Universe at War has all the makings of a superb RTS game, but it trips and falls hard on a number of different technical issues. Perhaps it's because the game was designed for both the PC and Xbox 360 (with cross-platform competition in mind), but lacks a large number of advanced commands. There's no way to set waypoints or patrol routes for units, nor is there a way to set unit temperament, meaning they end up chasing after anything that happens to wander into sight, so getting a hero to flee a battle before being destroyed becomes extremely annoying. These problems are made worse by a number of little gameplay bugs, like the a slight delay in assigning numbers to groups. The command often fails to work unless it's done in a deliberate way, undermining the speed RTS games demand. Players can access all of their manufacturing structures from icons lining the bottom of the screen, but the build menus don't stay up if there are existing units highlighted. Even when they work, they have the annoying habit of suddenly disappearing while players queue up reinforcements. One big bug we ran into made it impossible to target a Hierarchy walker's power core (the only way to blow it up) even after removing its armor. The only way to overcome it was to load up a saved game and start on the structure all over again.

The game's biggest flaw comes from the fact that the computer always knows where the players are, even when they move around with stealth units. It's a computer cheat that many recent RTS games have worked hard to overcome, and makes Universe at War extremely problematic. Players can set up their bases anywhere on a map when invading a territory, but it isn't long before the computer homes in and sends a couple massive of Hierarchy structures. It gets especially bad when the computer sends in three structures at once (which it invariably does). Players need tremendous firepower to take down all three, and the computer will have new walkers built before the dust settles, on their way to bust up the player's base some more. There's no point in playing a defensive game against the Hierarchy, nor is there any sense in using a stealth hero to sneak behind enemy lines in Global mode to launch a surgical strike. The omniscient computer renders stealth heroes completely useless, since they can't carry out hit-and-run tactics or repair damaged units.

Players can overcome the computer intelligence issues with online multiplayer powered by Games for Windows Live, which works fairly well. There's even a persistent map of the world for players to compete for global control, however (at the time of this writing) the servers aren't exactly overflowing with players. Oddly, the game doesn't include any way of observing ongoing games or password protecting custom matches.

Universe at War: Earth Assault has what it takes to be a great RTS game, but sadly, it doesn't come together in a fulfilling way.