Universe at War: Earth Assault Review

Written by: Darren Cartledge Posted: 6th May 2008

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he universe erupts into war, this time on the 360.

Universe at War: Earth Assault Details:

Goto Universe at War: Earth Assault Game Page

	Strategy
	PC/Xbox 360
	Petroglpyh
	Sega

12+

Out Now

N/A

After being impressed with the PC version of Universe at War, we were expecting more of the same from the Xbox360 version of the game, and that’s pretty much what we got, although there are some slight differences between the two versions.

The story of Universe at War sees three alien races arrive on Earth and engage in a battle that has raged for years. The first race to arrive is the Hierarchy bent on galactic dominance with the intention of harvesting Earth’s resources for themselves. They are closely followed by the Novus a race of robots set on wiping out the Hierarchy and avenging the obliteration of their creators. The final race in the game is the Masari, an ancient race who have mastered the secrets of both light and dark energy. The Masari brought the Hierarchy into existence, but they turned on their creators and nearly wiped them out. The few remaining Masari fled and sought refuge on Earth, where they have been in stasis for 10,000 years only to awaken when their enemy arrived on Earth.

The Xbox360 version of the game features the same game modes as the original PC version. Campaign, skirmish battles and scenarios. The campaign mode allows you to play as the three alien races featured in the game as well as mankind, although only for a limited number of missions.

When playing as each of the different races you have to approach the game in a different way, for instance the Novus and Masari both have to build static bases, whereas The Hierarchy have gigantic mobile walkers that produce both units and vehicles to deploy into battle. The Hierarchy walkers can also be used as mobile weapons platforms if you choose to equip them with the relevant upgrades.

On the whole the game doesn’t seem to be as challenging as the PC version, I don’t know if the difficulty has been toned down for this console version but it just seems easier to progress through the missions then it did when I played the PC alternative.

Most of the missions in the game require you to employ some kind of strategy as some units aren’t very effective against certain enemies so finding the right unit to use is the key to success. However, it must be noted it is possible to get through many of the levels simply by building a range of units and banding them together and attacking enemies in force.

As you would expect this 360 version of the game features a totally different control system to that found in the PC version and it’s been implemented very well. Units are moved around in a point and click style similar to that seen in the PC game. Unit’s abilities are accessed by pulling the left trigger and cycling through the various abilities of that unit. You can also cycle through multiple units’ abilities in exactly the same way so you don’t have to worry about selecting one unit then another to use the special abilities of each.

There are obviously a few differences between the PC and Xbox360 versions of the game these are mainly to do with the interface which is a lot cleaner then that seen in the PC version. Also you are able to quickly call up the map by pulling the right trigger and issue movement order to specific locations which comes in extremely useful should you need to reinforce a position quickly.

Another difference is being able to quickly select all of one type of unit, by holding down the right shoulder button and then cycling through the different types of units. This is useful when you find a particular unit that is effective against an enemy. Just like in the PC version you are also able to make your own groups of units, this is done by painting the units you want to put into a group by holding down the A button and then pressing the back button to create the group.
Unlike in the PC version of the game, you also have access to the research tree and patch upgrade system from the off. The research tree allows you to develop new enhancements for your units while the patch upgrade system allows you to develop upgrades that make your units more durable or less vulnerable to certain attacks.

As the original PC game was Live enabled this version features identical online game modes as those seen in the original. The game features the main Conquer the World mode in which you challenge a player for control of a certain territory until you have conquered the world. In addition to this quick and ranked matches are also available to play, as are custom matches that allow you to use the games defcon option.

The defcon option encourages fast paced games, with each player starting at defcon 5 a timer counts down and each time zero is reached, new research options are completed allowing you to use new units and abilities. Once defcon 1 is reached you have access to super weapons allowing you to inflict massive damage on your opponent’s forces.

Visually the game features a much nicer interface then the PC version, however units don’t seem to be as detailed as those in the PC game and some effects also seemed to have been toned down for this version. However, having said that the game still looks good and the battle cam is still present in this version and allows you to sit back and watch battles take place up close.

Sound in the game is good some nice effects used for explosions and weapons fire, the games soundtrack is what you would expect from a sci-fi title, and is largely forgettable due to there not been much of it, whilst voice acting can be a little over the top at times.

This console version on the whole has made a successful transition from the PC, with some nice, tweaks and a very good control system, which sometimes isn’t the case with console strategy games. If you’re a fan of real-time strategy titles then Universe at War is definitely worth a look.