Total Annihilation
I probably gave Total Annihilation the worst possible starting position, two years after original release and being a big fan of story-intensive Starcraft. And, for a few missions, especially some sea-based ones, Total Annihilation didn't impress me much ... Then things started to improve as I picked up the playing style and turned off the "interactive" music option along with some unit messages.
This game still has a lot to offer, and I haven't even touched the multiplayer options yet, but a strong story isn't one of those things. Neither is complex, interactive missions come to think of it. This is all about building up your forces and blowing any opposition to dust. At your disposal is an overwhelming number of units and a very simple resource management system. It won't take long to learn it, but it might be a while before you realize how to use it the right way. That is, in my opinion, one of the best things about TA; it requires a somewhat different approach to resource management than all the other RTS games.
The graphics might begin to show some age, but the 3d units still look good, turning, banking and blowing their way through the maps. What they lack is some attitude in the form of speech. They just do mechanical sounds at you as you click on them, and a lot of them make the same sounds too. It's a pity, they could have been like their equally metallic friends in Z, but they're not. The only speech you'll get in TA is that in the intro and during the briefings. Things improve again on the musical front, it's a real orhchestra in there, and you can hear it. As soon as you turn off the "interactivity" music option, there are a lot of good bits to accompany your annihilation efforts. Not as much mood as The War Of The Worlds perhaps, but very nice nevertheless.
Probably the worst thing about the game is the AI. If you lose it sure won't be because the AI cleverly exploited the weaknesses of your defences. Some TA-related site stated that the AI plays the map rather than the player, and that's probably a good way to say it. Attacks are infrequent and all come from the same direction, as long as you have sufficient defences at the one entrance to your base closest to your enemy you'll be alright (oh, you'll need some AA guns intersecting a straight line from the enemy's base too).
It's getting old, but that also means lower price. Plus it's almost mandatory to have played this game, so just do it. Also, multiplayer TA rocks big time and only one copy is required for up to three players. And they still seem to crank out new free units every now and then, so the value for your money increases all the time ...
