M. Evan Brooks' review says it all about Universe 1:
"A detailed simulation of space exploration and trading. Multi-faceted and very deep, its playability suffered from documentation which was hard to interpret as well as an unforgiving game system. Build your own ship to specifications, but a wrong move can waste hours of previous play. Still it was one of the early classics. "
Unfortunately for armchair commanders, Universe 2 and 3 became more similar to RPGs with strategy playing only a minor role, but still great games nonetheless.
Review By HOTUD
English 
Comments and reviews
Did you read the faq or how-to page ?
A great game - I burned many, many days playing this one... However, this site provides no assistance regarding how to get the game running after downloading. Useless and unable to play without knowing how. Nice to see the old manual again though. Disappointed. :(
The text-based game is impossible. The keywords are unintuitive. I can't even get off the first planet because I can't get a door to open
No comment nor review for this game at the moment.