Bad news first: This is a "Windows LIVE" game. That means they expect you to register and pay a subscription fee to Windows for basically the same services that Steam, Xfire, Battlenet etc have always provided for free. If you already have an Xbox Live account, you can use that though.
Fortunately, the rest is good news. Firstly, along side the 360 release and PC DVD release, it will be on Steam.
The dev studio:
Universe at War: Earth Assault is Petroglyph Games' first original title. Petroglyph Games was formed by ex-Westwood Studios designers and programmers unhappy with the EA buy-out. Among them is Frank Klepacki, the music composer of the C&C series.
Previous work from Petroglyph Games:
The game:
The basic premise of the game is the age old Sci-Fi garbage; three races are having a shit-fight over Earth. This time though, modern day man is only present for the tutorial, having been rapidly crushed by the "bad" aliens.
The three races are the Hierarchy, the Novus and the Masari.
The Hierarchy, is an alien faction with a history of invading other planets in the universe, and has landed on Earth with the intent to strip-mine the entire planet of valuable resources. The Hierarchy does not consider resources to be only minerals but also organic life, including human life. By employing highly customizable walkers which are dropped onto any location of the planets surface from space, the Hierarchy has a huge technological advantage over the human race.
Tactical dynamics: customizable hardpoints on giant walkers. Hardpoints can be upgrade to increase unit production, increase attack power, etc. The Hierarchy fight head-on and strike hard, shrugging the ideas of stealth, they use big and strong units. They collect any matter as a resource.
Kamal Re'x the Abductor - leader of Hierarchy invasion on Earth and ruthless in his pursuit of personal advancement. Kamal Re'x is a powerful psychic, capable of blasting ground units and sending infantry flying, shoving aerial attackers out of combat range, and projecting psychic walls that block movement and attacks. He is the Hierarchy Quantum hero.
Orlok the Eternal - A veteran Hierarchy commander. After being mortally wounded in a particularly tough Hierarchy conquest, Hierarchy Overseers burned Orlok's consciousness into an armored attack platform that can call down extra armor or weaponry at will. Orlok can also gather resources on the fly, using them as ammunition for long-range siege guns. Orlok is the Hierarchy Assault hero.
Nufai the Skinwalker - Faced with Hierarchy conquest, Nufai betrayed his race to save his own skin. Nufai possesses disruptive combat abilities: he is able to cut through almost anything with his phase claws, sow paranoia among enemy troops (causing them to fight one another), and force enemy air units out of the sky for a short period of time. Nufai is the Hierarchy Mutagen hero.
These are my pick of the bunch. Frigging awesome. No bases, massive mechs and monsters etc. All offense, brute force.
Novus
Novus are a race of sentient machines existing only to destroy the Hierarchy. Their creators were wiped out by the mighty machines of war that their nemesis possessed and the only thing left of them were a few machines scattered across the galaxy.
"Novus", in Novus's native language translates to “the children of”. The Founder, upon his return from a deep space scouting mission, found his home destroyed and the species that once inhabited the place wiped out. His rage and agony produced what is now know as Novus, a race bent on revenge.
Tactical dynamics: "Patching" system up to 12 patches (you get 2 when you start the game and the other 10 can be researched through tech trees), 2 used at a time to improve units performances. For example, Overclocking patch allows greater firepower but weaker defense. This race focuses on micro-management, they have the 'flow' ability travel quickly around a map via energy networks. Novus relies on small and nimble units, and specialize in hit-and-run attacks. They have a very similar economy to the Hierarchy, but Novus collect inorganic materials, while Hierarchy collect organic & inorganic.
The Founder - leader of Novus, his mission is to avenge the deaths of his creators and other races the Hierarchy destroyed. In battle, the Founder can enter either Performance or Prowess mode. Performance mode allows him to move and attack quickly; while stationary, he can become a node for the Flow Network. In Prowess mode, he is slower, but he takes less damage and hits harder. Furthermore, at some cost to his own health, he can animate any Novus remains around him. The Founder is the Novus Flow hero.
Mirabel/Viktor - Mirabel is a clone of the last surviving member of the race that created the Novus. In order to permit Mirabel to assist the Founder in his crusade against the Hierarchy, the Novus constructed Viktor, a powerful semi-sentient suit of powered armor, to aid Mirabel in battle. In battle, Mirabel and Viktor wield a pulse rifle and shoulder-mounted missile pods. Though relatively weak in its standard mode, the pulse rifle fires very quickly and can be charged up to engage heavily armored targets at long range. When assigned a move order over long distances, Viktor's jetpack activates, allowing the unit to hover. Mirabel/Viktor is the Novus' Nanotech hero.
Vertigo - originally designed for scouting and communication, Vertigo is installed in the chassis of a high-performance aircraft with twin railguns and a cloaking device. He can convert multiple Novus units to data and store them for transport, and he has the ability to take complete control of any enemy units infected by the Novus computer virus. Vertigo is the Novus Computing hero.
Masari
The Masari are a race that have technology far beyond that of the Novus or Hierarchy. Their buildings resemble ancient Aztec, Egyptian, and Sumerian buildings, and those of many other similar cultures. Some time in the past, the Hierarchy were almost destroyed, but were saved by the Masari. Once given the technology to survive, the Hierarchy betrayed the Masari, forcing them to go into hiding under Earth's surface. Now that the Hierarchy are on Earth, the Masari want revenge. Many ancient human civilizations were based off of them. Their units resemble various mythological creatures such as angels.
Tactical dynamics: All of their units and buildings can be switched between "Light" and "Dark" modes, the effects of which depend on the unit and the map. One example given was that in Light (offensive) mode, all units gain greater attack and some units are able to fly, while in Dark(defensive) mode, all units and buildings gain an energy shield. The Masari have a different economy when compared to the other factions, they generate infinite resources through specific buildings.
Lord Charos - Lord Charos lives to serve Queen Altea and the Masari race as commander of the Masari ground forces. When in Light Mode, he can use Blaze of Glory to damage surrounding enemies; in Dark Mode, he can use Dark Vortex to damage all nearby air and ground units. He can use Frenzy in both modes, which temporarily increases his damage, attack speed, and defense. Lord Charos is the Masari Light hero.
Queen Altea - Though she has no standard attack, Queen Altea is incredibly powerful: her magic, powered by the Masari ship Atlatea, can bend reality, reverse time to unmake surrounding units (incidentally refunding the enemy for their cost), disable enemy weapons systems, heal allied troops, protect them from status effects, and her most powerful ability is to stop enemy super weapons(eg: Novus Blackhole, Hierarchy Mass Drop). She is the Masari Dark hero.
Prince Zessus - due to his affinity for both Light and Dark, Prince Zessus is a versatile hero: he can blind enemy units, increase Masari regeneration rates, and cause explosive effects that damage all surrounding units, create map wide darkness. Zessus can also tap into the master engines of the Atlatea to teleport himself, friendly troops, and any superweapons at will. Zessus is the Masari Balance hero.
- All race info stolen from wikipedia. All three seem interesting enough.
CGI trailer presented at E3.
Game play of one of the three races, the Hierarchy. Included to show the graphics.
Another vid of the Hierarchy stomping things. Again, it's here to show the graphics.
On the subject of graphics, while they aren't anything as jaw-droppingly insane as Crysis, they wont make you dig your eyes out with a plastic spork and the game should run on most low-mid range PCs.
System specs for the beta are below. All I could find quickly.
Minimum Spec: Recommended Spec:
P4 2.0 GHZ P4 2.8 GHZ
512 MB system RAM 1 GB system RAM
128 MB video RAM, DX9 compliant card 256 MB video RAM, DX9 compliant card (ATI 9500 or NVIDIA 6200) (ATI X1800 or NVIDIA 7600)
DX9 compliant sound card DX9 compliant sound card
3.0 GB disk space 3.0 GB disk space
Multiplayer is your generic RTS fair of the old raping and pillaging your enemy in a variety of ways. Has persistent ranking system, which seems to have become a standard since BF2. Also included though, are various features which remind me of unlocks. Bonuses to the way your units function and such for accomplishing things during ranked multiplayer games. Not sure how balanced this will be and certain to cause a bit of whining.
The demo is doing the rounds on various mirrors, it's 1.1GB and has been available for about three weeks.
This is one of the few games which will be able to compete with StarCraft 2 for market share in my opinion. Will update in a few days with opinions on the demo.
Fortunately, the rest is good news. Firstly, along side the 360 release and PC DVD release, it will be on Steam.
The dev studio:
Universe at War: Earth Assault is Petroglyph Games' first original title. Petroglyph Games was formed by ex-Westwood Studios designers and programmers unhappy with the EA buy-out. Among them is Frank Klepacki, the music composer of the C&C series.
Previous work from Petroglyph Games:
- The Command and Conquer series until Westwood Studios was bought out by EA.
- The Dune RTS games of Westwood Studios.
- Star Wars: Empire at War and its expansion.
The game:
The basic premise of the game is the age old Sci-Fi garbage; three races are having a shit-fight over Earth. This time though, modern day man is only present for the tutorial, having been rapidly crushed by the "bad" aliens.
The three races are the Hierarchy, the Novus and the Masari.
The Hierarchy, is an alien faction with a history of invading other planets in the universe, and has landed on Earth with the intent to strip-mine the entire planet of valuable resources. The Hierarchy does not consider resources to be only minerals but also organic life, including human life. By employing highly customizable walkers which are dropped onto any location of the planets surface from space, the Hierarchy has a huge technological advantage over the human race.
Tactical dynamics: customizable hardpoints on giant walkers. Hardpoints can be upgrade to increase unit production, increase attack power, etc. The Hierarchy fight head-on and strike hard, shrugging the ideas of stealth, they use big and strong units. They collect any matter as a resource.
Kamal Re'x the Abductor - leader of Hierarchy invasion on Earth and ruthless in his pursuit of personal advancement. Kamal Re'x is a powerful psychic, capable of blasting ground units and sending infantry flying, shoving aerial attackers out of combat range, and projecting psychic walls that block movement and attacks. He is the Hierarchy Quantum hero.
Orlok the Eternal - A veteran Hierarchy commander. After being mortally wounded in a particularly tough Hierarchy conquest, Hierarchy Overseers burned Orlok's consciousness into an armored attack platform that can call down extra armor or weaponry at will. Orlok can also gather resources on the fly, using them as ammunition for long-range siege guns. Orlok is the Hierarchy Assault hero.
Nufai the Skinwalker - Faced with Hierarchy conquest, Nufai betrayed his race to save his own skin. Nufai possesses disruptive combat abilities: he is able to cut through almost anything with his phase claws, sow paranoia among enemy troops (causing them to fight one another), and force enemy air units out of the sky for a short period of time. Nufai is the Hierarchy Mutagen hero.
These are my pick of the bunch. Frigging awesome. No bases, massive mechs and monsters etc. All offense, brute force.
Novus
Novus are a race of sentient machines existing only to destroy the Hierarchy. Their creators were wiped out by the mighty machines of war that their nemesis possessed and the only thing left of them were a few machines scattered across the galaxy.
"Novus", in Novus's native language translates to “the children of”. The Founder, upon his return from a deep space scouting mission, found his home destroyed and the species that once inhabited the place wiped out. His rage and agony produced what is now know as Novus, a race bent on revenge.
Tactical dynamics: "Patching" system up to 12 patches (you get 2 when you start the game and the other 10 can be researched through tech trees), 2 used at a time to improve units performances. For example, Overclocking patch allows greater firepower but weaker defense. This race focuses on micro-management, they have the 'flow' ability travel quickly around a map via energy networks. Novus relies on small and nimble units, and specialize in hit-and-run attacks. They have a very similar economy to the Hierarchy, but Novus collect inorganic materials, while Hierarchy collect organic & inorganic.
The Founder - leader of Novus, his mission is to avenge the deaths of his creators and other races the Hierarchy destroyed. In battle, the Founder can enter either Performance or Prowess mode. Performance mode allows him to move and attack quickly; while stationary, he can become a node for the Flow Network. In Prowess mode, he is slower, but he takes less damage and hits harder. Furthermore, at some cost to his own health, he can animate any Novus remains around him. The Founder is the Novus Flow hero.
Mirabel/Viktor - Mirabel is a clone of the last surviving member of the race that created the Novus. In order to permit Mirabel to assist the Founder in his crusade against the Hierarchy, the Novus constructed Viktor, a powerful semi-sentient suit of powered armor, to aid Mirabel in battle. In battle, Mirabel and Viktor wield a pulse rifle and shoulder-mounted missile pods. Though relatively weak in its standard mode, the pulse rifle fires very quickly and can be charged up to engage heavily armored targets at long range. When assigned a move order over long distances, Viktor's jetpack activates, allowing the unit to hover. Mirabel/Viktor is the Novus' Nanotech hero.
Vertigo - originally designed for scouting and communication, Vertigo is installed in the chassis of a high-performance aircraft with twin railguns and a cloaking device. He can convert multiple Novus units to data and store them for transport, and he has the ability to take complete control of any enemy units infected by the Novus computer virus. Vertigo is the Novus Computing hero.
Masari
The Masari are a race that have technology far beyond that of the Novus or Hierarchy. Their buildings resemble ancient Aztec, Egyptian, and Sumerian buildings, and those of many other similar cultures. Some time in the past, the Hierarchy were almost destroyed, but were saved by the Masari. Once given the technology to survive, the Hierarchy betrayed the Masari, forcing them to go into hiding under Earth's surface. Now that the Hierarchy are on Earth, the Masari want revenge. Many ancient human civilizations were based off of them. Their units resemble various mythological creatures such as angels.
Tactical dynamics: All of their units and buildings can be switched between "Light" and "Dark" modes, the effects of which depend on the unit and the map. One example given was that in Light (offensive) mode, all units gain greater attack and some units are able to fly, while in Dark(defensive) mode, all units and buildings gain an energy shield. The Masari have a different economy when compared to the other factions, they generate infinite resources through specific buildings.
Lord Charos - Lord Charos lives to serve Queen Altea and the Masari race as commander of the Masari ground forces. When in Light Mode, he can use Blaze of Glory to damage surrounding enemies; in Dark Mode, he can use Dark Vortex to damage all nearby air and ground units. He can use Frenzy in both modes, which temporarily increases his damage, attack speed, and defense. Lord Charos is the Masari Light hero.
Queen Altea - Though she has no standard attack, Queen Altea is incredibly powerful: her magic, powered by the Masari ship Atlatea, can bend reality, reverse time to unmake surrounding units (incidentally refunding the enemy for their cost), disable enemy weapons systems, heal allied troops, protect them from status effects, and her most powerful ability is to stop enemy super weapons(eg: Novus Blackhole, Hierarchy Mass Drop). She is the Masari Dark hero.
Prince Zessus - due to his affinity for both Light and Dark, Prince Zessus is a versatile hero: he can blind enemy units, increase Masari regeneration rates, and cause explosive effects that damage all surrounding units, create map wide darkness. Zessus can also tap into the master engines of the Atlatea to teleport himself, friendly troops, and any superweapons at will. Zessus is the Masari Balance hero.
- All race info stolen from wikipedia. All three seem interesting enough.
CGI trailer presented at E3.
Game play of one of the three races, the Hierarchy. Included to show the graphics.
Another vid of the Hierarchy stomping things. Again, it's here to show the graphics.
On the subject of graphics, while they aren't anything as jaw-droppingly insane as Crysis, they wont make you dig your eyes out with a plastic spork and the game should run on most low-mid range PCs.
System specs for the beta are below. All I could find quickly.
Minimum Spec: Recommended Spec:
P4 2.0 GHZ P4 2.8 GHZ
512 MB system RAM 1 GB system RAM
128 MB video RAM, DX9 compliant card 256 MB video RAM, DX9 compliant card (ATI 9500 or NVIDIA 6200) (ATI X1800 or NVIDIA 7600)
DX9 compliant sound card DX9 compliant sound card
3.0 GB disk space 3.0 GB disk space
Multiplayer is your generic RTS fair of the old raping and pillaging your enemy in a variety of ways. Has persistent ranking system, which seems to have become a standard since BF2. Also included though, are various features which remind me of unlocks. Bonuses to the way your units function and such for accomplishing things during ranked multiplayer games. Not sure how balanced this will be and certain to cause a bit of whining.
The demo is doing the rounds on various mirrors, it's 1.1GB and has been available for about three weeks.
This is one of the few games which will be able to compete with StarCraft 2 for market share in my opinion. Will update in a few days with opinions on the demo.
Last edited by Flecco (2007-12-09 21:01:11)
Whoa... Can't believe these forums are still kicking.