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Forget the rules...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 8
Date: April 25, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is what you need to do to appreciate this game:

FORGET ALL THE ESTABLISHED RULES OF MAINSTREAM GAMES!!!

Done that? Good.

Now, the most important thing to remember is to read the manual before you begin. That is what it is for. Unlike most (if not all) other games, the manual actually performs a function. Funnily enough, it tells you how to play the game.

Secondly, make sure you have the latest patch (which, contrary to 'a gamer from Portland', you are not required to register to download. I know this because I downloaded it BEFORE I registered). This will fix many of the reported issues, most of which are there due to development time constraints.

Thirdly, do not expect to just jump in this game and start blasting alien scum within ten minutes. If you do, you will hate this game and, unfortunately, have bought the wrong game for your particular tastes. You will need to spend time learning the control system and basically getting the 'feel' of the game.

Once you have done all this, however, you end up with a game that gives you a LOT. Certainly in the Roam mode, you are basically in the middle of an entire virtual universe where you can do just about anything. Whilst you are encouraged towards combat (as the name would suggest), you can just as easily become a peaceful explorer, trader or miner. What is rather unique about this game, and a very good thing, in my opinion, is the complexity. In most spacey type games, there is no real distinction between your ship and you. In this, you actually play a character as opposed to a ship, so, for example, you can send your AE (Alter Ego, your game character) into a shuttle, launch from your battlecruiser and use the shuttle to do some trading whilst you order your battlecruiser to attack an enemy starbase. The most complex I've had it (so far) is, on a planet, having a naval group giving covering artillery fire to a detachment of infantry marines assaulting a planetary base backed up by armoured cavalry whilst, at the same time, in space, having my carrier class ship attacking a starbase with support from two battlecruiser escorts and using its fighter wings as a guard against enemy reinforcements entering the system whilst my AE was using a shuttle to trade to raise some money and having a couple of drones on a planet doing some mining.

There are some negative points. The first is that yes, the graphics do look a LITTLE dated, but unlike most modern games, it is the gameplay that makes this game, not flashy graphics.

Secondly, there are quite a few bugs, but these are being worked out as I type. This is the only thing that makes me say that unless you are quite patient, you maybe shouldn't buy it....yet. On the other hand, if you are not quite patient, you are not going to enjoy this game anyway, as it requires an investment in time and brain-power to get the most of.

In conclusion, I would say this is a game you would either love with a passion, or loathe with a passion. If you like highly in-depth, complex games that give a lot of satisfaction if you give it an investment of time and energy, you are probably going to be the former.

Horrible

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: May 05, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I first heard about this in 2004 and the idea for it sounded incredible and like it would be a lot of fun. When the game actually came out, I was so frustrated with it that I hardly even got the chance to actually play it. The instructions are very confusing and it feels like they have left things out. I had to go to the Internet and read fan sites to figure out how to play the game. The main problem however is with the user interface. It is incredibly poorly designed, and it is difficult to interact with quickly enough to have an enjoyable game.

This game might be fun if they took the story and gave it to another designer, but as it is now it's trash.

A great game, tons of stuff to do.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 13
Date: February 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Well, I picked up UC day of release and after playing it for many hours, I am prepared to write my "official" review on the game. So, here goes:

General/Summary: This game is huge. There is so much to do and so many ways to do it. Even playing for 15+ hours I have not even scratched the surface of all I can do and see. I have played as a Commander on a large Star-Cruiser, a small fighter pilot and a ground force Marine, and I am enjoying all facets. Being able to fight a small armada above a planets surface, then take the fight down to the ground is alot of fun and quite immersive.

Gameplay: As was said there is alot to do, which is great, the downside to this, however, is a very steep learning curve. Be prepared to invest a few hours learning the interface before you feel comfortable engaging multiple targets. Unlike some others, I do not feel the interface is bad, just complex. This doesn't bother me, in fact I view it has a challenge and it actually increases the immersion of the whole experience.

Graphics: The space graphics are great. The ships show plenty of detail and the planets, stars and nebulae are very pretty and well done. The planets, once you enter the atmoshere, are well done from altitude but start to show some problems as you get closer to the ground. At ground level they are pretty good, but not as good as most modern day FPS graphics. I have no problem with this as the size of the game and the amount you can do more than compensate for a lack of detail in visuals at ground level.

Sound: Sound is well-done, although sparse as you might expect from a space sim. The few voices are all well done, as are the sounds of blasters. Nothing to truly complain about, although I think the FP weapons could use a "meatier" sound, but that is just a personal preference. The music is very good and goes along with the feel of the game well.

Bottom Line: A very good game, has an immersion that I have found lacking in X2 and Freelancer. While some of the graphics are not as good as the above titles, and the interface has a high learning curve, the amount to see and do more than makes up for it. I heartily recommend the title for anyone looking for a very good space sim.

A complex blend of simulation, strategy, & imagination

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 15
Date: February 07, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Despite the political problems between the developer and publisher of this title 3000AD has managed to produce a well polished product.

My personal feelings towards this type of title is that it divides the game playing audience into two categories:

1) Those who like flashy graphics and a lot of action and want to sit and be entertained for a couple hours.

2) Those who enjoy a more long term and strategic experience and who want drawn out gameplay.

UC delivers both oddly enough. You can enjoy the instant action scenarios as a marine or fighter pilot and get a quick adrenaline fix. Or if you decide that you want to engage in a larger scale game than you can pursue careers as a ship commander for example. Either way you going to be entertained proportionally to the time you spend playing. To me this is the correct formulae for a successful game.

Graphics and sound in this game are very good and it is refreshing to be able to max out the graphics settings on a new title and still achieve a great framerate. Another nice change is that space feels roomy personally I found X2: The Threat actually gave me a sense of claustrophobia, which is an emotion one should not feel in SPACE.

There is a learning curve associated with this title but there are a few caveats to this. First if you want to play the FPS part the controls are no more difficult than any other FPS. Second, the Battlecruiser part of the game from a perspective of controlling your ship is no more difficult than X2:Threat. The real challenge comes in terms of managing your ship from a tactical and economic standpoint. This is what separates a novice that has played this title for a few hours from an expert that has really spent some time digging into the details.

The manual for this game is actually printed and over 10 pages in length ļ The trend these days has been to save publishing costs by making PDFs of the manual. A practice that drives me insane because I need a manual in front of me while I try playing. I am sick of buying a $50 dollar game and a $40 inkjet cartridge to print the manual. There is plenty of online documentation that details all of the objects that are represented in the game. PC career choices, manual revisions, story, and control details are also included as a set of easily printed hyperlinked webpages.

I have owned this game for 2 days and have played it more than X2 & Freelancer combined. For $20 the value per dollar of this game is very high. From a moral point of view I feel the developer did a better than $20 dollar job.

I will leave it to others to do a more technical review.

In summary this is a niche title and like an independent film you are going to either love or hate this game. One thing I can guarantee you is that as an "indie" game the developer has made design choices that are unorthodox when compared to a mainstream title. Like an "indie" film director these choices reflect a more risky and artistic statement rather something that a marketing firm has deemed safe and appealing.

Looks Very Interesting

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 19
Date: February 01, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The only Battlecruiser game I ever played was Battlecruiser Millenium. Universal Combat is the next game in that series, but the name was changed to kind of reintroduce the concept to the public.

Universal Combat will allow you to do a wide variety of things. You can fly and manage space ships, land on one of the numerous planets, drive around the planet or walk around, and blow up buildings on the planet. Planet surfaces in BCM where very! dull. In UC at least they have added some vegatation and animals to planet surfaces.

The multiplayer could be what makes this game really worth playing though. A multiplayer add on was supposed to be released for BCM but never was. This upset some people, including me. But UC is supposed to have multiplayer right out of the box!

I certainly hope the first person elements in UC are alot stronger then in BCM. Even if it was nothing more then a more fancy version of BCM, he added features, updated graphics, and multiplayer make this game a steal...

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