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Huge Letdown

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: December 27, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I was really anticipatng this game and have played Armada, Generations, Klingon Academy, StarFleet Academy (All over 6 years old) and this game blows by comparison. Even the cinematics from the 6 year old games beat this....I will never buy anything from Bethesda again. BTW...the highly touted voices from all the captains is a sub-menu of the DVD where a naritive cinematic plays...the voices are not in the game that I've found so-far...and after the 2nd mission I just game up and shelved the game.

The promise (not reality) of a good game

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: March 05, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I must admit that I was very tempted to buy this game as soon as it came out. I had been wanting a good Star Trek game for a while, and Legacy looked promising. Thankfully, I did not pre-order and waited for the reviews, so that when I finally bought it I knew what I was getting. At this point, I would not recommend that anyone buy this game. Wait for the next patch (1.3). The game is missing some key elements that should have been included. However, if you decide to go ahead and buy it, it can be made rather enjoyable with a XBox 360 controller and some mods. Still, the best advice is to wait and see what the developer and modders do next before buyiing.

Gameplay: Right off the bat, the gameplay is very awkward with the default keyboard and mouse controls. The real shame is that these controls cannot be remapped, which is rather inexplicable. The game was made to be played with a 360 controller which greatly enhances gameplay. If you are one of these PC gamers who thinks gamepads are beneath you, then pass on this game. However, with a controller plugged in, you're in for a treat. The ships handle pretty well and the camera (controlled by the right stick on the 360 gamepad) lets you rotate in every direction. Much of the combat--the whole game is based in space--is cinematic, as if it were directly from the movies. Your adrenaline will get pumped in a number of fights as you play with and against the Federation, Klingons, Romulans, and the Borg. Moreover, Legacy is easily the best looking Star Trek game to date and certainly the most immersive.

The game comes with a fairly interesting single-player campaign of 15 missions. However, it has a problem, a big problem. There is no in-mission save system. The game autosaves between missions, but you're on your own during the mission. This is a huge problem because some of the missions are quite long (over an hour) and any slip up means you're have to start from the beginning. It's an inexcusable oversight on the part of the developers that just doesn't make any sense. Before starting the campaign, I would strongly suggest downloading the Community Mod (0.4 is the most recent version) that adds an unlimited save feature, easier access to the map-making tools, some additional maps, and some nice textures. I couldn't imagine trying to play this game without this fan-made mod loaded, given how frustrating some of the missions can be. The mod also opens up all of the missions so that you can play them in any order anytime.

The skirmish mode is lots of fun, but it, too, suffers from a huge design flaw. You can have up to four sides with four ships, but you can't select the AI enemy ships and have set-piece battles. Thus, no recreating the Khan vs. Kirk battles of Star Trek II or the battle royale against the Borg cube at the beginning of Star Trek: First Contact (although there is a mod available). This omitted feature alone greatly damages the replay value of the game. Also, the lack of other gameplay modes besides death match is disappointing. I hope that the developers will patch these options into the game, or some enterprising modder will at least unlock the AI enemy selection option. Again, I have no idea why this feature was left out.

Graphics: Generally, the visuals are stunning. The ships are all finely detailed, and other objects (planets, stars, nebulae, etc.) look really good. Many fights look like film footage from movies and are worth taking screenshots of. The only sore spot in the graphics is the explosions, which can be downright ugly. Borg ships are the worse and sometimes show blank square panels as they break apart. It's really a shame since the other parts of the game are so attractive.

Sound: Everything, thankfully, is in order with the audio. The orchestral soundtrack is suitably "Star Trek" in feel, and the voice acting by the 5 captains is good. Sound effects are done well, too.

Technical issues: The game does not have any major technical issues beyond the missing features, but there are glitches. The game manual is inaccurate in places and is obviously a carryover from the XBox 360 version of the game. The default control scheme cannot be remapped, and you cannot replay a skirmish game without dropping to the main menu. The game crashed about a dozen times during the campaign, usually during heavy engagements. On an up-to-date computer, this game should play smoothly and look very good.

Replayability/Value: While the campaign is good overall (though frustrating in places), the replay value of the game will not be decent until the option for selecting AI enemy ships in skirmish mode is added. Although I don't play online, I suppose the multiplayer experience can be good if you can find a game. Ultimately, Legacy is the shell or promise of a good game, not the reality of one. It's for a niche audience of Star Trek gamers who have the time and patience to wait for the official patches and the fan-made goodies (including texture mods, new maps, new missions, etc.) that will make this game really shine. The poor folks who bought this game within the first week of release (or even worse, pre-ordered) and the people who are not interested in mods will suffer the most from this purchase. Of course, it's not right, and the publisher (Bethesda) and developer (Mad Doc) should be ashame. However, I predict that in two years from now this game will be like Bridge Commander and Starfleet Command 3; that is, an out-of-print, heavily modded cult classic with used copies selling on eBay for $100 each. If you can just wait for the great mods to come out and more patches, this game will likely be worth the asking price. If you are looking for a great Star Trek game out of the box, look elsewhere.

Overall, I rate this game 3 stars. If you play it with an XBox 360 controller, add 1/2 star. And if you add some choice fan-made mods to the game (start with the Community Mod), add a little more to this score.

Pros:
--Graphics (especially ships)
--Sounds and voice acting
--Cinematic battles
--Decent campaign (with Community Mod save-game feature)
--Convincing Star Trek atmosphere
--Fun battles (with XBox 360 controller)

Cons:
--Goofy default controls
--No in-mission save feature
--No ability to select AI enemy ships in skirmish mode
--Ugly explosions
--Limited gameplay modes
--Poor manual
--An overall lack of polish
--We should have gotten much more for the 40th anniversary of Star Trek

Poor Execution

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: December 20, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is the game that my son has wanted for some time (like a previous reviewer), and we were surprised by the delayed release dates. When it finally came out, the screen rate was far too choppy. I have tried to change some of the options, but the response is still fairly sluggish.

My son is not the most particular of computer users, but I fear that he has already given up on this game. Seriously, I can't believe that Microsoft Flight Simulator X works so well on my computer but Star Trek Legacy appears to be junk.

I am not much of a gamester myself, but I can say that it is very frustrating when the sound, video and controls are sloppy.

Legacy of Disappointment

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: January 15, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Star Trek Legacy had so much potential. For the first time ever, a Star Trek game had the voices of all five captains as well as ships and missions from all the eras of the television franchise. But this game falls flat on its face for the PC. In short, they released an untested, unfinished game with a myriad of problems which ruin any chance at having a truly enjoyable gaming experience. There is a reason the Amazon price has already dropped almost ten dollars just a month after release.

So let me start with the good. The ships are pretty. The sounds are neat.

Now, what's wrong with Star Trek Legacy.

Multiplayer cannot even be called functional. The game lobby is a joke--you have virtually no information on who else is online or which games you can join--the game list displays games that have already launched, games that are full, and games that have already cancelled the same way, as having one out of four slots full and awaiting more players. You can't see what options have been selected for it (system, number of ships, or even the era). And good luck actually getting connected to one.

The single player campaign, which had the most promise, again falls short. The original story seems like it would have been interesting--if it had made it into the game. The game was cut from 21 missions to 15, first of all. (And falling by the wayside were any missions featuring DS9 and VOY, another major disappointment for me--how is it that an awful series like ENT should get 1/3 of this game while DS9 and VOY get nothing?) There are no cutscenes to explain the plot. And no characters make an appearance. Yes, you have the captains voices, but they only appear as talking ships. This gets old and rather comical really fast. The gameplay (when you can manage the clunky PC controls) is extremely simple. Point and shoot. Rinse, repeat. You get the idea.

Skirmish is perhaps the most "fun" and seems the closest to being something like a finished product. Still, you can't even select which ships you want to fight against. You can only choose the race of your opponents and allies. That's it. Most battles are over fairly quickly, and there is little strategy involved.

This isn't even going into the many technical bugs and issues which have been reported at length on other sites, from game spot to the game's own forums.

Bethesda and Mad Doc should be ashamed that they released this product in such an unfinished state. Save your money and don't buy Star Trek Legacy.

Major Suckage

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: December 13, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I am not even sure where to start. This game has horrible game play, convoluted controls, needs a Alienware computer to run decently There is no depth, no strategy, and absolutely no replay value.

One reviewer had the same frustration as I which was trying to repair your ship, and pilot it at the same time. Almost impossible to do with the current key config. Not only that but there is no easy way to change the key config.

My only hope is that the Star Fleet Command modders take the graphics and apply them.

This is not worth the money. I doubt we will see a major patch as I am sure people will take the game back.

Don't buy, don't support this hack job.

One last thing, I believe Bethesda is having their 'friends' post the rave reviews. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I have a hard time believing that anyone can play this game without being very frustrated and disappointed.

Sound Issues, Keyboard Issues

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: December 19, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I want to love it, but have several issues that are detracting.

1) During missions, each time a session is replayed (because the AI is better than I am) the sound gets faster and faster. The episode of the original series with the people accelerated so their speech is like the buzz of an insect is happening on my computer. Normal speed-chipmunk-insect is the sound progression. Restarting the program is the only cure.

2) Need joystick and remapable controls. The warp button "Q" next to the control buttons "WASD" means you warp out in the middle of a fight due to a slight hand motion error.

3) The mouse cursor disappears in the map mode some times. Once you accidentally warp away, you have to fight to get back to the battle.

4) Just plain buggy

5) Needs access to quick lessons or tutorial or key maps

Agree with previous reviews...

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: December 21, 2006
Author: Amazon User

In addition wanted to add that the skirmish mode is extremely disappointing if you just want a quicky battle with the computer. You are given points to spend to "buy" ships for your fleet, and limited choices of fixed point totals to choose from. If you just want to control one ship you are forced to buy the biggest that you can because you can't choose the AI ship, like you can in Bridge Commander, the AI will always be the biggest it can buy, and will wipe you out if you pick a small ship. I am shocked at this oversight. At the end of the skirmish battle you have to go back to the first screen and start all over, no replay battle option. I wish I waited a bit to read some reviews before I wasted money on this game.

Worst Game I Ever Bought

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: December 24, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Advertised as a strategy game. There is no strategy. Controls are horrible. Commands don't work half the time. Crashes frequently. Bethesda Softworks is offering no support. Bottom line - game is not finished and will never be finished. The developer and publisher decided to cut its losses and ship this thing out and make what they could on it. This company has no commitment to its customers and little pride in its work. I for one will never buy another game from this company. Its my hope all the distributors send this unfinished product back to them.

This game is complete garbage

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: December 13, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game is an utter disapointment. Do not waste your money. The official web page states that it is a strategy game. That it is not. It's a poorly done (and buggy) port of a console implementation. no strategy at all, a few hours of fairly lousy shoot them up at best. Someone on the official forums called it Astroids with a Star Trek skin. Astroids was actually much more fun than this garbage.

Waste Of Money

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: December 15, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Do not bother with this software. Gameplay is choppy, controls poorly thoughtout and terrible product support!

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