Star Trek: Voyager Elite Force

The Star Trek universe has been the subject of many PC games; after all, it is a very popular and well-loved sci-fi franchise.  However, many of the games did not live up to the fans (or gamers) expectations--which is a major disappointment since much fun could be had playing in a world filled with alien and star ships.

Originally released for the PC, Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force is a first-person shooter based on the Voyager television series (and the game based on Voyager as well).  This is also a title that has gamers interacting with recognizable characters--such as the entire Voyager crew--and has familiar enemies to fight such as the Klingons.  To top things off there are nine different weapons and various alien ships to explore.  There’s also the option of playing as a male or female officer.

The plot is interesting too: The U.S.S Voyager is tricked into answering a misleading distress call and is somehow transported into a graveyard of alien ships.  Gamers assume the role of Alex Munro (or Alexandra Munro depending on the gender you choose), second in command of the elite Hazard Team formed by Lieutenant Commander Tuvok.  Suddenly the Hazard Team finds themselves facing human pirates, Klingons and the mechanical zombie-like Borg.  The mission is to defend the Voyager and help find those responsible for bringing them into the unknown territory.

The game uses the Quake 3 Arena engine that allows the action to be fast and furious, but the action is constantly interrupted by frequent requests to save the game and frustratingly long load times.  Thankfully, the controls are very simple and those already familiar with the PS2’s other first-person shooters should feel right at home.  All the basic functions are there, only now each of the nine weapons has two firing modes that have different damage effects on enemies.

Being a part of a team, there are also several missions that require you to fight alongside team members.  They actually help you out when there are multiple foes to face, but all the enemies seem to only want to attack you and often ignore the others. Many of the enemies seem so bent on attacking you that all that they almost always never miss.  Luckily there are many health and weapon energy stations that allows you to fill up on health or add more ammo to your weapons.

You can also interact with Voyager crewmembers and even the senior officers like Captain Janeway and Seven of Nine . . . all of them voiced by the actual actors that portray them on the show.  The voice acting and dialogue is exactly what you would find on the show too.  The disappointment is that characters don’t really treat you differently as Alex or Alexandra and the story doesn’t change either.

The graphics are a mixed bag.  There are certain places--such as the Borg Cube--that look good interior and enemy-wise.  And the characters, especially the senior officers look good.  Tuvok looks a lot like the real life actor and that gives the game that comfortingly familiar Star Trek feel.  Yet there are many spots where the graphics (and this is mostly directed toward backgrounds and cut-scenes) that take on a PS1 quality to them.

Elite Force really shines in the multiplayer games dubbed the holomatch here, and up to four players can battle in thirty-three holodeck scenarios and even choose different multiplayer options.  Because the holodeck has the ability to conjure up unique scenarios like the Old West or even medieval times, the battles feel original and intense.  Four players (split four ways on the screen) can even team up in pairs of twos and hunt the other team down.

Elite Force had the potential to be not only a really stellar first-person shooter but also a Star Trek title that would surpass all others.  Yet its sometimes-sloppy graphics, constant interruptions and substandard enemy AI dull things considerably.  Still, this is a title Star Trek and first-person shooter fans will still enjoy nonetheless.

Gameplay: 7.9
The controls are no surprise since the PS2 has seen a steady outpouring of first-person shooters and the best thing about combat is that each of the nine weapons available has two different firing modes that are easy to fire.  The action is occasionally frantic and aiming can be difficult at these times, in fact, aiming can be very difficult considering how erratic some enemies move.

The biggest problem is the enemy AI.  Enemies seem to hardly miss when shooting at you and the fact that the Star Trek world uses transporter technology, enemies “beam in” behind you or around you.  The Quake 3 engine is fast and smooth, but when entering a new area a long load screen interrupts the game’s action.

Graphics: 7.5

The graphics fail and triumph in different sections of the game, but this unstable balance result in the same impression--this game feels more like a PS1 game rather than a PS2 game.  There are backgrounds during cut-scenes that have a sloppy texture to them and then again, during explorations of different alien ships, the backgrounds are highly detailed.  Some characters lack detail while others--like Seven of Nine, for example--are detailed enough that they bring to mind the actors that play them almost immediately.

Sound: 7.6
Sound-wise the game also lacks a certain background mood during battle or cut-scenes that advance the story.  Being a based on television show, the soundtrack doesn’t even feature the main Voyager theme music during the game’s opening credits.  The soundtrack that’s there is inspired by the series soundtrack and feels more like a pale imitation that takes away from the Star Trek experience.

Interesting enough, though, is the voice acting and dialogue that impressively sounds very much like an episode of the show.  You can walk in on conversations from crewmembers or the senior officers and gamers can even speak with different people--although many times characters repeat the same phrases.

Difficulty: 7.8
There are four difficulty settings (Easy, Normal, Challenging, and Difficult) but even Normal seems challenging enough.  The Challenging and Difficult options just throw more enemies at you or diminishes the use of health or weapon charging stations.

Aiming is not an easy task and the fact that enemies “beam” into the battle make fighting a really challenging task . . . a good thing, really.  But the fact that many of the enemies don’t often miss when they fire at you can prove to be an unfair advantage.

Concept: 8.0
The idea to design a first-person shooter in the Star Trek world does seem a little out of place for those familiar with the show (rarely does an episode of the show start with intense gun battles). Somehow Elite Force manages to pull off a believable battle theme.  Its story is crafted well enough that the shooting does have a purpose rather than just a shoot-anything-that-moves feel that many failed FPS games have.

Adding a gender option is also a good idea, although the difference in gameplay is hardly noticeable.  Characters simple refer to your character as “he” or she” and the only thing that is different is the voices and the cut-scene image of your character.

Multiplayer: 8.4
Strangely enough, the game’s strongpoint happens to be the multiplayer function that allows four players (using a multitap, of course) to battle against one another in thirty-three different holodeck scenarios and assume the role of up to fifty-three different characters.

Gamers can basically fight one another using options such as Point Limit (players have to reach a certain point level to win the match) or Point Limit (players with the most points before the time is up wins).  Gamers can even team up in Team Play (paired in twos) or Friendly Fire (players have the option of turning on their team partner).

Overall: 7.6
Elite Force has its moments--many of them, in fact--but glitches in the graphics and the constant and long load times diminish the overall appeal of this title.  Star Trek and Voyager fans, however, will be pleased with the recognizable characters but most of all they’ll be thrilled to be playing in the Star Trek universe.