Product Reviews

Universe at War: Earth Assault could have been one of the all-time great strategy games, with over-the-top alien races warring over a besieged Earth. The concept promised much: cow abductions and giant robots fighting giant tripods. It's a sad surprise to find that this real-time strategy title is plain and all too familiar.

Of the three races, only the cheerful alien invasion movie stereotypes known collectively as the Hierarchy really entertain or innovate. They're based around enormous walkers, which are both the crux of their attack and the source of new units. Rather than building a base, they

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are a collection of mobile war factories, hugely customisable with an array of turrets, upgrades and armour. The walkers are spectacular to behold, so huge and heavily armoured that they take an age to fell. If it were not for them, this game wouldn't deserve its grandiose title.

The other two playable races are more typical but have interesting twists, such as the Novus's ability to teleport about the battlefield. They're fun, but they are not as wild as the Hierarchy, which is disappointing. The same is true of the plot, which takes a very silly idea far too seriously and ends up mired in rote sci-fi nonsense. The rather spartan graphics don't help, either. The game's good-looking on a large scale when the screen's full of explosions and death rays, but close-up investigation of the units show them to be bland and blocky.

Just like Conflict: Denied Ops, Earth Assault is a victim of circumstance. The three races are distinct enough to give the game decent multiplayer legs, but it's not that great for a single player. There are too many incredible real-time strategy games around at the moment, such as Supreme Commander, and games that are merely quite good simply don't cut it.