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Total Domination

Total Domination is a browser-based MMO strategy game set in a desolate Wasteland, a futuristic desert stricken with war. As Sector Commander, players expand their sector, manage resources, join clans, and attack neighbors to dominate the Wasteland.

Publisher: Plarium Games
Playerbase: High
Type: Browser Strategy
Release Date: June 6, 2013
Pros: +Large playerbase. +Easy to learn interface. +Gritty sci-fi theme.
Cons: -Cash shop sells power. -Annoying narration. -Retro graphics have limited appeal.

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Overview

Total Domination Overview

Total Domination is a 2D strategy MMO playable on web browsers. Build your sector from the ground up: upgrading structures, mining for resources, and collecting an army. Raid other player’s sectors for resources and status, defend your base, and join in group battles under your clan to further the cause. Take advantage of talent trees through the game’s Research Center and Tech Nexus to specialize your sector to your playstyle, with the ultimate goal of conquering the Wasteland. It features a retro, top-down isometric art style that harkens back to Fallout 1 & 2.

Total Domination Key Features:

  • Browser-Based Game – empire building strategy game with focus on PvP.
  • Fully Voice-Acted – with a narrator named General Trevor Winters.
  • Isometric Graphics – retro, top-down graphics similar to Fallout 1 + 2.
  • Real Time Interface – play in real time.
  • Talent Tree System – specialize your sector to your playstyle through the Research Center and Tech Nexus.

Total Domination Screenshots

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Total Domination Featured Video

Total Domination - Official Trailer

Full Review

Total Domination Review

By Margo Sikes

Total Domination is set in a war-stricken desert called the Wasteland, populated by other players and by an evil army of mutants led by Morgana. As is common for browser strategy games, players take control of a sector and are tasked with building structures, collecting resources, and participating in warfare to make it to the top of the ladder.

Starting Out

In the same vein as other browser MMORTS games, players begin small with a tutorial character, in this case the fully voice-acted General Trevor Winters, to help them along. The tutorial begins with visible (and limiting) arrows and visual cues, backing down after a few levels into a less intrusive tutorial through usage of a quest log with optional quests; completing them often offers Crystals which are the game’s premium currency. Players work through the basics of the game—explaining its somewhat large amount of user interface elements through its quests, serving to help players get used to the flow of the game. Unfortunately, the sound quality of the tutorial character is poor, making it a better option to mute the dialogue.

Building Your Empire

An integral aspect of Total Domination is sector maintenance. The player begins with building structures and must maintain their sector to keep their resources at a steady level to allow them to create more troops to attack more players and NPC structures. Each building has a particular function, categorized by tabs in the Construction menu: Resource, Command, Military, Defensive, Improvements, and Expansion. Oftentimes a building must be completed before players can access certain features of the game. For example, a Research Center must be built and used before a player can create certain units, opening access to Technologies which is a skill tree that unlock units and power-ups. Buildings can only be built one at a time unless a player decides to purchase an Engineer with the game’s premium currency to speed up the base building process.

Resource management is an important aspect to consider both in building and in sending troops out to fight or defend. As is typical for this genre, resources are the essential building blocks towards any form of game progression. Players collect Uranium, Titanium, and Credits, which are produced by Uranium Mines, Titanium Mines, and Vaults respectively. These three resources are the basic expense to build any unit or structure. The game also has secondary resources used to craft special units; Bioplasma, Protocrystals, and Tech Nodes. Bioplasma is attained through a resource generating building and is used to recruit Nightmare units. Protocrystals are attained through Global Operations, a series of rotating special event missions,and are used to create Xenotype units. Lastly, Tech Nodes are similar to talent points found in RPGs—you gain them every time you level up and you can use them to augment and modify your favorite units.

Technologies

Unlocked after creating the Research Lab, players can modify and augment their play with a different talent tree called Technologies, separate from the Tech Node. Technologies include unlockable units, upgrades to said units, combat boosts, and unlockable buildings. Each research subject requires a predefined amount of Modules, which are acquired daily from the player’s Tech Advisor. Players can trade ones they don’t need for others in the Black Market, giving incentive to play daily and interact with other players. Only one Technology can be researched at a time and they take a certain amount of time to finish. The Technology can also be boosted with Boost items acquired from missions or from the game’s premium store.

Building Your Army

Total Dominations players can recruit three types of units to perform different actions within the game, a feature found in other Plarium-developed games. Units are either offensive, defensive, or recon specialized, and can be used to invade, occupy, and check out enemy territory. Units can leave on missions as well as stay at the base to protect it from outside invasions. Players can strategically split their units into different groups to take on multiple fights at once. Players can also send their units and resources into the Bunker structure to keep them safe from invasions, where they will not participate in any battles involving your Sector. One of the main strategic elements of the game is unit allocation—deciding when and where to attack and defend with which units. Unit allocation is important to move forward successfully. I highly recommend players join a Clan, as they can send reinforcements and resources to help members in need.

Join a Clan!

Early on, players are instructed by the tutorial to join a Clan. They allow players to become united in a well-organized command structure with one name, a unique banner, and a ranked hierarchy. Clan members can send each other resources and reinforcements, which are necessary once a new player leaves the defense of the new player barrier. Clans also have a fully-featured chat room that allows players to discuss strategy and gameplay tips. Another Clan feature is the ability to capture Emitters, upgradeable structures found throughout the Wasteland. Clans can capture and hold Emitters, working to upgrade them with currency gained from fighting mutants and players that attack their Emitter. They offer a unique resource, Antigen, which is used to create some of the most powerful units in the game, making it a very important tactic to Clans who strive to be the best in the game. Any player wanting to rise in the ranks of Total Domination should make it a goal to join a Clan that is striving for the top.

PvP on the Mind

Total Domination has a focus on PvP, lacking in single-player gameplay modes. Players begin the game with a new user shield, changing once players turn to level 15. Their shield works against 20+ players, but not against players near their level, making the transition from shielded to out in the open somewhat less painful. Raiding other players' bases is a good way of attaining resources and is limited by a player’s Raid points—a point system that will be familiar to players of Sparta: War of Empires and Stormfall: Age of War. Once a player has less than ten RP, they will gain one RP every 2.5 hours until reaching the ten point cap again. Players can also invade other sectors, stationing units and stealing a percentage of the enemy’s resource production as time goes by. Invasion is a more risky strategy however as units can be attacked while they are holding the enemy’s base, resulting in a large loss that would otherwise be avoided by raiding instead.

Cash Shop

The game’s premium content is rather present, particularly when the player logs into the game. Elements of its premium shop are ever-present on the base’s interface, usually denoting some sort of discount. The game allows you to roll randomly for discounts, enticing the player to buy Crystals. Many of the game’s defensive structures are bought with Crystals only, as well as additional Engineers to help build multiple buildings at once, giving a sure advantage to players who decide to purchase Crystals.

Final Verdict – Good

Total Domination is a fair (and long-standing) addition to the MMORTS scene, but having played the very similar and newer Stormfall: Age of War and Sparta: War of Empires games, it does not feel particularly fresh. Its user interface and artwork is similar to Stormfall in many ways, although less colorful and more post-apocalyptic feeling. Its voice acted character is an unfortunate addition, being more annoying than pleasant due to the bad recording quality, and its music loops rather quickly. It has solid gameplay mechanics and can be commended for being an earlier example of this gameplay model, but fails to stand out in a sea of games in the same genre. It also suffers from pay-to-win elements giving players an unfair advantage, which is a rather common issue in MMORTS games. Overall, it feels a little archaic, most of its appeal coming from its large playerbase and gritty, sci-fi theme.

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Total Domination Screenshots

Links

Total Domination Links

Total Domination (Official Site)
Total Domination Wiki [Database / Guides]
Total Domination Facebook

System Requirements

Total Domination Requirements

Minimum Requirements:

Operating System: XP / Vista / 7 / 8
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Equivalent
Video Card: Any Graphics Card (Integrated works well too)
RAM: 512 MB
Hard Disk Space: 100 MB (Cache)

Total Domination is a browser based MMO and will run smoothly on practically any PC. The game was tested and works well on Internet Explorer, Opera, Firefox and Chrome. Any modern web-browser should run the game smoothly.

Music

Total Domination Music & Soundtrack

Coming Soon!

Additional Information

Total Domination Additional Information

Developer: Plarium Games
Publisher: Plarium Games
Platforms: Web (browser) and Facebook
Release Date: June 6, 2013

Total Domination is a free-to-play 2D browser-based strategy MMO developed and published by Plarium, an Israeli gaming company responsible for many other games in this genre, including Stormfall: Age of War and Sparta: War of Empires. The game is available on Facebook and on its own website. The game was officially launched on July 1st, 2011. A standalone mobile version titled Total Domination: Reborn was released on December 18th, 2014.