Starfleet Command Volume II: Empires at War Review for PC

Star Trek: Starfleet Com Review

For all the changes in Starfleet Command Volume II, it's basically just a slightly improved version of the original.

Starfleet Command Volume II is based on its predecessor, which in turn was inspired by the legendary Star Trek tabletop game, Star Fleet Battles. The sequel looks and sounds excellent, but for all the changes in Starfleet Command Volume II, it's basically just a slightly improved version of the original. The biggest change is the inclusion of a persistent online universe - a feature that isn't actually fully functional yet. So, since this was intended to be one of the game's biggest selling points, it's probably accurate to say that the best things about Starfleet Command Volume II will happen in the future. In any event, it'll be frustrating for those players who go out and buy the game this year.

To date, Starfleet Command remains the single best attempt to capture the spirit and style of Star Trek and translate it into an interesting strategy game. Taking the minutiae of Star Fleet Battles and making a real-time 3D combat engine out of it was risky - but it worked, and the resulting game was both exciting to play and a real challenge to master. While it isn't an exact port of the board game by any means, the essential premise of Starfleet Command - having a starship with a fixed amount of power to allocate to all sorts of functions - is well executed in real time. You can even approximate the turn-based sequence of the board game by turning the speed setting way down. And in the solo game, you can pause and issue orders.

At first glance, Starfleet Command Volume II looks very much like the first game, which is to say it looks fabulous. The graphics are slightly improved from the original in the normal view, but they look substantially better than those in Starfleet Command when you zoom in for a closer look at the ships. For instance, you'll see point-defense weapons firing at incoming missiles, which is quite impressive. Overall, the 3D-rendered ships look very good. The sounds are varied, but they are a lot like the ones in the first game; and the same goes for the music. The overall effect of the game's presentation is superb. The training missions are narrated by George Takei (Mr. Sulu from the series), who does a great job. The interface is essentially the same as before - it has similar rows of tiny buttons that frustrated many users the first time. But there are plenty of keyboard shortcuts to get around these, and some functions (like the fleet management area) have been expanded and improved.

Since it's similar, veteran Starfleet Command captains will undoubtedly approach Starfleet Command Volume II with confidence. However, after delving deeper into the game, these players might be surprised to find several changes to the gameplay - ones that have a significant impact on tactics. As a result, you shouldn't assume that your favorite tactical tricks will still work in Volume II. For instance, missiles have been toned down, so they're not necessarily the all-powerful weapons they tended to be in the first game. Volume II adds two new playable races - the Mirak and the Interstellar Concordium, the latter of which initiates an intergalactic war in the campaign game. These new races also introduce new tactical opportunities to the game. Still, the basic concepts of energy management remain unchanged, so players who are familiar with the first game should pick up on the balance tweaks in short order. But for newcomers to the series, the system can seem initially overwhelming - yet, it greatly rewards time invested.

Multiplayer Starfleet Command Volume II is a great experience, and you can play it either cooperatively against the computer (in team deathmatch mode) or as a free-for-all with multiple players who each have control over several ships. The game seems stable online, and lag is hardly a factor even when you play via a dial-up connection. Multiplayer Starfleet Command Volume II is undoubtedly the best way to experience the game, but for those who would rather play solo, the skirmish setup is as painless as ever.

Serious Star Trek fans would probably agree that one of the best ideas ever invented by anyone was the thought of running a persistent multiplayer universe based on Starfleet Command. The concept of actually commanding a ship, completing missions, progressing through the ranks, and competing against (or cooperating with) fellow human players in a virtual Star Trek universe is something that Starfleet Command players have wished for ever since the first game was released. Volume II is supposed to grant that wish.

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