Although Universe at War: Earth Assault, a science fiction RTS game, wasn’t given an overly impressive reception when it was released I thought it was worth at least playing the demo so I could create my own impressions about the game.
The demo is quite extensive and allows you to try out a few different options from the game. Firstly it’s worth playing through the “Tutorial” mission which will guide you through the controls and the basic principles of unit selection and grouping as-well as some rudimentary building and unit production.
After playing the tutorial you can either jump into a single player game via the “Skirmish Battle Setup” or jump online using the “Conquer the World” option. Both offline and online modes allow you to pick from two maps, Kamchatka or Turkestan and play as either the Novus, a sentient machine race, or the distinctly alien Hierarchy. Each faction has there own inherent strengths and weaknesses and felt comparably different to play.
Universe at War uses what now seems to be an RTS “standard”; An isometric view of the battlefield which can be panned, rotated, and zoomed as the player sees fit and familiar game mechanics (that haven’t changed much in over a decade) which start the player off with a command centre and a construction unit with which to establish a base. The player divides their time managing building and unit production as-well as scouting the battlefield not only for the enemy but also to secure more resources to be converted into credits (when harvested), which are required to purchase everything from new buildings and units to technological advancements.
