As a gamer I’ve always preferred real time strategy (RTS) games. The reason is simple: I’m good at them, even in multiplayer games. Everything is about first person shooters these days, but I’ve never managed to master FPS multiplayer games. It might be because one of my opponents often was Hallvard, who I’m pretty sure could have made a career as a professional gamer. FPS games in single player mode I can enjoy because of the option to save and load games. But RTS games have always been my preferred cup of tea, both in singleplayer and multiplayer modes.

There was a time in gaming history when you could just grab a random game at your local game pusher and it would probably be a high quality RTS game. But those days are long gone. Quality RTS games are few and far between, with the notable exceptions of the Sins of a Solar Empire games, Starcraft II: Wings of Libery and Supreme Commander 2. I had high hopes for Command & Conquer (formerly known as Command & Conquer: Generals 2, but when that turned into a free-to-play, online only train wreck, I was worried the sun would continue to set on the RTS genre.

But then Planetary Annihilation surfaced.

[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/659943965/planetary-annihilation-a-next-generation-rts/widget/video.html]

“Planetary Annihilation brings Real-Time Strategy to a new generation of gamers in a way they’ve never been seen before: Total Annihilation-inspired gameplay on a planetary scale.” - Uber Entertainment Inc

As an RTS gamer it’s impossible not to get excited about that video. People who have worked on games like Total Annihilation, Command & Conquer, Supreme Commander and Demigod come together to bring RTS games back where it’s supposed to be. Personally, I got so excited, I threw an unhealthy amount of money at the project. So now I will get a planet named after me. There’s a huge risk with Kickstarter projects, though: There is no guarantee that you’ll actually get anything for your money. If a Kickstarter project reaches its funding goal, the money you pledged are withdrawn from your credit card and it’s up to whoever started the project to either take the pledge money and buy a Greek island, or actually use the money for the project.

For Planetary Annihilation, I’m crossing my fingers for the latter. At the time of writing, there are 50 hours to go before the Kickstarter project is closed. Even though the project is already way beyond the required goal of $900,000, you still have the time to pledge a few more dollars to the project. Everything helps when it comes to giving the RTS genre the great game it so desperately needs.