Universe

mailman 2020-01-02
(7/10)
Universe has amazing graphics and atmosphere. The ingame story is written like a sci-fi book with a lot of description, full of vibrant details that set you directly in the role of Boris and the world he was accidentally placed in. Music is a great addition and genuinely completes this interstellar quest. Unfortunatelly, apart from that, the game can be a struggle. The puzzles may not be tough but the game's handling and operating make them a real torment. User's interface is way too complicated. There are too many commands that you can use that make you troubled when you are trying to choose the correct one. And believe me - it is not easy when there is only one and this is not the obvious one. Sometimes the very same door can be opened in two ways: PUSH from one side, and USE from the other side. OPEN does not work... It's a torture when you know what to do but you have no idea which command you should use. Movement of the character also begs for improvement but you can live with it...

Overall, Universe is a good game. It might be very good for those who would manage to cope with the interface. For those who like playing adventure games without a walkthrough or any hints, this one may be one of the longest you played. But it is very rewarding. Each progress makes you really happy and proud of yourself.
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scorp18 2012-04-09
(10/10)
When I first saw the game back in '95-'96 I was blown away by the graphics and then got totally stuck with it (also because of the great atmosphere/soundtrack). I had finished it once then but it was the first adventure game I re-finished with Amiga Forever.
And still in 2012 the impression I have for the game remains the same. Interesting story, great atmosphere, awesome graphics, awesome sounds, good playability (some minor bugs when you move the player but nothing you won't overcome after a couple of seconds), normal difficulty level for my taste (you'll only need a walkthrough for a few specific points if you're bored of searching for something).
Absolutely a Masterpiece!
Great memories to relive
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mr.America 2012-01-23
Finally i have completed this outstanding game. It took just about 18 years. Is it not a reason to pick this one and go for it? The music from the first asteroid area was stucked in my mind, so i always wanted to feel this experience again. Its really pretty hard to have this game completed without any solution but still possible. Music and sfx are above expectations. Gpx is good enough for it age. Game concept and whole idea is more than great. Gameplay is a bit irritative that's why sometimes it is easier and rather to go for solution than boil your brains and temper. Not just worth playing. Must be played!!!
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Madfly 2011-01-09
I converted this game from the Amiga to the PC for Core Design. Certainly an interesting project. It was a little under quoted and I did work silly hours to get this out on time.
The Amiga source was very well structured and it was a pleasure, thinking back, to work on the conversion.
Very good game and I agree with Chuckles, it deserved a high score if reviewing. Worth playing on Amiga Forever!
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Chuckles 2010-12-17
I played this for a few days then lost interest. If I pick it up again, I'll be aided with a walk-thru. Otherwise, the game is nice graphically; the storyline premise is reasonable. Notice the Amiga Computing, and Amiga Format, review: 85% and 38% respectively. I think the value of this game lies more toward the high end. Also, the style of the alien world looked a lot to me like the alien world on the earliest Half-Life series--I'm guessing this game inspired Valve's programmers/art directors--just a guess.

For me this game was technically impressive, and forgettable.
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comiga 2009-11-18
(7/10)
I only just got to play this game after always wanting to, and little disappointed. Its a great game, the gfx are fantastic (256 colours on a A500!!) and the music is top notch, but the puzzles are a little illogical, and all it becomes is a trial and error game trying everything until you find something that works. I still like it, just not as great as it could have been
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rafgc 2009-05-05
This is the game that really pushed old OCS chipset beyond its initial capabilities, but it isn't a 256 color mode, a smart trick have been used that involves COPPER to change pallete of 15 colors in each scanline resulting that many colors on screen.
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Scrawffler 2008-10-11
(8/10)
One of the very last games I got for the Amiga. I got into it very quickly. The gameplay is really nice and the graphics are brilliant! Nice soundtrack too. I do love point-and-click adventures, and while this doesn't quite rank as high as Monkey Island or Simon The Sorcerer (in my opinion) it's still a really nice adventure game.
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disraeli 2008-03-20
(7/10)
Nice game with superb graphics and atmosperic music by M.Iveson; gameplay is flawed by serious bugs that could easily get you irritated, moving the character is a pain in the neck above all. Also, as others mentioned, the interface is somewhat convoluted and you need to do silly things for simple tasks. The arcade parts are also somewhat annoying. By the way, the game is entertaining and can prove to be a real challenge.
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Zygyzy 2008-02-15
(8/10)
Great atmosphere and game design. But to hard at some situations. You won't solve it without a walkthrough.
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Kodoichi 2007-11-21
(6/10)
Great music and atmosphere. The major letdown is the interface. You can't just choose to "use crowbar" for example, you have to "punch door with crowbar". The game later on becomes a bit annoying as you have to visit various specific areas of planets to find items without knowing where exactly, so you'll find yourself walking around hundreds of screens. There are also a few action scenes that might not please everyone. Using the HAM graphics mode or another trick, the coders managed to make even the Amiga 500 display 512 colours (or was it 256?) on screen. It's worth playing it with a walkthrough.
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Greeny 2006-04-30
(8/10)
Lovely graphics and some great puzzles to solve but the horrible interface and numerous bugs stopped this one from becoming a great game.
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Rocky1980 2006-01-02
(7/10)
This was about the last "new" game I had for my 600; I was about to make the big move to the PC world . Still the game looks stunning, I played good too. I remember all the hype that when with this game, pages and pages of advertisements in every Amiga magazine. Massive reviews. IT was still a good game, shame a never really played it enough.
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Zagrebo 2005-06-21
(5/10)
This game has beautiful 256 colour graphics, bags of atmosphere and some of the most gorgeous sound I've ever heard on an Amiga. So, Core, why did you have to utterly ruin everything by creating an over-complex, stupid and unfriendly icon-driven control system that makes many of the solutions hideously difficult and drags what should have been brilliance down to the decidedly average? Next time play 'Beneath a Steel Sky' first to see how a graphic adventure interface should be done.

Avoid playing this game because it'll break your heart.
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Reubino 2005-05-10
(9/10)
Wonderful atmosphere!!! I was totally immersed in this adventure. Inspiring music and detailed graphics. Reminded me of the classic Sci-Fi film Blade Runner. I remember in a magazine review it was stated there were 128 on screen colours. Don't know how they managed to do this with a standard OCS/ECS chipset?
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MartinUK 2005-01-28
Is 256 really more than 4096? And they could have at least made it hard drive installable - typical of Core's shameful treatment of Amiga owenrs with powered-up systems.
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Shunichiro 2005-01-27
(8/10)
Universe was hyped to have more colours on screen than Amiga could handle. Fortunately underneath all the flashy graphics there was an entertaining adventure too. Decent script, good puzzles and even some good humour. Disk swapping was kept to minimum thanks to some good programming.
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king_of_pain 2004-12-15
(10/10)
Loved this adventure game. Nice gameplay, GFX & atmospheric music.
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