Star Trek Elite Force II Hands-On Preview

By Sam Parker, GameSpotPosted May 30, 2003 12:57 pm PT

We take a hands-on look at Activision's Star Trek first-person shooter.

Fan interest in a television series can long outlive its run on the networks, and licensed games can provide some solace for bereaved fans. Considering the less-than-impressive box-office performance of Star Trek: Nemesis, it doesn't seem certain that the full crew of The Next Generation will make another movie appearance, but it's probably safe to expect Star Trek games to keep going strong. Activision's upcoming Star Trek Elite Force II follows up on the final episode of Star Trek: Voyager and features events that take place after the lost ship makes its way back to Earth. You'll reprise your role as Lt. Munro, the leader of an elite away team called the "hazard team" that Captain Picard reforms on the Enterprise to deal with risky missions. From what we've played of an early version of the game, Elite Force II clearly attempts to reproduce the look and feel of actual Star Trek episodes in its first-person action missions.

Not every face you'll encounter during your tour of duty with the Enterprise will be a pretty one.

As often as the Enterprise gets into major galactic adventures, the crew can't always be on duty. One of the most unusual elements of Elite Force II is that you can freely wander around parts of the Enterprise-E between missions. As soon as Munro beams aboard the ship and gets a quick orientation from Picard and Tuvok, you'll be free to explore two separate decks. Before being called to the bridge and getting involved in the next mission, you'll engage in a holodeck training program, talk to a few key hazard team members, and overhear conversations relating personal details about the crew. This element of the game doesn't seem to be very deep or provide all that many activities, but running around the bridge, engineering, and sick bay should provide a few moments of entertainment for those who've wondered what the locations might look like up close.

Soon enough, your team will be sent to investigate the origins of a distress call from the USS Dallas. By the time the transporter leaves you in Dallas' dark shuttle bay, the ship is derelict, without power or artificial gravity. The ensuing sequence is more reminiscent of a Star Trek episode than a typical first-person shooter level, as you'll have to explore the ship's maintenance tunnels, use your tricorder to interface with the power and gravity systems, and solve a series of simple puzzles to restore the systems. The power puzzle is one of several types that recur throughout the game. One involves rotating pipes drawn on a square grid. You must reestablish connection of the matching colors and avoid interference from other power sources. At their best, the game's minigame puzzles seem to require you to think through challenges in urgent circumstances, which is entirely appropriate for the Star Trek setting.

Danger can lurk around every corner, even in quiet levels.

In one level, you'll catch brief glimpses of scurrying alien shapes, which means that you'll be in for some real action soon. The pace actually picks up quickly once you solve several puzzles. Apparently, the USS Dallas has fallen victim to creatures called exomorphs, which a crew member helpfully points out must have been genetically engineered because they have jetpacks built right into their carapaces. The exomorphs play a central role in a story that has more than a few plot twists in store, and these small, clawed creatures hint at much bigger, nastier things to come. Waves of exomorphs can appear from behind in close quarters or swarm you in larger area, and they pose a real threat to you, even when you're armed with the fast-firing phaser rifle or the Federation's new phaser shotgun. Other hazard team members often have to be left to specific tasks, so you'll spend long stretches fighting it out on your own.

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Star Trek Elite Force II

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