The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Been fiddling with this first person shooter all weekend, and I have to say it's pretty darned good for a trekgame.

The basic scenario is that you're part of a special Hazard Team onboard the USS Voyager, designed to go into situations where high amounts of personal firepower are needed. After Voyager is unexpectedly slung into a sort of starship graveyard, you end up exploring and blasting your way through many of the hulks trapped there, gathering the resources and information the ship needs to escape.[1]

Running off the Quake 3 engine, game play was pretty smooth. In most of the scenarios you're working with computer controlled members of the Hazard Team, but with most of the corridors wide and the AI intelligent, they don't end up hanging up on the walls. It helps that (at least on Normal difficulty levels) they all seem invulnerable to friendly or unfriendly fire, so you don't have to worry if your own shots accidentally hit them.

There are nine different weapons, from a handheld phaser up to the games equivilent to the BFG 9000, providing a nice variety. I was especially happy that there were descernable differences in performance, from the way the "Tachyon Dispersement Gun" (read: chain gun)was good for up close and personal stuff but not for long range sniping, to the I-Mod phaser, which is good for all around work.

The main strength of this game (or weakness, depending on your point of view) is that it *feels* like a Voyager episode.[2] All the actors from the show provide the voices for their characters, and when you're wandering around Voyager's corridors, its appearance matches the sets from the show. It's extremely immersive, and I found it sucked away about ten hours from my weekend.

BTW The game also comes with the standard multiplayer capability, which according to my friend Steve rocks quite nicely.

[1] SPOILER The most fun scenario has you running around a cobbled together station constructed from a Klingon Bird of Prey, a Malon cruiser, and a Mirror/Mirror Constitution class ship.

The second most fun has you inflitrating a damaged Borg cube with Seven of Nine. For some odd reason, her Hazard Suit is equipped with spike heels...

[2] Okay, okay. A Voyager episode where the technobabble is minimized, the cast shows discernable personality traits, and there are no glaring internal contradictions.

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Star Trek: Elite Force
Author: n/a Category: computer game Company/Publisher: Raven Software Line: Star Trek Cost: $39.95 Page count: 156 Capsule Review by Royce Day on 10/23/00. Genre tags: Science fiction Space	Been fiddling with this first person shooter all weekend, and I have to say it's pretty darned good for a trekgame. The basic scenario is that you're part of a special Hazard Team onboard the USS Voyager, designed to go into situations where high amounts of personal firepower are needed. After Voyager is unexpectedly slung into a sort of starship graveyard, you end up exploring and blasting your way through many of the hulks trapped there, gathering the resources and information the ship needs to escape.[1] Running off the Quake 3 engine, game play was pretty smooth. In most of the scenarios you're working with computer controlled members of the Hazard Team, but with most of the corridors wide and the AI intelligent, they don't end up hanging up on the walls. It helps that (at least on Normal difficulty levels) they all seem invulnerable to friendly or unfriendly fire, so you don't have to worry if your own shots accidentally hit them. There are nine different weapons, from a handheld phaser up to the games equivilent to the BFG 9000, providing a nice variety. I was especially happy that there were descernable differences in performance, from the way the "Tachyon Dispersement Gun" (read: chain gun)was good for up close and personal stuff but not for long range sniping, to the I-Mod phaser, which is good for all around work. The main strength of this game (or weakness, depending on your point of view) is that it feels like a Voyager episode.[2] All the actors from the show provide the voices for their characters, and when you're wandering around Voyager's corridors, its appearance matches the sets from the show. It's extremely immersive, and I found it sucked away about ten hours from my weekend. BTW The game also comes with the standard multiplayer capability, which according to my friend Steve rocks quite nicely. [1] SPOILER The most fun scenario has you running around a cobbled together station constructed from a Klingon Bird of Prey, a Malon cruiser, and a Mirror/Mirror Constitution class ship. The second most fun has you inflitrating a damaged Borg cube with Seven of Nine. For some odd reason, her Hazard Suit is equipped with spike heels... [2] Okay, okay. A Voyager episode where the technobabble is minimized, the cast shows discernable personality traits, and there are no glaring internal contradictions. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Star Trek: Elite Force