Don't you just love the holidays? Everyone's in the spirit of giving, and it seems that game companies are no exception. In the spirit of the season, the folks at Petroglyph have given out a gift to the fans of Universe at War: Earth Assault (Xbox 360, PC), and it's the original soundtrack to the game... all three discs of it.

Some kind words from the game's composer, after the jump!

PC gamers will be glad to know that Petroglyph and Sega have announced that Universe at War has gone gold and is ready for manufacture. Get ready to fight aliens in a future Earth invaded and stripped of its natural resources with clever battle tactics in a sci-fi war of epic proportions.

New trailers for Universe at War: Earth Assault show how three alien factions duke it out. The battles are set in three separate locations on Earth and show how aliens have utter disregard for human civilization. They could have at least put down newspapers.

The first battle is set in none other than Washington DC where the alien factions have decided to tear each other apart just in view of the White House. The second battle is fought on the site of one of our history's oldest civilizations: Egypt, right at the base of the pyramids. The third is set in the suburbs of the Pacific North West.

Check out all three videos in the full article.

PC gamers will not have an upperhand over the Xbox 360 lot after all: the PC version of Petroglyph's Universe at War: Earth Assault's release date has been pushed back to January 2008. It's now a bit closer to the Xbox 360 version release date, which is also set for early next year. The game was slated to be released on November 2 later this year.

However, Sega has decided to look at the setback with a more positive outlook. Said a Sega representative:

The new release date means that both the PC version and Xbox 360 version will launch closer together, allowing gamers to enjoy the full experience of this fantastic RTS from acclaimed developer, Petroglyph.

The first ever third-party game to support cross-platform gaming between the PC and Xbox 360, Universe at War: Earth Assault will feature at least two more chapters to be plowed through in the game. Gamers will find themselves fighting against an invading alien horde, who are threatening to wipe out the Earth's resources.

Most of you out there have probably heard of Petroglyph and Sega's upcoming project Universe At War: Earth Assault, which is a 3D RTS set for release on the Microsoft Xbox 360 and the PC later this year. It tells the tale of Earth's desperate plight to resist an alien invasion that's poised to strip-mine the planet of its natural resources.

This video has the devs talking about what the three factions in the game have to offer. All of them are said to play differently, making for some serious time before you master their tactics.

Also revealed in the clip is the fact that Universe At War: Earth Assault draws some inspiration from the immortal Starcraft by Blizzard. Petroglyph hopes to blend some of its elements with their original work to create a hybrid that will offer the RTS crowd new nooks and crannies to explore. A public beta is set to commence in October, so be sure to sign up for that.

For the past few weeks, most of us RTS fans have been preoccupied with hunting for info and speculating about Starcraft 2. That biggie should take quite a while to land, but it looks like it'll have some strong competition coming in. One of those is Sega and Petroglyph's upcoming Universe At War series. The first member of the franchise is Universe at War: Earth Assault and we've got some gameplay footage right here:

Universe At War: Earth Assault tells the story of our planet in the not-so-distant future. Scientists discover an alien threat looming for an invasion and we must come together as a race to combat it. Sadly, the human nations failed to resolve their differences and we are beaten and reeling. The aliens who call themselves the Hierarchy begin strip-mining our world for resources and are hunting down remaining pockets of resistance.

As you would expect, units will be both fictional and futuristic in this RTS. Heroes have already been revealed for each faction with special skills which can tip a battle's balance. Much is still under wraps, but we'll update you as soon as fresh details come in.

You can now sign up for Sega and Petroglyph's Universe at War: Earth Assault Beta on their official website. If you're selected as one of the Beta testers for this RTS, then you'll be one of the first gamers to play the game, not to mention help the designers in balancing the game's combat mechanics.

The game is set in the year 2012, when an alien race known as the Hierarchy lands on planet Earth to strip-mine it. However, observatories and scientists on Earth were able to find out about their arrival beforehand, thus giving the human race a chance to organize a unified military front against the alien forces.

A benevolent race known as the Novus comes to our planet to help us, even though they were expecting us to be completely wiped out by the time they arrived. However, the Hierarchy commander intentionally slowed down their assault (they could have wiped us out much earlier in their campaign) - the Hierarchy wre actually trying to lure the Novus into a trap.

If the storyline catches your interest, and would like to play the game, feel free to click on our read link which will send you to the game's official site. You have to submit your information before August 15 though if you want a chance to get your hands on the game.

Finally, something to stare at! Here's the latest batch of screens fresh off the Petroglyph workshop. Universe at War: Earth Assault is the first third-party game to support the Windows Live framework so you get to beat up your friends on the Xbox 360 and the PC at the same time! This new real-time strategy game is set in the year 2012 when a group of aliens called the Hierarchy have come to Earth to stripmine it.

Humankind failed to properly form a defense, but they are still holding out (barely) when another bunch of aliens has come in to battle against the Hierarchy. These aliens, called the Novus, and another alien race, the Masari, will be forming the classic ménage à trois that we enjoyed in Starcraft. Humans though, will ultimately be the minor race.

The Novus are robotic beings at war with the Hierarchy for killing off their creators. The Masari are high-tech druids who fled to the Earth before to escape the Hierarchy. They are intertwined within Earth's history, particularly with civilizations in Europe, North Africa, and South America.

Universe at War will be released later this year for the PC and early next year for the Xbox 360. In the meanwhile, enjoy the screenshots. They feature ground units and structures for all three races, and two lonely humans:

  

More screens behind the Full Article link!

Finally, Petroglyph thought of giving screens to Universe at War: Earth Assault. Besides six screens to look at, however, they also include more details we haven't covered the last time we heard of this new RTS, not to mention identifying which publisher picked them up: Sega.

Now we've already covered a hint of the customizable dynamics of Universe at War, dubbed "Tactical Dynamics". The game will also feature deformable terrain. Persistent deformable terrain. If the PR is to be believed, the crap you blew up a few days ago will still be blown-up crap when you revisit the battlefield.

It's not just the terrain that's persistent, though. Taking its cue from MMOs (or maybe Chromehounds?) Universe at War will also feature a persistent online campaign mode where the people you blow up... will probably have a very good reason to kick the crap out of you on your return visit. Well, Patton wasn't exactly popular among some of his fellow-ranked general commanders, either. Sega and Petroglyph have scheduled Universe at War to kick the crap out of stuff - and keep the crap kicked - Autumn 2007.

CVG reports on a PZ Zone mag exclusive scoop on Petroglyph's latest RTS, Universe at War: Earth Assault (okay, just to get this nagging thought out of the way, Star Wars: Empire at War. Universe at War: Earth Assault. Okay, it's out of my system). It reveals how the veterans of RTS - we are talking about the people behind Dune II and the early Command & Conquers, remember - aim to show off that gaming heritage they possess.

Speaking of heritage, this writer would hate to mention it, but some stuff they go on actually sound familiar.

The plot for Universe at War plunges Earth into the dark maw of an alien force that came to harvest our blue planet of its resources. The game begins on the eve of the last day of the human resistance. Cool plot point. Elements of that worked for Prey and the movie ID4 (Independence Day), if I recall.

One of the unique aspects of Universe at War according to PC Zone is that it aims to be "the most customizable (game) we've ever seen in the genre. Crikey." Mech-based units and vehicles will have hard points to which various enhancements can be attached. Hmm. MechCommander, BattleMechs, customizable weaponry. We don't know if Universe at War will go that far - gotta wait for another preview to confirm that. But even the factories will be customizable, as well as the tech tree.

Events in Universe at War kick off in Washington DC, which Adam Isgreen says gets "hit HARD" by the aliens. "Almost every continent is going to get devastated", he adds, apparently smiling.

Yes. And on July 4, Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum plant a computer virus in the Mothership, and an F-18 sends itself up the tailpipe of a flying saucer. Sorry! Couldn't resist the temptation!