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Finally an RTS game where all three factions have different play styles, functionality, and personality. Who would have thought this possible after generic games like C&C 3 and SupCom. UAW is a fine fine game worth checking, simply for the fact that all three factions are truly unique and a blast to play online.

Gameplay is utterly amazing. Best RTS game in a LONG LONG time. Singleplayer is fairly standard. Interesting story, a bit campy. Multiplayer interface is aweful. Windows Live is basically featureless, and you have to pay for the necessary stuff like quickmatch system and ladder. Overall, it's a FANTASTIC game hampered by Microsoft. Go figure.

While Universe at War could have been a glorious game, comparable to Starcraft in how different the factions are, there are some issues that make it considerably less than it could have been. First of all the most glaring example, units are too strong. Every fight lasts minutes because units have so much health and so little damage. Superweapons are a mere support power, in fact the only super weapon that is powerful is the Novus Gravity Bomb, a black-hole type power that sucks all units into it. Oh, and it deals more damage than almost anything else. Another issue is the fact that two of the three factions are considerably more useful than the third. The 1st faction, Hierarchy, who is based around steamrolling, yet have the best scout (Monolith) and the have the ability to see the entire map at once. They are also the only faction to have an artillery unit, who is also debatable the most powerful Hero unit in the game. They also have structures who double as what is essentially an Epic/Super unit. The 2nd faction, Novus, is a swarming faction who also has the only notable Air units. The Dervish is a fast fighter that also has the ability to shoot lightning in every direction and kill just about anything. They are also supported by Vertigo, the only Air Hero. Vertigo is stealthed, fast, and has a deadly Railgun. The Novus also have Mirabel, who has more offensive capability than any other Novus unit. She has a powerful burst-fire Railgun, shoulder launched anti-ground missiles, and the ability to snipe a target from long distances. This Sniper ability is the only weapon that can instant kill another unit besides Superpowers. The final faction, the Masari, are supposedly Gods, yet are horribly outmatched. They supposedly are the turtling faction, yet the Novus have the only turret that can hit air and ground. The Novus turret also redirects enemy fire and increases in damage as more of them are made. The Hierarchy has an anti-ground turret that can mutate infantry into zombies and hold most vehicles at bay. The Hierarchy Anti-air turret can pull air units to the ground while it kills them when upgraded. The Air units cannot escape. Even Vertigo is not immune. The Hierarchy also has a stealth hero who can pull air units down, and then turn invincible as he drains their health. He can also drain vehicles health while invincible. His claws deal with infantry easily. Generally, this makes him a deadly force against all units. His one weakness: He has pathetic range. The game does have many more differences in the factions than games like Supreme Commander 2, but it is nowhere close to the differences between Starcraft's factions, and the differences are not exploited as much as in games like Command and Conquer 3.

I loved Petroglyph's efforts with Empire at War and its expansion. I really wanted to like this game. I installed it. After 2 minutes, a crash to desktop. I've troubleshooted it to death. Silly me, I thought a game that's been out for going on a year would be stable. May I propose a new name: Universe at War: Crash to Desktop Stay far, far away from this game. You've been warned.