Review: Universe At War

Looks like: An N64 game
Feels like: A poisonous ice cream – Something we really want to tough but will actually kill us if we do
Sounds like: Tribal drums and Opera mixed into one
Smells like: Something disappointingly cheesy
Tastes like: Rust and a bad port

There have been several attempts at bringing RTS’s to consoles from their stagnant pool on the PC, and none of them fail as much as Sega’s Universe at War: Earth Assault. There are no general areas that really stick out as being poor, but that’s only because every single thing that Universe at War does is pretty damn awful.

Looking at past RTS’s to make it to the 360, so stuff like Battle for Middle-Earth II and C&C3, one would think that the areas of general crappage with both of those games, would be the areas in which Sega would make sure they were getting right. Those areas are control and technical performance i.e. frame rate. Suffice as to say Universe at War does neither of these two things correctly; in fact, it does them worse than any other RTS on the consoles. Word.

In terms of controls, it appears as though Sega just lifted them straight from the PC version and mapped them to random buttons. I’ll give them that allowing the player to move quickly across the screen by holding in the RT and moving in the direction you want to go is a clever idea, but because the frame rate of the game is so bad, it makes it hard to control and therefore falls flat, but remains one of the games original ideas that could have worked with some slight, additional technical work.

If you’re anything like me and you’re in dire need of a change from Unreal Engine – supported shooters, then you’d be excited at the prospect of an RTS, especially after the arguable success of BFMEII, but alas, you’re going to have to rethink and go back to COD4 or something (for a few days...) because this really is no good. However, if you’re looking for something which is literally a generic, badly made copy of every other RTS in existence then you’re in luck, because UAW does nothing new whatsoever. In terms of its narrative it’s a mere copy of everything else, with a Futuristic Protector, Evil Universe Tyrant, and Suppressed Earth-force, one knows that they’ve been here before. The way in which the game is structured is one of the only good things about the entire package. You begin the first campaign learning the basic techniques which will help you through the rest of the game, and in online matches, if you can find anyone (good luck with that...) and then you move onto the second campaign, do the same. Move onto the third campaign, up to the end, where the world map opens up to you, and you get the choice of where you want to take your fight to.

Talking of fighting...who am I kidding? The war in Universe at War is terrible. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that the abstract noun “War” in the title of the game should be changed to something more appropriate, such as “really tedious base-building, and then sending a few units over to crush them”, but I don’t think that that would make for good PR, do you? In any case, all you need to know is that the combat in Earth Assault is terrible. Repetitive, badly implemented, badly controlled.

The overall package that one gets with Universe at War at first glance appears to quite substantial. You get three single player campaigns, which unlock after the completion of the previous one, a skirmish mode and a multiplayer portion. However, when you think about it, you’re only getting what every other game can give you, except that those games will give it to you better. To add insult to injury, UAW for the Xbox literally does nothing new to the PC version, so in effect, you’re actually getting nothing you couldn’t get on your PC, and probably with a better frame rate.

There we go then. Universe at War: Earth Assault. Wrapped up it’s a game that should have been left on the PC. If a company feel like developing an RTS for a console they should put a little bit of effort into it, because with that effort, they’ll be the ones who evolve a genre, making them more money and respect then they’d receive if they just do a quick port.

--Tom Rhodes, 360Stage Editor--

Note to staff/hardcore fans: The new resolution of the graphics are now 500 x 300 and now include the new review images inside the graphic itself... like you saw in the Dark Sector picture but better... flashing... lights... funky.