Star Trek: Voyager Elite Force Updated Preview

The PlayStation 2 has received its fair share of first-person shooters, from original PS2 games like TimeSplitters to ports of PC products like Quake III Revolution. For its part, Majesco chose to go the port route with Star Trek: Voyager Elite Force. The company has picked one of the more acclaimed PC first-person shooters to convert to the PlayStation 2. Recently, we had the opportunity to log extensive playtime with the PlayStation 2 build of the game to bring you our updated impressions.

Disintegrating enemies at long range

The game's story, cutscenes, and overall presentation remain virtually the same as those of the PC version. Voyager Elite Force begins with all the essential trappings of the TV show, as credits and the series' theme music roll over panoramic views of the Voyager, floating through nebulas and other extraterrestrial locations. The crew of the Voyager is continuing its journey from the Delta Quadrant to Earth, when it unexpectedly encounters a mysterious alien vessel. A spirited battle, which is shown partly in impressive prerendered FMV, ensues. Using the powerful photon torpedoes, the Voyager is able to destroy the alien ship, but a resultant shock wave from the explosion suddenly draws the vessel into a mysterious part of the universe--a ship graveyard of sorts. This is where the game begins. As ensign Munroe on the ship's hazard team, you must initially aid the ship's officers in repairing the damages sustained by the Voyager and eventually uncover the mysteries behind the sudden and unexplained teleportation of the starship.

The game keeps its roots--particularly in the presentation department--closely tied to the TV show. All the familiar characters from the series, including Captain Janeway and Seven of Nine, make appearances throughout the game. Most of the series' stars have been recruited to provide the voice talent in the game. So, for example, Janeway is voiced by Cate Mulgrew, and Chakotay is voiced by his TV counterpart, Robert Beltran. Additionally, you have access to rather extensive bios for each of the Voyager crewmembers. Interested in Tuvok's motivations in joining the Voyager crew? You can simply look it up on the game's crew listing. Even the game's menu is patterned after the Voyager computer interface from the TV show. All of this attention to detail adds up to quite an authentic experience, as the game effectively exudes the feeling of actually being involved in a lengthy episode of Star Trek: Voyager.

Weapons need to be refilled frequently in Elite Force

In terms of gameplay, the primary differences between the PC and the PlayStation 2 version lie naturally in the control system. The game's complex control options require that every single button on the PlayStation 2 controller be used. For example, as in games like TimeSplitters, the left analog stick on the PS2 dual-shock controller is used for movement, while the right analog stick is used to look around. Although the game does include USB mouse and keyboard support, the PlayStation 2 version compensates by using an auto-aim system when you're using a controller. The auto-aim is generally quite adequate, but at times, the lock-on feature seems to be too fidgety. Particularly, when a large group of enemy attackers filled the screen, we found ourselves battling with the right analog stick to get the crosshairs aimed on the right enemy character. You might have the closest enemy attacker locked on, but a slight movement of the right analog can prompt the auto-aim feature to lock onto a more distant enemy, which can eventually force you to take on unnecessary damage. As with most first-person shooters, the keyboard and mouse configuration is easily more effective. But hopefully, Pipe Dream Interactive, the game's developer, will address these auto-aiming and sensitivity issues before the game's final release.

A variety of other control options are mapped to the PlayStation 2 controller. You can jump and crouch with the L1 and L2 shoulder buttons, respectively. You can fire your weapons with the R1 and R2 buttons, but don't forget that you run out of ammo rather quickly and need to constantly replenish by searching out the weapons refill stations on each level. You can toggle running on and off with the square button, you can center your view with the triangle button, you can access information on mission objectives with the circle button, and you can perform a variety of actions--such as opening doors and operating control panels--with the X-button. Finally, left and right on the D-pad cycles through weapons, and up and down zooms in and out. The general control scheme, other than the touchy auto-aim feature, works quite well in concert with the pace of the gameplay.