Star Trek has had its ups and downs,
particularly in the gaming world. After a longer than normal wait
between this and the previous Trek game, I’m sad to say this isn’t an
up. But nor is it a down. Disregarding the discussion or whether or not
the best type of Star Trek game would be an adventure/rpgish game, of
which this is neither by any stretch of the imagination; what we have
here is a half-decent 3d space combat game with a well implemented Star
Trek theme. The voice acting cast, and quality therefore, is most
impressive as Bethesda have managed to acquire the vocal input of every
major captain from Kirk to Archer; whist constructing a mainline story
which reaches from the very foundation of the federation, to the
Borg-driven swan song of the next generation.
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| Good ole NCC-1701A – constitution class star-ship dontcha know |
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And this would be Admiral Piccard’s final vessel. “Sovereign” class… apparently |
You start the main game as Captain Archer
(Scott Bakula from Quantum Leap/Enterprise) and your mission is a
seemingly innocent task involving a Vulcan research scientist.
Obviously all is not what it seems, and then onwards from mission to
mission the mysteries sprouting from this beginning are followed
through the various ages of Star Trek - Captains Archer, Kirk
(hurrah!), Picard, Cisco and Janeway all have a place within the
lifespan of the campaign. As I mentioned briefly before, the voice
acting is pretty top-notch. William Shatner seems to briefly forget how
to do Kirk’s voice during his first appearance in the game, but he soon
turns on the style.
The primary gameplay is centred on space
orientated combat. In the campaign mode you typically assume the role
of the USS Enterprise, with the possibility of having up to three other
ships simultaneously under your command within your fleet. Move and
attack orders can be issued from an overhead map screen – which can be
frustratingly inadequate due to the 3d nature of space and the 2d
deficiencies of a flat map and the tenuous AI of the rest of your fleet
– or control of any ship can be assumed directly in a sort-of 3rd
person style view. The controls and camera angles are somewhat annoying
and difficult at first; and because the game is worryingly short, by
the time you get the hang of them you’re about a third of the way
through the main campaign.
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| The top down map screen, which fails to account for the Z vector of space |
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How come the supposedly peaceful federation always seems to have the forceful upper-hand on the “war-like” races |
The combat system has given the player some room for tactical
scope. Phasers are better used to take down shields, and generally lock
to their target more effectively if fired while your ship is facing the
enemy; whereas photon torpedoes are much more effective against an
unshielded hull and they typically lock on better at greater distances.
Also, ships have a faster turning circle at lower speeds, and therefore
fleeing an enemy must be weighed against the need for evasive
manoeuvres. The energy distribution between shields, engines and
weapons can be at any time instantaneously set to your liking; which
allows various quick-hit or shielded retreat star-ship configurations.
Game
elements such as scanning planets, hailing ships, and beaming capture
squads on to defenceless stations are present, but they are barely on
the edge of implementation, and if anything they can be considered an
after-thought adding nothing more than pseudo-depth to the single
player campaign.
Throughout the main campaign you acquire
command points for completing primary and secondary objectives. These
points can then be used to purchase the other 1-3 ships within your
fleet. The list of ships available for purchase expands and develops as
you progress through the time-line of the campaign, and old ships which
you’ve maintained from previous ages can be decommissioned to be
replaced with the newer models.
The game’s main story line *is*
pretty good; but my very fascination with it is just the kind of Star
Trek element making me wish this was more than just a space combat
simulator. If perhaps the gameplay discussed so far as only half of the
actual game, and we also had access to an immensely fascinating third
person adventure game which kicks in when you beam down on to planets,
then it’s possible Star Trek Legacy would be aiming for much higher
prestige.
Graphics wise we’re looking at fairly standard stuff
considering the outstanding heights reached by next-gen games these
days. There’s nothing really special about the graphics here. Planets look fairly pathetic if you fly too close, and the star-ship explosions are nothing special.
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| The pitiful Borg are no match for mighty Klingon battleships – Ka-Plar! Or whatever |
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Didn’t get to see too many of these babies in the TV series, they look pretty cool though |
This is one just for the big Star Trek
fans. The average gamer is unlikely to maintain interest for too long;
especially given the main campaign has a completion time of around 10
hours. The game comes with a network multiplayer mode, but given the
lack of strategic elements within the game that really doesn’t count
for much.
Top Game Moment: Indulging in long term treky nostalgia.
