Petroglyph Games and Sega have released a free demo of Universe at War: Earth Assault on the Xbox Live Marketplace. This should make  it easier for RTS fans to decide whether this title is worth getting or not. Learn more about the demo in the full article.

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!

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.

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!

We reported a few days ago that the PC RTS Universe at War: Earth Assault will also be making a debut on the Xbox 360. If words are not enough to give you an idea of the game, then maybe these artwork and screens would do the trick. The game is being developed by Petroglyph while Sega is the publisher. Here is the game's partial feature list:

• On-the-fly customization lets you adapt dynamically to your opponent, raising the stakes of battle
• Unique multiplayer achievements and modes that are new to the RTS genre
• Environmental destruction and manipulation in a persistent world
• Dual-layer of tactical and global gameplay
• Special hero units
• Massive-scale units that dwarf conventional RTS units
• Real-world, modern-day environments
• Three unique factions, not including the introductory military faction, which players can control as they learn the game
• On-demand UI that doesn’t clutter your view of the battle

Aside from all that, Sega mentioned in a just-released press release that they are employing a control scheme built from the ground up for the Xbox 360 version of Universe at War. Below, we have some character renders, artwork, and screens of the game; do check them out. The game is expected to hit store shelves in Q1 2008.

Universe at War: Earth Assault's screens and other goodies await after the jump!