ver the past few months, Star Trek game titles have been multiplying at a rate that makes the Borg look like a bunch of sleepy underachievers. Some of these recent releases have been hits, others very palpable misses. And now, Activision takes aim at the popular real-time strategy format with Star Trek: Armada.
The game opens with a rousing cinematic sequence in which an epic space battle is taking place among four of Trek's heaviest hitters: the Federation, the Romulans, the Klingons and the Borg. Next, it's time to pledge allegiance. Players can choose to play a multiplayer game or one of four single-player games (one for each of the four races). While there is an ongoing plotline woven among all four single-player scenarios, the games themselves are broken down into a series of similar goal-oriented missions. How to complete these goals should be familiar territory for real-time strategy aficionados: it all comes down to resource management, speedy mouse clicks and, of course, guile.
Players construct starbases to generate and house their crews, mining platforms to extract the ever-mysterious and all-important mineral dilithium, and shipyards to build several types of starships, from tiny scout to beefy battleship. Through a simple point-and-click interface, ships can be ordered to defend, patrol and engage enemies. The level of control over these ships is flexible thanks to a "Director's Cut" mode that, when engaged, changes ships from static, unthinking gamepieces to shooting and swooping free agents. As fleets and resources grow, players can also build research facilities that will develop various special weapons for each type of starship. The weapons run the gamut from sensor jammer to doomsday device and, when cleverly employed, can turn the tide of even the most desperate battle.
To seek out new civilizations ... and crush them
The creators of Star Trek: Armada wisely chose to chuck many of the maddening complexities of numerous real-time strategy titles and have created a game that is focused on one of the most seductive features of the Trek universe: hull-pounding starship combat. The resulting gameplay is gratifyingly swift and action-oriented. It feels much more like dodging photon torpedoes than doing taxes. Also, Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Michael Dorn (Worf) and Denise Crosby (Sela) lend their voices to the game's many cutscenes, reinforcing the authenticity.
The game mechanics also reflect this attention to detail. The ships look, move and sound as if they were lifted right out of the TV show. Unfortunately, in single-player mode the ships often behave as if they are being piloted by morons. In general, the AI leaves a lot to be desired. Vessels will occasionally ignore orders, stop dead for no reason or become hopelessly confused by obstacles. Also, enemies will sometimes do decidedly unstrategic things like neglect to rebuild what has been destroyed.
For the most part, the single player mode is not worth the time. Many of the missions feel like little more than elaborate tutorials, making the lovingly constructed narrative that accompanies them feel out of place, almost as if it belongs to another game. But Star Trek: Armada truly shines in multiplayer mode. There is just nothing quite as rewarding as choosing sides, choosing a map, choosing a corner and coming out conquering. Plus, internet connectivity is handled in-game by WON.net and is relatively hassle-free.
Trek fanatics will be pleased with how appropriate the special weapons are. Klingons tend to have vicious weapons, Romulans have cloak-and-dagger devices, the Federation's toys are primarily defensive and the Borg are all about assimilation. The special weapons are also creative, powerful and wacky enough to make it easy to forget some of the game's less-than-stellar features. Star Trek: Armada may not be a big hit, but it has enough going for it to remind us all that it's not always so important whether a game is a hit or a miss ... what's often more important is how big a gun it lets you fire.
