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The campaign mode is great, but it is the online modes that really make this a must-own title for RTS fans.
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Earth Assault does a fairly good job of translating a PC real-time strategy's mouse-and-keyboard controls to the Xbox 360 controller, but players should be aware there's a lengthy tutorial required to get them up to speed. [Apr 2008, p.48]
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83Universe at War does what they said couldn't be done, and it makes a large-scale real-time strategy game -- of the sort thought to be exclusively a PC domain -- fun to play from the couch.
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80For hardcore fans, the deep options and completely unique factions will be a revelation. For newbies, it will be a graduation.
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80Overall, Petroglyph have proved that console-based RTS games can work successfully. PC owners might not think that there's much to crow about but for 360 owners this is a genuine step forward.
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80At its heart, this is a well-developed and in-depth RTS game. Highly recommended for hardcore RTS fans - but perhaps a little too complex for beginners to the franchise or genre.
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If Petroglyph can fix the single-player AI, smooth out some of the game's graphics slowdowns, and provide a camera that zooms back more than a few inches, chapter two of Universe at War could well challenge Battle for Middle-earth II for overall Xbox 360 RTS honors.
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75In spite of its technical flaws, Universe at War deserves merit twice over for not only presenting an RTS with a fresh spin on races, but also doing so with a neatly accessible control scheme.
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This is one of the better RTSs on console[s] at the moment. but there are more on the way. [June 2008, p.78]
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Starts off bravely but gives way to 'fraidy cat design. Balls of steel, knob of butter. [June 2008, p.86]
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73There is so much to do in the single player campaign you can spend much time playing and replaying it, the skirmish maps add a ton of variety and with each setting you can adjust, the single player offers a wide variety of replay value, more then any other RTS on the Xbox 360 to date.
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72A good RTS game that is held up by performance and graphical issues.
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Sure, the controls aren't perfect--selecting units usually boils down to an all-or-nothing strategy--but that issue aside, UAW is a triumph. [May 2008, p.85]
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70Excellent implementation of an intuitive control system, an engaging storyline and the many tactical differences between the three factions on offer all add up to make Universe at War: Earth Assault a fairly good game.
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Mechanically and stylistically it's bloody marvellous, but serious technical issues and overzealous handholding stunt its path to greatness. [Issue#32, p.87]
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70Its control scheme is admirable, and while not technically impressive, there is plenty of content to warrant a purchase if you can see past its flaws.
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No RTS fan could fail to be impressed by the massive choice in tactics and strategy as well as the intuitive and fast control system. A lacklustre story and limited story mode only slightly mar an otherwise excellent strategy game.
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70Though this RTS-interface-for-consoles is pretty good on its own, it's crippled by the poor framerate. Basically, anytime you have one or more Hierarchy walkers on-screen, plus any other units, everyone starts looking like they're moving underwater. Which isn't conducive to an RTS game with crazy units that sparkle and shine.
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It's such a shame to see what could have been a splendid old-school RTS with mostly decent presentation (aside from the fact that the camera doesn't zoom out enough) and three imaginative and well-balanced factions being ruined because of so many niggling problems.
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A disappointing console cenversion for a fairly entertaining real-time strategy. The otherwise decent multiplatformer is gimped by massive framerate issues and technical problems. [May 2008]
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65Technical problems mar what should have been a solid addition to the Xbox 360's growing library of strategy games.
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65There is a very playable game hiding underneath some serious issues here. Whether you can overlook them is up to you.
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65Universe at War doesn't embody the best translation of a RTS to a console. However, if you're tempted to try some strategy, it could be something to check.
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65There is definitely room for improvements in the graphics department and any straight-from-PC gamers will still need plenty of time to adjust to the gamepad clunkiness.
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63From the gossamer winged Interceptors of the Masari to the hulking crimson Walkers of the Hierarchy, Universe at War is chock full of well-designed units, structures and ideas. However, Universe's technical problems, precision control issues and hackneyed storyline dull its shine, resulting in a less-than-great RTS experience.
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It's a solid attempt at bringing this sort of game genre to the 360, but it still appears that, much like sleeping with a robot behind your partner's back, controlling an RTS with a joypad will always be a clunky affair.
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60The excellent control scheme and shiny units aren't enough to save UAW from its own flawed code.
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60The whole experience of Universe at War ends up being one big chore. If the single player is dull, and the multiplayer is broken, all you've got left is playing skirmish mode by yourself. And that will get old after a while anyway.
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So, as to whether or not Petroglyph Games and Sega redefined console RTS games: not exactly.
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Universe at War: Earth Assault is a fantastic game marred by technical issues aplenty.
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60If the game took a quick breather and realized that it's about robots, world-conquering aliens, and ancient elfish-looking mystics under the sea, then we might be left with a better game; maybe, maybe not, but it worked for "Earth Defense Force."
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This is a genre craving for more quality titles on the 360. And with three distinct races, a global conquest mode and almost thirty Skirmish maps, Universe at War could have been one of those titles. But sadly, it fails to attract any new players. [May 2008]
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60Universe at War: Earth Assault isn't the game that proves that the real-time strategy can really work on a console. It's not a failure by any means, but neither is it a resounding success.
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60But the 360 version's clunky control scheme and savage technical problems bring the game down, and none of the key issues from the PC release have been changed. The problems here don't outweigh the fun, but the margin is very thin.
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Universe at War: Earth Assault just never grabs your attention or enthusiasm to want to play and with all the problems you can just leave this one alone.
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58A grandiose-sounding title that never really manages to shake the feeling of being in second gear. Or second place.
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The controls are a brilliant crossover from the PC version, but there are too many issues that make this game verging on the unplayable.
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It's a shame this port was released in a worse technical state than many beta builds I've played, because the core design of Universe at War (minus the lame by-the-numbers scripted campaign) is quite good.
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Universe at War at times feels too simplistic and yet overwhelming with confusion at other points in the game as you are trying to keep track of multiple things and constantly having to shift your view of the map.
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50Identity issues aside Universe at War has a great concept, and is commendable for not only it's control scheme but also in that it has three distinctly unique sides and not one of them is the human faction crutch that plagues the genre. At the same time the title has many technical flaws.
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40For all the control innovations that come tantalisingly close to solving the riddle of joypad RTS play, Universe at War is constantly blighted by unforgivable slowdown that, at its worst, all but breaks the game.
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40The art, the audio, the level design, it's all just sorta "there", and feels creatively bankrupt.
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40Universe at War: Earth Assault is a bad game, just as simple as that. The controls work, but the framerate and camera ruin the party. So again we keep waiting for a good strategy game on the console.
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40The bad menus, controls, unplayable online component, and terrible campaign mode completely shroud any real accomplishments made in terms of the game's balance and feel.
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User score distribution:
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Positive: 10 out of 12
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Mixed: 2 out of 12
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Negative: 0 out of 12
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ChristopherS.9
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Kline10
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