Universe at War: Earth Assault is a real-time strategy (RTS) game that first appeared on the PC. Even on that platform, there were noted problems with the framerate and other technical glitches, but given its three unique factions and global scope, there was still a lot for fans of the genre to enjoy. This 360 port, sadly, still contains a host of the problems found in the original, but given its out-of-the-box weaknesses, it's still a blast to play.

The story, somewhat predictably, revolves around an alien menace known as the Hierarchy bent on conquest of the universe, their latest target being earth. The game begins with you taking charge of America's armed forces as Washington D.C. gets sacked, but two other alien factions are quickly introduced, the Novus and Masari, the former being a legion or robots created by the latter. Each faction has three "heroes," special units with far greater power and a host of awesome abilities. Success usually involves keeping your hero alive, as well as completing whatever objectives the missions require.

Throughout the course of the game, you'll play as each of the sides, and all of them provide, beyond the obvious switching between good and evil, interesting spins on the story. It's not the most original of concepts, and the pre-rendered cutscenes that develop the story lack polish, but there is no denying the fun in undertaking such an epic battle.

Control is everything in an RTS game, and the system used in the 360 port works admirably, utilizing a quick pull-down map that lets you quickly move between locations, the ability to "paint" a circle around troops to round them up and a fairly intuitive means of creating your buildings and units. As always, it's not as good as a mouse and keyboard, but it certainly suffices once you get a handle on it. The only major complaint is the inability to zoom very far out; your map lets you maneuver, but not being able to get a better bird's eye view can hamper your effectiveness when battles are sprawled across a wider area.

There has been much buzz about the persistent framerate problems in the game, and these are present, especially when the large walkers fill the screen with countless smaller troops bombarding them, particle effects flying everywhere. The slowdown is noticeable and can detract from the immersive nature of the experience, but it doesn't impede gameplay.

Several modes of play help make the experience long lasting. The standard campaign mode is robust, as mentioned before, but the Campaign Scenario mode is where you'll find the replay value. Playing much like a glorified version of RISK, you'll work towards either conquering the globe or liberating it, battling in locations all over the map, which you can choose at your discretion. This mode is amplified by the Conquer the World multiplayer mode, in which you can battle others on Xbox Live in a similar fashion. There are also the Skirmish and Custom Match modes, if you just want to play a quick battle against the artificial intelligence or a friend.

Universe at War is by no stretch a great game, as it doesn't offer much in the way of originality and has enough technical glitches to warrant a solid patch down the line, but for those looking for a sci-fi RTS to add to their 360 libraries, there's plenty of intense action and strategic fun to be had.

Related Links

Universe At War Xbox 360 Game Guide