign and more. It did not deliver everything it promised in the Kickstarter campaign, yet. Give it some time and a few more updates and it will deliver.
    + It's fun to play
    + great selection of units with a good balance + lots of spectacular ways to destroy your opponents/planets + great and lovely    PA is a great game, It did deliver a lot of things promised in the Kickstarter campaign and more. It did not deliver everything it promised in the Kickstarter campaign, yet. Give it some time and a few more updates and it will deliver.
    + It's fun to play
    + great selection of units with a good balance
    + lots of spectacular ways to destroy your opponents/planets
    + great and lovely stylized graphics and visual effects
    + epic battles on epic scales

    - it can become laggy in longer games, happens in about 3 out of 10 games.
    - still some server disconnects, but they get fewer

    I had so many great experiences with PA, where the match was decided by a hair's breadth, e.g. in 2v2v2 match: One team owned the metal planet in the match on which a player can build 5 Catalysts (fire control modules) to turn it into a giant death-star like weapon to one-shot kill other planets. This team had built a giant economy so they where able to built those Catalysts really fast. By the time we noticed the first one got build, we sent 2 Nukes their way to destroy them and the 10 dozens or so of Fabricators that where building them. The third team decided to send a Nuke as well. Only 2 seconds before our Nukes reached their targets, they managed to fire the Annihilaser and kill our planet and my team, but 2 of the 3 Nukes hit and destroyed 3 of 5 Catalysts. I watched the Game unfold in spectator mode. With the Catalysts destroyed, they lost their almost certain Advantage, and team 3 used the Nuke aftermath to quickly gain a beachhead on the metal planet, launched an invasion with tier 2 tanks and bots and turned the tides to their victory before the 3 destroyed Catalysts could be rebuild.
    This is just one of many epic battles I witnessed in this game, and no other RTS experience ever came close to those I had in PA.
    FYI I play RTS since Dune2 on my old Amiga500 and have been playing PA for about 400 hours since I got into beta.

    To all the negative reviews:
    Apparently most of those reviewers haven't played the game at all or just a few times, because they know absolutely nothing about it and most of what they are saying is just plain rubbish. Otherwise they would go into details about what is troubling them the most and describe their experiences. Their reviews just sound like they got their asses kicked one times too many.
    They know nothing about the units, they know nothing about the game play. They merely rant, almost none of them are referring to any facts whatsoever.
    One of the biggest Issues seems to be the in game store for which they blame Uber to rip off their customers. What they fail to realize is, that the store only sells commander models which were co-developed by high tier Kickstarter backers and much of those profits go directly to those backers. Those commander models are also cosmetic only and don't give an unfair advantage to the players, as has been hinted by some negative reviewers.

    I have never before seen so many negative and misinformation heavy critics of a really descent game.    … Expand
  23. Shenmaryu
    Sep 19, 2014
    10
    The trailers promised us an intense cosmic-scale strategy, that would carry the legacy on Total Annihilation and Supreme Commander , with technologies so advanced, that you can send moons flying into each other.
    What did we get as a result?
    All of the promised plus a wonderful OST, cool design and tons of fun and experimentation. You do need to use your brains if you want to win, because    The trailers promised us an intense cosmic-scale strategy, that would carry the legacy on Total Annihilation and Supreme Commander , with technologies so advanced, that you can send moons flying into each other.
    What did we get as a result?
    All of the promised plus a wonderful OST, cool design and tons of fun and experimentation. You do need to use your brains if you want to win, because no matter what it is an RTS of an epic scale. Some units are better than others and lvl2 units are waaaay better than lvl1, but all of them have their roles on the battlefield.    … Expand
  24. JHshin
    Sep 18, 2014
    10
    plz play game and write review...

    it's real awesome scale RTS
    stop the nagatice reviews.
    im not agree IGN review. is this real Generation RTS
    Great game, Developers are committed is very nice
  25. slatinator
    Sep 17, 2014
    9
    This is one of the greatest RTS I have played in quite some time. It's massive scale isn't made for a quick 10 minute game like some other franchises, this is made for strategists who want to have fun. This game may have launched just recently, but there are constant updates being added nearly every week improving every feature. This is a game to play for quite a few years until theirThis is one of the greatest RTS I have played in quite some time. It's massive scale isn't made for a quick 10 minute game like some other franchises, this is made for strategists who want to have fun. This game may have launched just recently, but there are constant updates being added nearly every week improving every feature. This is a game to play for quite a few years until their next iteration.… Expand
  26. Das2003
    Sep 16, 2014
    9
    Its very rare that I get to play any strategy games considering the market is flooded with shooters and there hasn't been anything remotely interesting since Starcraft 2 ( for me ). That was a good game but got repetitive game after game, rushing at the start was the only thing to do. Building up your defences would just delay the inevitable. With Planetary Annihilation its a differentIts very rare that I get to play any strategy games considering the market is flooded with shooters and there hasn't been anything remotely interesting since Starcraft 2 ( for me ). That was a good game but got repetitive game after game, rushing at the start was the only thing to do. Building up your defences would just delay the inevitable. With Planetary Annihilation its a different story, you can either rush your opponent like in Starcraft 2 or you can build your base to the high heavens with defensive structures so that no unit ground, air or orbital unit can dare come near your portion of a planet or system. The only way to confer this strategy is to either send a volley of countless nukes, launch a planet at the specific area or simply annihilate using the so called death star. Absolute epic-ness. Te thing I love about the game is the fact you can make and game last more that 30 mins to an hour depending on your play style, not like the repetitious Starcraft where you have rush if you want to win, because turtling just doesn't work. This game for me is everything I loved about Supreme commander and more. My only gripe with this game is that there is only one design of units for all players ( except the commander ). It would be nice if they could implement a differently designed army to represent each commander. That way playing different AI or players would help differentiate who you are attacking. Some people may not understand why there is only one type of Army, and its simply to eradicate unbalancing issues. That's perfectly fine, but different skins, animations and explosions would be nice. The Single player campaign is unusual but very enjoyable as you battle out different parts of the galaxy and unlocking random tech on the go, but if you fail once you start again. I like that a lot, it keeps you on your feet. Also, I really love the ability to make your own systems.

    Bottom line, 9/10. Minus 1 point because there is only 1 skin or design of the army that is available, unless there will be mods or skins in the future, until then this game is a 9.    … Expand
  27. shnndr
    Sep 14, 2014
    9
    This game managed to get me excited again about playing an RTS. I haven't felt this since the time I bought SC2 back in 2010. I admit I haven't played any Total Annihilation or Supreme Commander games. I took the Warcraft, Starcraft & Age of Empires route, which is why I am so excited about this game (it's very different due to the different rules).

    So here is my review: This games    This game managed to get me excited again about playing an RTS. I haven't felt this since the time I bought SC2 back in 2010. I admit I haven't played any Total Annihilation or Supreme Commander games. I took the Warcraft, Starcraft & Age of Empires route, which is why I am so excited about this game (it's very different due to the different rules).

    So here is my review:

    This games features what they call a "streamlined economy". Basically you don't have any workers gathering resources in this game. Your income comes from 2 different types of buildings, by the means of which you are constantly accumulating resources; you will thus have an income per second given by the # of buildings of each type you have. And this income can be either positive (if you don't spend as much as you earn) or negative (if you "spend" more than you earn). Well, technically you cannot spend more than you earn, this is where it gets tricky. Your economy is calculated in terms of income per second and spending per second. You can build anything no matter how expensive this way, even if you don't have the money beforehand. Your workers have a rate at which they use resources when buildings and if you use multiple workers at once to build, the buildings get built at their cumulative rates. This means that it is possible to use too many workers, with a total resource consumption larger than your income. When you do this, your storage starts to diminish fast. When the storage gets depleted, your workers can only spend at the rate of your current income, no matter how many of them you use. So you will work inefficiently, you have too many production means & not enough income. This is show in the "Efficiency" percentage at the top.

    All this makes for very exciting dynamics & freedom of strategy. You can increase your storage capacity by building more storage buildings & start saving resources if you want; then use all your workers to rush a strategy by building some key buildings very fast (like some sort of chronoboost from Starcraft2). Also, thee factories make both combat units & workers, so you have the freedom to choose which, depending on how you want to risk it (which is resemblant of the zerg larva mechanics in SC). There is a lot of freedom & strategy due to this kind of economy.

    The game is a lot more macro oriented than Starcraft. Units move slower and the macro scale is bigger. You can teleport to other planets and make unlimited units, so a lot of multitasking and strategy is required, as opposed to micro. To help with this, when you zoom out, you get symbols for every unit type (which you will have to learn). This enables you to recognize them from far away and allows you to manage everything at a higher scale.

    The game features some interesting dynamics when it comes to tactics as well. You have orbital units, you can use planets as weapons of mass destruction etc. So the game is tons of fun. Don't let yourself disappointed by the lack of detail in units. As I've previously said, the game is more macro oriented, so units have a more abstract, "chessy" look. You tend to play the game from further away than Starcraft, so this is deliberately done and not a lack of consideration or lazyness.

    The game is extremely strategic & complex. The planet mechanics, the economy mechanics and the grand scale makes it extremely complex. So I don't want to hear you say it only has one race. Chess only has one race too and it's not that simple.

    But even though it is a lot more complex & strategic than your average RTS, when you have lots of people playing, spread out on different planets (you can get to be on the same planet with your enemy, ally or even alone, which changes your strategy drastically depending on the situation) the game gets extremely fun & exciting.

    I hope you enjoyed my review from the point of view of a Starcraft player & a noob to this style of game. I took a gamble & bought this game and it was worth it. You will not get "dicey 1 second deciding battles", you have a deeper strategic & more abstract game peppered with "awesome" features to satisfy all tastes, and no balance bullsh*t thanks to equal possibilities & weapons. If you like strategy, you will absolutely love this game. I can't even think about the amount of builds & strategies you can come up with. Oh and have I mentioned that your commander makes a nuclear explosion when he dies? So do micro that commander in battle (if you care about having an army...).

    Even if they aren't a multimillion corporation and don't have money to spend on marketing the game, make no mistake, it's a brilliant strategy game and it already has a small pro scene starting to develop, which is further enhanced by the built in Twitch functionality. Go for it, you won't regret it!

    My rating: 9.5/10 (best RTS in years)    … Expand
  28. telefoonboek
    Sep 13, 2014
    10
    Planetary Annihilation is an awesome game! If you like competetive multiplayer RTS games. Has the potential for huge battlefields on multiple planets. Get defeated on 1 planet? No worry u can still own another planet to fight back. By launches nukes, moons, planets at eachtothers base. Or ultimately with a death star.

    Command huge army's that get bigger and bigger. If you are good at    Planetary Annihilation is an awesome game! If you like competetive multiplayer RTS games. Has the potential for huge battlefields on multiple planets. Get defeated on 1 planet? No worry u can still own another planet to fight back. By launches nukes, moons, planets at eachtothers base. Or ultimately with a death star.

    Command huge army's that get bigger and bigger. If you are good at multitasking and like competetive rts, this will be your game.

    If you looking for a good singeplayer, this game has galactic war, but its just a prep for multiplayer and doesnt offer you much.    … Expand
  29. QuickHead555
    Sep 11, 2014
    10
    This is the ultimate RTS game. You can smash planets! You can annihilate you enemies, you can blow up an ENTIRE PLANET! How aren't you throwing money at them?
  30. warrenkc
    Sep 11, 2014
    9
    Just played the latest update as of 9/11/2014. Awesome! So smooth and fun. Played 2vs2 against AI opponents.

    Getting better all the time. I got so tired of Forged Alliance because of the networking issues. This solves that problem and helps a lot with lag in general. Although I recommend keeping the games smaller for now because the server will lag if you do too much. Very fun game.    Just played the latest update as of 9/11/2014. Awesome! So smooth and fun. Played 2vs2 against AI opponents.

    Getting better all the time. I got so tired of Forged Alliance because of the networking issues. This solves that problem and helps a lot with lag in general. Although I recommend keeping the games smaller for now because the server will lag if you do too much.

    Very fun game.

    My specs:
    Operating System
    Windows 7 Professional 64-bit SP1
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 4590 @ 3.30GHz
    Haswell 22nm Technology
    RAM
    16.0GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 798MHz (11-11-11-28)
    Motherboard
    ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. B85-PRO GAMER (SOCKET 1150)
    Graphics
    S221HQL (1920x1080@60Hz)
    1024MB ATI AMD Radeon HD 7750 (Gigabyte)    … 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.
    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]
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