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Far surpasses the quality of EF1

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 20 / 29
Date: July 31, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Star Trek Elite Force II is an awesome game for a few reasons:
1) You get an idea of the reaction to when Voyager returned to Earth.
2) The story/plot is far deeper than the original.
3) It takes place on THE Star Trek flagship, the USS Enterprise-E.

I am a big Star Trek fan, and I am extremely glad that this game takes place on the Enterprise-E with Captain Picard. Some people freak out that you don't see the other TNG crew members. Here's why:
1) This game takes place after Star Trek Nemesis.
2) Riker and Troi are aboard the USS Titan.
3) Data is dead.
4) Ingame it explains Worf is on leave.
5) Dr. Crusher is now working at Starfleet Medical
6) And Geordi has moved on from the Enterprise.

This game shows what happens to the Hazard Team with many cheers and very few boos. And the Multiplayer function I feel is much more player-friendly.

So, if you're thinking about getting this game, liked TNG better than Voyager, and loved EF1, this will be an incredible gaming experience.

Resistance is futile... but frustration may vary!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: January 28, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I was surprised to receive a copy of Activision's Star Trek: Armada II for Christmas. The mid-morning of the 26th, I turned on the computer and loaded up this bad boy. After a complete installation of 1.3 gigabytes (that's including the need for an extra 100 megabytes of hard drive space for a Windows swap file), I sat back and let Patrick Stewart's voiceover carry me through the opening movie.

Armada II picks up six months after the events of the first game ends. Although the Borg were beaten back by the combined Federation, Klingon, and Romulan fleets, they have returned with a deadly new planetary assault vessel capable of assimilating an entire world. To prevent the Borg from gaining a foothold in the Alpha Quadrant, the Federation is launching the first-ever assault against the Borg in the Delta Quadrant. (In one of the battles you capture a new kind of transwarp portal that allows Starfleet to travel to the Delta Quadrant.) With Starfleet off in the Delta Quadrant, the Klingons are left playing peacekeeper in the Alpha. But the Klingons are having problems of their own - the Cardassians. In the mix for good measure are the Romulans and Species 8472. Got all this so far? Ok. That's just the story. Armada II as a game is a whole other story.

Visually, Armada II carries over the best elements of its predecessor. The graphics are great for an RTS - the colors rich and vibrant; the ship and station textures distinct. With the new 3-D perspective (which you can toggle between that and 2-D) and the new tactical feature of fleet formations, Armada II has gained much ground over the original. Game play has changed significantly also. The new structures, ships, and enemies make Armada II more challenging. Combine this with the new economic component, players gain a more tangible, realistic perspective to the managerial tasks of interstellar combat. The need to colonize worlds for crew reinforcements; building orbital mining facilities to extract metal to build your fleet, and the need to harvest both dilithium and latinum to purchase or trade with other players or non-player characters is a unique consideration missing from other Star Trek games, while not taking away from your combat objective. Now for the bad news: Armada II can be very frustrating to play.

Even without the economic considerations, new ships, technologies, and races, Armada II is still a difficult game to play... and at times even boring. I've just gotten through the first nine mission of the Federation campaign after many grueling hours of game play and a lot of saves. Yes, the objectives change from mission to mission, but to keep fighting the Borg successively is a bit draining. In the original Armada, your mission varied between fighting your enemy to locating a lost ship or outrunning an enemy fleet while still remaining within the original context of the story. So far it's just hunt and kill, which stays with the story but gets redundant after awhile. Couple this with some game restrictions like the 600-officer cap (which limits the number of ships and stations you can build) and the frustration mounts. I began the game employing the same tactics I used in the first Armada but I had to quickly discard that strategy. This might seem like a plus because the game wouldn't be like too much like the original because that would be predictable, right? Wrong. The AI in this game is less responsive when you need it to be and more aggressive when you don't want it to be. In addition, the older ship classes are not as resilient as in the first Armada, which means they can't hold up as long in a firefight as they used to. I used to send in my construction ships as a decoy to lure enemy forces away because they had stronger shields and a high crew compliment. Not anymore! Also, the construction time for ships and facilities is drastically shorter making combat that much longer. The faster a fleet can be built the more you have manage and the more the game becomes cumbersome. Don't think this is a problem? Try sending a fleet of Defiant-class ships against a Borg cube while trying to build your support stations and then we'll talk. Or did you think you'd have enough metal or dilithium or crew personnel to amass your defenses? Still unphased? Now try to go on the offensive. You'll score little damage against an enemy shipyard when it can build a dozen ships in under five minutes to defend itself. Although this creates a higher degree of difficulty and lends credence to the war-aspect that Armada II is centered around, it can turn a two-hour mission (real-time) into a three day event! I like a game that won't end in two hours but I don't like taking two weeks to complete one board - and I'm not even up to the Klingon campaign!

Gameplay aside, Armada II hangs from time to time during the cinematic cutscenes. The audio and visual sputter probably because of a RAM drop (a technology issue) and I'm running a full install with over a gig free of storage, 128MB of RAM, and a 40x CD-ROM drive on a PIII 733 processor (you computer geeks understand what I was saying). Other than load time and minor performance problems, Armada II, so far, is a worthy successor to the original. The story is enticing (the voiceover work by Patrick Stewart, Alice Krige, and J.G. Hertzler a plus), the combat challenging, and the game play generally fun. Although my review is mixed, I do like the game, but I still have a lot to go. I don't think anything will change my opinion, but if it does, you'll be the first to know. Right now, I recommend Armada II to any Star Trek gaming nut who enjoyed the first one and has been disappointed by almost every other Star Trek title published in the last two years.

Excellent Series of Episodes

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 16 / 22
Date: November 23, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Judgement Rites is one of the best early Trek games. It isdesigned to be just like early Star Trek episodes. You start each mission on the bridge of the Enterprise where you receive your orders. Before you know it, you are right in the middle of a battle or something strange. The drama mounts right away. The graphics and sounds are very good and the stories rival the best episodes of Star Trek. This is a must have for all Trek fans.

Starfleet Command 3-Simplified and More Fun.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 16 / 22
Date: January 04, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Ahhh yes, finely, the long awaited Starfleet Command 3 has arrived. For those of you unfamiliar with it's previous incarnations the Starfleet Command series is based loosely on a board game known as Starfleet Battles. The first game was, to be frank, a clunky transition straight from the bored, grid and all. It was great! The next incarnation improved on the actual play but mad the System more complicated. This version has combined the two giving it a simple interface and good game play.

The game play is excellent, allowing you to target individual systems. Turns and camera angles are excellent. The main problem with the previous games, the long destines between targets has been cut down via the tactical warp(also allowing you to do the Picard maneuver). However there are still a few boring missions that could easily have been cut down. Despite this the good out ways the bad, making this one of the most fun Starfleet Commands yet.

The first part of the game that is likely to concern you if you were to buy it would be the game play. If you start the game from the tutorials (which you should unless you have played the game before) the first sound you'll here is captain Picard's rich baritone voice. The sound will probably be the sound of red alert. However this is no indication of the rich soundtrack that will continue.

The excellent models of starships for ach race are excellently destroyed, with nacelles falling off and hull being scorched. Each starship has a range of motions, dipping side to side when you make sharp turns. Tractor beams, phasers and torpedoes all emit light, which plays over the hulls of starships. When a ship is destroyed it explodes in classic Starfleet style.

The interface for this version of Starfleet Command has been simplified. The systems for both passive scanning and shield reinforcement have been simplified to point and click, instead of being hidden beneath layers of useless crap. Talking of useless crap this version of Starfleet Command has gotten rid of "Electronic Counter Measures" and their counterpart "Electronic Counter Counter Measures." The systems for hit and run and boarding parties have also been simplified and are now right there on the main screen. Also the map and missions screen now has an addition, the refit button, allowing you to customizing your ship. All these features add up to a easier game to play. Their are still some systems that are just too far away, so you had better memorize the hot keys.

The storyline gets a +1 right off the bat for including the Romulons, (something Star Trek Armada noticeably left out from it's story line,) but dos not relay on just that. The story involves Unity One, a star base created by the joint work of the Federation and the Klingon Empire, its constructed on the border between Federation and Klingon Space and Romulon Space which is why one of its main features is that it can detect cloaked ships, something that, as you can imagine, the Romulons are not at all pleased with. The story line continues through three races, the Klingons, the Romulons and the Federation (you can play the Borg only in multi-player).

The multi-player system (which actually works in this incarnation), known as the Dynaverse, is a never ending war between the 4 races. Each battle played by you or anyone of your race, either gains or losses a territory. As you battle you increase in prestige getting you better ships, (and even possibly a star base) and better officers. Once one group gains a large majority of territory your prestige, ship, officers and map reset itself. The progress and gameplay is excellent. It could be more fun then what amounts to an interstellar deathmatch but is still excellent.

In conclusion this is an excellent game with only a few errors that hopefully will be corrected with a patch. It also has a large learning curve for those not familiar with the game series, so you had better take the tutorials if this is the first SFC game you've played.

Engage!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 17
Date: March 01, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game rocks. Even the demo has sweet graphics- you can see each and every port on your ship. The real version will have about 16 playable ships, including the Federation(Akira, Ambassador, Galaxy, Nebula, and Sovereign,the Klingons(B'Rel and Vor'Cha), the Romulans(D'deredix), the Ferengi(Marauder), the Cardassians(Galor, Keldon), and a new race called the Kessok. In terms of weapons, settings, and how things work the game stays so close to the series it seems like you're in an episode. Also, it's voice activation technology is quit remarkable. Star Trek: Bridge Commander has 4 possible outcomes from total, complete sore defeat to conquering the known universe with a Sovereign-Class battleship.

The Best Game ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 14 / 19
Date: March 29, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The Best game you could ever get, even if you dont like star trek. I mean, even look at the guns, there awsome. Plus there's a ton of multiplayer game types like: capture the flag, Bomb placement, turn people into machines on the assimilation mode. And you get to go out side into space anf shoot things. Trust me its awsome. And whats cool is that there are tons of ways to get to something not just 1 like normal.

Let's see....PLAY THE GAME BEFORE you gripe about it...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 14 / 20
Date: May 27, 2003
Author: Amazon User

That lady who left a bad review here recently does not, obviously, understand that a more complex game (that will include a romance for th elead character) needs to be more realistic. Unless she wants to see girl on girl action in this sequel. Give me a break. ONE star because there's no girl in the game? I have played the demo as well, and can fully agree that this has the potential to extend the star trek universe in MANY positive ways. Graphics are , as expected, superb. Plot line hasn'
t really been revealed too much yet. However, it is known that the plot will be taken from the series. In the finale of the tv show the voyager went into a wormhole. Then, they went to a commercial. After the commercial, they came out of the wormhole and nothing was ever explained as to what had happenned inside the wormhole. This game is the answer. Very interesting. I have seen that the system requirements are relatively low compared to todays' average powerhouse game releases...

Offers more battles with Bugs than Klingons...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 11 / 14
Date: May 28, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Once upon a time, I had a 486 running DOS 6.2 and Win 3.1.
Every time I bought a new game, I had to spend a good part of the day figuring out what arcane manipulation of the config.sys and autoexec.bat might get the thing to run. Thanks to Starfleet Command II, I took a (not so) happy trip down memory lane. This title is the first game I have bought in four years that I spent more time trying to get to function than I spent playing.

CAVEAT EMPTOR: this game is not complete. It is NOT a functioning program. It will crash, and crash often, and the documentation that comes with the game tells you it will crash often. To achieve even mediocre performance, you must download a patch. This wouldn't be so bad - patches are a fact of life now - but this patch is 20 MEGS. 20 MEGS. I say again 20 MEGS. On my rural copper-wire connection, that's about 5-6 hours of connect time to just get the program up and running. My email requesting a CD with the patch on it was acknowledged and put in File 13. [I am running a PII-400 w/3D acceleration, 192MB RAM - well over the program's requirements.]

What else is wrong with the program? Well, the manual is on disk. No problem - just Alt-Tab over and look up your topic -- except that, as the documentation helpfully advises you, the use of the Alt-Tab function will (all together, now) CRASH THE PROGRAM.

THE GAME ITSELF:
What's right: one of the few games that (potentially -see above) uses the capabilities of the computer to improve on its paper forebears. Star Fleet Battles was all about managing competing energy requirements while under the time pressure of a battle. The decision to abandon a purely turn-based model turned out to be sheer genius: when the game is actually running, you stay on the edge of your seat, cursing your heavy weapons and begging them to recharge faster, faster. The campaign model has a lot of potential.

What's wrong: Aside from the problems listed above (did I mention the program was buggy?), my biggest beef is with the implementation of the campaign model. The scripted events occur regardless of your location - if you're on the Klingon border, and the script calls for an encounter with a Romulan starbase, a Romulan starbase you'll meet. There's little sense that where you go really has much to do with the plot. And of course, when you accept a mission, the program is likely to crash (the documentation acknowledges this and suggests helpfully "save often").

There are still a few AI issues to work out. On some missions, you will have allies you can't command. On several occasions, having disabled an enemy vessel, dropped its shields, and sent Marines aboard to capture it, I watched in disbelief as my allies vaporized the ship (with my Marines aboard). All in all, though, the AI is not bad.

The Orion Pirates follow-on seems to have shipped with a later version of the program and has fewer bugs. (Not NO bugs, but fewer.) This is a title I definitely regret buying; there will probably be a Starfleet III, and they may get it right by then.

Resistance is Futile... Yeah, yeah, but before that...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: November 14, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Scratching the surface of an excellent story line in Star Trek Armada, the Federation is at it again with a stronger fleet, and powerful allies at it's side. But fear not assimilation lovers the universe's ultimate bad guys the Borg are also ready to make the Federation and Klingons into whipping boy drones. Seing 8472 on the scene should make things interesting. Wha-hoo! warp capabilities & a shiny new 3D interface, with more fluid controls, (I feel like Homer at a doughnut factory, mmm... sprinkles) take it from a harcore gamer and trek fan, this is the one is going to be the envy of everyone during the holidays. (. . .)

What you need to know about Star Trek Armada 2

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: January 25, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Revised Star Fleet Recon Report,
post-patch (01-28-02)update:

Technical Stuff:
The game is nearly bug free, but if you are running XP and/or an ATI graphics card get the patch that will fix issuses with those two things, then buy two copies from Amazon! Have your drivers updated and have 2 Gigs of open space for the game/swap file and any Admiral's Logs and screen shots you save. There have been reports of the game freezing up during missions but not with everyone so it may be specific situations. Some have reported trouble playing on the internet but the reasons why vary. The game design is sound and it runs out of the box and better for some after the patch is applied.

Graphics, sound, and all that jazz:
Looks good, sounds effects great, music repetitive, interface a little large but it can be minimized in part or whole. TONS of options in MP and Instant Action, game can be edited beyond that in root directory (ODF's, AI, etc.) Reinstall function is nice for when you mess something up as it does not overwrite your mission progress or preferred settings.

Plot and missions: Takes place after Armada 1 and before Janeway's return from the Delta Quadrant. 30 missions, final battle is an apocalyptic confrontation between a combined Federation and Borg fleet vs. Species 8472 in Fluidic Space.

Trek Canon:
If you are looking for 'trek canon' this isn't it, Galors are stronger than Galaxies and Defiant-class vessels are not very strong. Cubes are not unstoppable, but Fusion Cubes are mighty tough.

Gameplay:
All six races are supposedly equal, although the Klingons seem a bit to strong. Each race's tech tree may seem daunting at first but you will gradually get use to it. Ship upgrades do wonders.
This game is about fleets, so don't fret if you lose one ship, just build more. The Officer cap limits the number of ships you build (settings are 300, 600, 800 and 999 officers). Species 8472 only needs piolets, no crew, but they only have so many of them (1/4 as many as the officers for any other race).
ALL races depend on resource gathering, you MUST gather what they need or you will lose. The ships build fast, you just need to get the stuff to build them, the game is won or lost on the economic front sometimes before the battle ever takes place. If you are using one of the four Alpha Quadrant races take advantage of the trading stations. The Borg, use the Recycler. Species has its own unique ways to economically dominate. Don't get soft playing on infinite resources all the time, that is for beginners and 'fooling-around'.

Notes:
The Sovereign-class ship for the Federation is just about worthless without the Corbomite Reflector, so keep building Galaxies. The Galor-class for the Cardassians is strong and has great firepower. The Keldon's special is frighteningly powerful. The Negh'Var is good. Borg Fusion Cubes are expensive but once you destroy 20+ ships in one battle with one you will not mind the resource burden. Standard Cubes are good. The frigates, science ships, marine ships, and artillery ships are worth building as they can save you warships if you use them right.
Specials are hard to utilize by hand so use the autonomy settings to compensate, the computer may waste them sometimes but it is either that or get destroyed before you get it fired off. Unless you want your ships wandering all over the place set the movement autonomy to medium or low.

'Artificial Intelligence',the Computer as an opponent:
The patch fixes this so the game's value is not all MP on the internet. The computer still falls for just about any trick you can pull on it. But it can manage resources and defend its base better than before the patch. The AI still needs a handicap to give you a run though and this is why it doesn't get five stars.

Conclusion:
The game is good, the patch is welcomed, but the AI is not as good as it could be. But then again this game can be modded so the AI may start trashing people after some tweaking.

Jason out.

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