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Universe At War: Earth Assault Review (continued)
More User Submitted Universe At War: Earth Assault Reviews
Date: 2008-06-23
It doesn't really feel like anyone is fighting
I like all genres of games. The only things I don't like are the scum of the genre (I mean the REALLY bad stuff). Universe at War doesn't fall into the category of the scum or the highlights of each genre like Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, Halo, and Unreal Tournament. To stand out today, a game needs originality, an interesting plot (if any), and a trully unique gameplay expirence. Universe at War has none of these.
On the the review...
Graphics. This game doesn't have much in the way of graphics, only some nice effects, yet the walkers (big machines thingies, example: the thing on the cover) are nicely detailed. But this game does run fairly well.
Sound. Not a lot really stands out here.
Gameplay. It tries to be the next gen replacement for Starcraft 2, but unfortunately, it falls painfully short. The real exitement in this game is in the three factions; Novus, Hierarchy, and the Masari. The Novus are machines that have the ability to move extremely quickly allong the battlefield (It takes the literally four seconds). The Hierarchy reily on heavily armed walkers instead of stable buildings, the are very slow though. The Masari have the ability to switch between a offense and defensive stile of play (Light and Dark Mode). This offers a little refreshment from the almost identical factions you see in other games. But when it comes down to the actual battles, the game just falls short.
Plot. Boring and Confusing, it doesn't really help that some of the plot is given away in the manual.
Multiplay. This is the highlight of the game, playing multiplayer is the ONLY thing that will keep you from erasing this game permanently from your hardrive. The artificial intelligence is good for training, but never will be able to substitute a real player.
Replay. If you have the patience to finish all the campaigns, then you will certainly move on to multiplayer and the game will last you a fairly decient time.
In conclusion, Universe at War is definately not a substitution for Starcraft 2. It tried to bring the Starcraft mechanics into the new generation of games before Blizzard, but it just did not make it.
Graphics 6/10
Sound 5/10
Gameplay 7/10
Story 5/10
Multipaly 7/10
Replay 6/10
Stability: Some bugs, smooth performance
Overall: 6/10 - Passable
Date: 2008-06-22
Disappointing
I was really looking forward to this game as a prelude RTS to warm me up for Starcraft II. What I found was a technical mess.
First, let me say it's not so much he mechanics of the game, although I found it to be a bit unbalanced. I found that if I just played Novus, researched to the point where all units could use the power lines for transport, built out a good size power network, and built Dervishes non-stop, it was hard to stop me. An early rush could counter this, but this game doesn't support early rushes very well (which some could view as a feature). However, there are a lot of creative ideas in this game, and I find the universe intriguing.
What kills it for me, and the reason I just uninstalled it, is the game performs horribly, especially in multiplayer. When you start a game, it takes a long time to load, and then when the game finally starts, it STILL stutters for a minute or so before you can really play. In multiplayer, these little pauses happen about every two minutes and last 5 to 10 seconds. It's really hard to have fun and get into the game when every two minutes you're thinking "C'mon you POS, move!" My gaming machine is by no means cutting edge but it doesn't have any problem running most other modern RTS and FPS games (Crysis excluded, but really, who cares anyway?) with most of the eye candy turned up to 11, so I have a difficult time blaming my hardware.
The game mechanics are otherwise well done and it's pretty to look at. I get a sadistic joy out of harvesting buildings and listening to the poor humans wail and gnash their teeth.
So, if you can deal with the poor performance, there's a pretty cool game in there trying to get out. But if you're like me and games that constantly pause for no apparent reason irk you so much that you just can't settle back and enjoy, I suggest you give it a miss.
Date: 2008-04-30
Unplayable!!
I really want to love this game. It seems like it should be really fun. The concepts for the three factions are interesting and the visuals are great.
The problem is, many people, including myself, can't play the game, despite meeting or exceeding the system requirements. The game tends to hang up, crash, or otherwise bug out either immediately upon startup or about 5-10 minutes into matches. There have been two patches already, and neither has fixed the problem. Petroglyph and SEGA are aware of this issue, and don't seem to be doing anything about it.
I'm abslutely sure I would like this game if it would actually run properly.
Date: 2008-04-03
Very well thought out RTS
I've played a lot of RTS games trying to find the one that sticks out. The last good RTS game that I played was probably StarCraft. Even though this game is nothing like StarCraft it has the content needed to make a good RTS game. Let me give you some example:
There 3 races in this game and each one has completely different units and buildings. They allow for the gamer to create a different strategy each time the game is played. In most RTS games, if you have the largest army (Guardians, Carriers, BattleCruiser in StarCraft) you will win...usually. In this game the gamer must determine what is the best course of action against the race you are playing and exploit it!!
Because this game came from a smaller developer (petroglyphgames) they have the ability to bring in new innovations and ideas to the game world. By looking at StarCraft 2 there isn't anything new...just by what I can see (I may be wrong on that one). This game has great potentional, and I'm sure the expansion pack for it will be sweet (just like it was for Star Wars Empire at War made by petroglyphgames).
This game is a definate buy if you are looking for a different RTS game. If you like the boring same 'ole RTS keep your Empire Earth 3. BTW- the developers of C&C3 are the ones that developed this game!!!!
Date: 2008-02-05
Great warmup for StarCraft II
This game has three great factions to choose from, each with unique abilities. The RTS is my favorite type of game, and this one will keep me busy until StarCraft II is released. Recommended.
Universe At War: Earth Assault Reviews Page: 2 of 3 Prev<< 1 2 3 Next>>
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