Recently, and probably influenced by the Nintendo Wii’s new control system, we’ve seen genres, such as the point-and-click adventure game, come back to the home console with renewed verve and implementation. Universe at War: Earth Assault for the Xbox 360 comes at a time when gamers are open to fresh ideas about the types of games they can play. And it asks the question: ‘Can the RTS work on a console?’
We already reviewed Universe at War: Earth Assault for PC earlier this year, and the result was surprisingly good. Essentially, we thought that the game was very accomplished, but let down by assorted issues, most notably Games for Windows Live multiplayer problems. Therefore, in this review we won’t dwell too much on the basic plot or gameplay, as they remain essentially unchanged from the PC version. A basic rundown, though: what we have in Universe at War: Earth Assault is an (intentional, we hope) amalgamation of every science fiction cliché ever created. Nasty walker-beasties from War of the Worlds have invaded earth, destroyed most of the country (we say country because the United States is seemingly the only nation on earth in the game) and attacked the White House, ala Independence Day. It’s up to a small band of surviving muscle-men soldiers to save the day, but when things get tough another alien race appears, all anime- and mecha-like to fight off the evil-doers. Somewhere along the way, a third alien race appears, claiming to have helped father humanity (L. Ron Hubbard, anyone?), adding another element to the plot. It’s basically a somewhat convoluted way of introducing numerous factions in the game to play, and each have well calculated strengths and weaknesses. It’s a well balanced and considered RTS which will please fans of the genre.
Big units like these make for epic battles.
However, the most important question for this review is how well the game has transitioned to the home console. The answer, like our initial impressions of the game for Windows, is neither wholly good nor bad, but the game does come out more favourably than not.
Most importantly - are the controls any good? Most RTS’ are designed to be played in front of a computer screen rather than sitting on your couch, but Universe at War does, for the most part, the best that it can. The controls for the game are an optimisation of RTS controls for a home console rather than perfection. By that, we mean that yes, the game is very playable with the 360 controller, but if you’ve got a PC capable of running the game - or indeed any decent RTS - don’t go out of your way to get the game expecting a revolution in control.
The design for the control is simple. Developers Petroglyph Games have taken what definitely works on consoles - namely, the first-person shooter - and transposed the idea to their strategy game. Essentially, this means that what the player is doing is aiming the viewpoint at units to select them, rather than moving a reticle like a mouse pointer. It works well in practice, and the ability to change perspective makes good, logical use of the controller’s dual analogue sticks. Unfortunately, the control system still falls prey to one of the biggest RTS-console issues: it’s too complex.
"As long as we stay in the circle of truth, we'll be safe from the evil-doers ouside..."
Traditional console controllers have received stedfast criticism from certain quarters recently as being too intimidating to newcomers, of being too complex, and of having too many buttons. Former President of Sony Computer Entertainment, Phil Harrison recently said that, “You hand somebody a game controller and it's like you've handed them a live gun or a hand grenade with the pin taken out.” While we would probably use less melodramatic terms, this is a problem with Universe at War. Though there is a detailed (and some would say laborious) tutorial mode, the concepts required to play the game at advanced levels can be difficult to remember in tense situations. We found ourselves pausing the game to look at the manual on several occasions in later levels. Universe at War does a good job of teaching its game design concepts in a layered fashion - introducing, reinforcing, and reminding players of each concept several times over in early levels - but the problem is that the console controller was not designed to implement complex commands. As a result, the player is often forced to hold buttons down while selecting commands rather than the simple point-and-click mechanics of a PC mouse.
Another issue with this system is that the moment you release the button required to bring up a menu, said menu disappears - along with all its real-time information. In these types of fast-paced strategy games, knowledge is often the difference between winning and losing. Important information, such as the number of units on the battlefield, or the progress of construction on buildings will be lost the moment you let go of particular buttons. The idea, we believe, was to streamline and de-clutter the user interface for console play. As admirable this sentiment is, it was a mistake to do this at the expensive of giving the player instant information. While this never actually created a game breaking situation, it does often feel like the player is wrestling with the game to simply find out about what they are actually doing.
Radial menus like these are great for 360 control, but it also means that the information disappears when you release the button.
Questions of control and interface aside, the game has made a reasonably smooth transition to the 360. The multiplayer is much more stable than the PC counterpart, (although funnily enough, you’ll supposedly be able to play cross-platform games at a later date) and it’s a lot of fun - assuming you can find someone to play an entire match against. As is the curse of RTS, almost all opponents mysteriously left the game when we started to win, though we were valiant enough to stick around for several beatings at the hands of others.
Otherwise, the game’s sound is identical to the PC version, and the graphics seem very similar. Unfortunately, that means problems for the 360, as run-of-the-mill RTS graphics don’t look particularly good on any decent HD TV. This is emphasised as the game seemingly uses the same graphics engine for cutscenes (except for the amazing introduction sequence), which means the heroes, viewed close-up, look like something from the Nintendo 64 days, and in need of some serious panel-beating. The game also has its fair share of iffy performance issues. The frame-rate often throws a hissy fit if there are too many units on screen, and the game even did the unthinkable and froze dead on us on more than one occasion. These are issues that really can’t be excused, though they are relatively infrequent.
Universe at War: Earth Assault is a good game. It’s a good game hidden underneath a series of problems: some hangovers from the PC version, and some entirely new creations of its console life. If you are a lover of the RTS but the PC you own will only run Windows 3.1, you’ll get a lot of enjoyment out of the game. Otherwise, console owners will feel, more often than not, that they’re wrestling with their 360 to get enjoyment out of the game. There’s fun to be had here, but you’ll have to be willing to be a very forgiving player.
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