The Good: Cool graphics; three races have VERY unique units; funny, campy storyline
The Bad: Short, poorly designed single player campaign; camera is way to close to the battlefield; inflexible enemy AI
The Ugly: $50/year for multiplayer
"If it had free no-holds-barred multiplayer, Universe at War would be a very good game. They fix the camera issue and balance it out a little, it maybe moves up to 90%+ realm: a great game, but not as it is now. People at Microsoft Live will probably say that the $50/year buys you access to a whole host of multiplayer games. Maybe so, but so far all (the games that require Windows Live membership) I've personally run across -- and I play a LOT of games -- is Gears of War, which I don't like, and Universe at War, so at least at this time they're asking for $50/year for one game that I actually want to play; and I've already paid (well, I'm reviewing it, so I haven't paid for my copy) $39.99 or whatever to buy it. Maybe if Microsoft Live did $50 for a lifetime membership, or maybe $50 for say 100 hours of play without an expiration period, I might be able to go with that, but they want $50/year, $4.17 every month whether I play the game or not? As a friend of mine often says, 'Good luck with that.' If you want me, I'll be playing World In Conflict."
By: Phil Soletsky