Not what I expected it to be.
I'm happy to say that Universe at War wasn't at all the boring, limited game I expected it to be. The three sides are very unique. It makes for some intresting gameplay, to say the least.
Novus favors a fast, slightly swarming kind of tactic, and if you have a good flow network set up, you can be all over your opponent. The flow conduits can even double as a camera of sorts, letting you see if any enemy units go near your conduits. They are also best at dealing with Heirachy walkers, because of their amplifiers. Patches are also a very good way of changing your tactics on the ball.
The Heirachy are the typical big bad overlords of the universe. They invade Earth, wanna blow it up, use the people for resources. Sound familiar ? Probably. Their walkers are without a doubt the most powerful units in the game. They crush most stuff in their way. I say most, because a lot of times my Novus and Massari units could just hang around under its legs. The walkers can be configured to be gay weapons of destruction, but they're also your factories. So its really a choice of being powerful, or being a factory.
Finally are the Massari. They're some sort of human looking alien race who've been guiding us all along. They can switch between Light and Dark modes, pretty nifty, with Dark modes giving something called DMA, which is a glorious name for shield, over time. Light mode makes your weapons burn, and let your air units fly. The two modes also affect your superweapon, with a different one in a different mode. The weapon recharges when you switch mode, which can be irritating. As it stands, I spent most of my time in Dark Mode, because one research allows your structures to get DMA too.
Audio is pretty well done. There's some rock music that plays when you enter battle. The different teams' voices fit the general scheme of their respective sides, though the Massari put me in mind of the Necrons for some weird reason. Dialogue between missions is also intresting and draws you into the game. You don't want to skip the briefings, but want to stay and listen. The cutscenes are good too, pushing the story along without really being obvious about it. Lastly. The Novus amplifier at full charge has a very piercing sound. Its really realistic. While its not bad, it tends to hurt my ears.
The bad points. Firstly, and most obviously, the camera. You can't scroll out. You can scroll in, but can't scroll out of the standard view. Which is fustrating because a walker pretty much takes up the screen. The control scheme is pretty clumsy too. Creating control groups is a bit irritating. After pressing ctrl+1, you have to hold it there till you see the number appear under their hp bars, or it won't stick. Finally, there seems to be problems with the AI pathfinding. My units kept getting stuck on corners. They were also way too battle hungry. And for some reason, when ordered to attack walkers, units tend to charge forward, instead of staying back and hammering from afar.
Overall, the game is pretty nifty. Good concept, nice story overall. Especially the Massari campaign. I didn't expect it to turn into the strategic warfare. If you're looking for a RTS to tide you over until something else more intresting comes along, this will do nicely.