GamingPickz
Game vs game · side by side

Men of War: Assault Squad 2 vs Universe Sandbox

Men of War: Assault Squad 2 is a simulation strategy game from Digitalmindsoft (2014) while Universe Sandbox is an open-world sandbox game from Giant Army (2015).

Quick answer: Universe Sandbox rates higher, 8.2 to 7.7 on the GamingPickz Score, and Universe Sandbox is the cheaper at $20.09.

Men of War: Assault Squad 2

2014 · Digitalmindsoft

7.7GamingPickz Score

$29.99

Steam: Very Positive

Universe Sandbox

2015 · Giant Army

8.2GamingPickz Score

$20.09

Steam: Overwhelmingly Positive

What each one is

Men of War: Assault Squad 2 is filed under Simulation and Strategy. In contrast, Universe Sandbox under Open-World and Sandbox.

Men of War: Assault Squad 2

Men of War: Assault Squad 2 expands the real-time tactics series with new skirmish missions, massive multiplayer battles, enhanced visuals, improved AI, and full Direct Control. Command five factions across 65 maps, 250 vehicles, and 200 soldiers in one of the most detailed WWII RTS experiences.

Description from its Steam store page

Universe Sandbox

Create & destroy on an unimaginable scale with a realistic physics-based space simulator. Explore the beauty of our universe and the fragility of our planet. Use science to bend the laws of gravity, collide planets, boil away oceans, fire epic space lasers, and customize your universe.

Description from its Steam store page

Story, characters and reception

Men of War: Assault Squad 2
Reception

Reception Men of War: Assault Squad 2 has received "mixed or average" reviews, according to reviews aggregator Metacritic , garnering a score of 68/100. PC Gamer US gave the game a score of 75/100, praising its difficulty. ^ "Men of War: Assault Squad 2 for PC Reviews" . (Wikipedia)

Universe Sandbox
Reception

Reception Both games have received near-universal acclaim. Duncan Geere of PC Gamer gave it an 84/100 and spoke positively of the game, " Universe Sandbox is not going to change your life. It is not going to make you cry, and it won't sit in the top of your most-played list in Steam for weeks. (Wikipedia)

At a glance

Men of War: Assault Squad 2Universe Sandbox
GamingPickz Score7.7/108.2/10
Steam ratingVery Positive (91%, 46,631)Overwhelmingly Positive (96%, 32,082)
Critic aggregate68/10083/100
Price$29.99$20.09
Install size6 GB4 GB
Steam Deckplayableplayable
Released20142015
DeveloperDigitalmindsoftGiant Army

Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.

Men of War: Assault Squad 2 vs Universe Sandbox, point by point

Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.

  1. Genre and premise

    Men of War: Assault Squad 2Simulation strategy game
    Universe SandboxOpen-world sandbox game

    What each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.

  2. How it plays

    Men of War: Assault Squad 2Strategy, World War II, War
    Universe SandboxSandbox, Space, Simulation

    The tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.

  3. Reception

    Men of War: Assault Squad 2Score 7.7 · 91% on Steam · 68 critic
    Universe SandboxScore 8.2 · 96% on Steam · 83 critic

    The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.

  4. Content and scale

    Men of War: Assault Squad 246,631 reviews · 5 add-ons · 6 GB
    Universe Sandbox32,082 reviews · 4 GB

    Reach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.

  5. Price

    Men of War: Assault Squad 2$29.99
    Universe Sandbox$20.09

    Read live from Steam and subject to change.

  6. On a Steam Deck

    Men of War: Assault Squad 2Playable
    Universe SandboxPlayable

    Valve's own Deck compatibility rating.

Universe Sandbox takes 2 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.

The two on the grid

Compare the whole catalogue

Men of War: Assault Squad 2 and Universe Sandbox on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.

2 games have both

01000100PlayersPopularity

Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.

Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.

  • PC

Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.

See the whole grid

How positions are decided

No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
  • Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
  • Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
  • No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
  • A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
  • Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.

Which to pick, by what you want

  • The higher-rated of the two: Universe Sandbox (GamingPickz Score 8.2)
  • The cheaper right now: Universe Sandbox ($20.09)
  • Lighter on storage: Universe Sandbox (4 GB)

What they have in common

Both are tagged by Steam players with:

SimulationRealisticSingleplayerDestructionAtmospheric

Where they differ

Men of War: Assault Squad 2 is also

StrategyWorld War IIWarRTSActionTactical

Universe Sandbox is also

SandboxSpacePhysicsScienceGod GameEducation

Tags players apply to one game and not the other.

Difficulty and who each is for

By the tags players apply, Men of War: Assault Squad 2 is demanding, for players who want a challenge. Universe Sandbox is relaxed, easy to pick up.

System requirements, side by side

Men of War: Assault Squad 2Universe Sandbox
Minimum GPUDirectX 11 compatible
Minimum CPU4.0 GHz single-core, 2.0 GHz dual-core
Minimum RAM4 GB
Install size6 GB4 GB

Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Men of War: Assault Squad 2 · Universe Sandbox.

Accessibility features

Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Men of War: Assault Squad 2 and 6 for Universe Sandbox. A declaration is a floor, not a review.

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Common questions

How different are Men of War: Assault Squad 2 and Universe Sandbox in scope?

Men of War: Assault Squad 2 has drawn 46,631 Steam reviews, ships 5 add-ons and installs in 6 GB. Universe Sandbox has drawn 32,082 Steam reviews and installs in 4 GB.

Is Men of War: Assault Squad 2 or Universe Sandbox better?

By the GamingPickz Score, Universe Sandbox rates higher (8.2 to 7.7). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.

Which is cheaper, Men of War: Assault Squad 2 or Universe Sandbox?

Universe Sandbox is cheaper right now at $20.09, against $29.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.

Should I get Men of War: Assault Squad 2 or Universe Sandbox?

Universe Sandbox rates higher, 8.2 to 7.7 on the GamingPickz Score, and Universe Sandbox is the cheaper at $20.09. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.

Do you rank one above the other for a fee?

No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.

How we compare, and what we will not do

The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.

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