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For the last several years, PC games based on the Star Trek franchise have changed from a mostly negative experience to something much more positive and enjoyable. The reasons for the changes are numerous for the most part, but the end result is that fans of Star Trek phenomena have been treated to some of the best PC gaming to be had in years. One of the games that helped propel this change for Trek based titles was StarFleet Command, released several years ago. A Starship combat simulator loosely based on the popular RPG/Strategy board game StarFleet Battles from the late 70's, StarFleet Command allowed players to assume the role of a Federation StarFleet Officer during the Original Series timeline of Captain Kirk and his famous shipmates aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise. The initial game proved to be a success, spawning several sequels, including StarFleet Command II and the Orion Pirates add-on pack. The creators of the original game have warped into the future of Star Trek, opening up brand new avenues of gaming for PC owners with the third installment of the series, entitled StarFleet Command III. The jump from the 23rd Century to the 24th allows for some interesting changes to the overall feel of the game, although most of the experience is reminiscent of the two preceding titles. StarFleet Command III isn't necessarily a rehash of an old school game, however, and does contain many new elements to its design structure and gameplay that should warrant attention from fans of the original releases. Changing the theme of the game, StarFleet Command III finds itself set in the timeline of Star Trek: The Next Generation, some 75 years after the voyages of Captain Kirk and the rest of the original crew of the Enterprise (where the background stories and gameplay of the previous editions of SFC were set in). Players now have the challenges of the 24th Century before them, with different ships, weapons, scenarios, as well as whole new Empires to compete with in order to control the galaxy. Some of the familiar faces like the Federation, Romulans, and the Klingons make a return to the gaming arena of SFCIII, joined by some new races to the fray: these include the Borg, the Cardassians, as well as the Ferengi.
At the start of either single player version of the game, players take control of the least powerful starship within their particular Empire's fleet. As they progress in the game and successfully complete the various missions and tasks set out before them, prestige points are awarded (the more difficult the mission, the more points are awarded). These points can be traded in for upgrades to the ships, including more accurate and powerful armaments, more efficient armor, faster engines, etc. Each Empire found within StarFleet Command III contains at least 6 ship classes, including a Frigate, Destroyer, Light Cruiser, Heavy Cruiser, Battlecruiser, and a Battleship. Special variations of certain vessel design classes can also be found within specific Empire's, including the Federation 'Dreadnought' Class, a supped up Heavy Battlecruiser better known to fans as the Galaxy Class Starship. Each of the over 25 vessels found within the game can be completely customized to fit the needs of the individual player: only the ship's class and originating Empire's technology dictates any limitations, such as armament types, upgradeable component space, speed limits, etc. Each campaign game found in SFCIII revolves around its own in-depth storyline, engaging the player in over 45 missions with specific goals and objectives, as well as a many random encounters and scenarios. Each Empire's campaign has its own viewpoint on the overall storyline within the game's domain, mixing up Role-Play, intrigue, and mystery as the players make their way towards the end of the game. Though combat makes up the majority of the gameplay found within StarFleet Command III (pitting players against aggressors in the various Empires found in the game, as well as some within their own sphere of influence), other types of Star Trek inspired missions can also be found, including system exploration, colonization, cargo runs, spying, etc. We were quite surprised to see the diversity in the missions that became available between the different Empire's as the game progressed: where each empire did have a number of similar mission styles and adventures, they also contained their own unique Empire themed missions that stayed true to either the Klingon, Federation, or Romulan canon.
Beyond the combat and Trek styled scenarios that could be found in the game, several other features of StarFleet Command III where also interesting. For example, each ship found in the title has a certain number of shuttlecraft that can be used for support purposes, such as attack, defense, and even hit and run type sniping: a definite boost when it comes to combat tactics. Also, combat teams made up of Marines could also be used throughout the game, allowing players to board enemy craft, planets, and starbases in order to destroy key ship systems (such as power sources, weapons mountings, etc.) in hit and run type tactics, or to overrun the opponents own security systems in order to commandeer the enemy vessel or base. On more than one occasion after finding ourselves seriously outgunned during a critical mission, we were actually able to change the odds in our favor by quickly taking down the shields of several enemy ships, beaming over Marines en masse, and using the enemies' own weapons against them in the battle.
Though the positive aspects of SFCIII were plenty, the game was far from perfect. For example, although a hefty amount of specialty weapons were available for each Empire (like the Tachyon Pulse and the Polaron Torpedo for the Klingons) they mostly seemed rather useless, and a total waste of Prestige points. More often than not, 'normal' weapons, like the typical Primary Phaser/Disrupter systems or the standard Photon Torpedo set-up worked much more efficiently in combat and had faster recharge rates. Certain ships in specific Empires weren't even worth the time or points upgrading at all, especially if one was close enough in points to purchase the next class of vessel within the fleet, which would usually provide more upgrade space and overall better weapons and support systems. Another useless aspect we ran across with the game came in the form of the new 'Officer RPG' recruitment system, which apparently wasn't available in previous editions of the StarFleet Command gaming family. Six different officers serve aboard every vessel found in the game, and in every empire. These positions include Tactical, Helm, Security, Ops, Engineer, and Doctor. Every 'character' has its own skill level, allowing them to perform their jobs at a certain level, depending on their experience. For example, a highly trained Tactical officer has a better chance of targeting an enemy vessel during combat, causing less misfires. An equally trained Helm officer can perform several difficult ship maneuvers that an under trained officer cannot, including the highly useful high-speed turn. As a player gains experience during missions, so does his Officers, increasing their skill level. We found that most of the Officers in the game raised their skill effectiveness in their specific department rather quickly, usually within four or five missions. We're not talking about the extremely difficult missions here; even the mundane planet scan scenarios were enough to raise your teams level quickly. With that in mind, it just seemed pointless to recruit expensive officers to your fold, when your own start-up crew could attain the exact same levels in a brief amount of time. Really the only time that this function came in handy was when an officer was killed during combat, which almost never happened during any of the three major campaigns that we played.
Once again, the developers of the StarFleet
Command series of games have scored a positive hit with their latest sequel.
Although the gameplay of StarFleet Command III is roughly the same as previous
releases, the change of identity from the original Star Trek series to its
modern day brethren was an excellent way to breathe new life into an aging game.
The graphics were decent, the storyline well written and along the lines of Star
Trek, and the starship action was non-stop. Simulation gamers looking for
another good Star Trek title to add to their collection will definitely find
StarFleet Command III to their liking even if the overall experience isn't as
challenging as one would like.
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Although
the look and the feel of the game may have changed slightly, the core of this
latest SFC title is still a starship simulator, allowing players to take part in
large-scale, real-time ship-to-ship combat a la Trek fashion. Solo players can
enter the fray via one of the three main single player campaigns, or one of the
four 'conquest' games. The campaign styled games allow players to take part in
an in-depth storyline with specific goals and objectives, portraying either a
Klingon Commander, StarFleet Captain, or a Romulan Agent; the 'conquest' games
play out within a free-for-all type atmosphere, without any structured events,
goals, or time constraints, save the advancement of your particular chosen
Empire. The other real difference between the two single players games is the
addition of The Borg as a playable Empire (without the storyline, of course).
The
control systems for the game are pretty much similar to those found in the
previous StarFleet releases. The game is played on a 2D field with a 3D
perspective, allowing players to change the angle between the Follow, Chase,
Overhead, and Enemy Follow Cameras. Utilizing both keyboard commands and
on-screen mouse clicks, players can control the various shipboard functions
ranging from Navigation, Tactical, Engineering, and even the Helm. Everything is
simplistic and streamlined on SFCIII and planted directly in front of your eyes
via the on-screen interface, making such systems as targeting, systems repair,
warp speed, and power allocations easy to find and operate. Pretty much the only
problem we kept running into with any of the in-game control aspects came from
the lack of a decent keyboard map diagram: we'd always end up striking an errant
key by mistake, throwing our camera view off or engaging warp by accident, and
then not knowing how to rectify the situation without pausing the game and
having to thumb through the game's manual repeatedly. A simplistic two-page
mapping key foldout would have been extremely useful for this particular title.
Another
interesting feature of the game came in the form of the sound effects and
voiceover work, not to mention the incredible visual designs and other in-game
aesthetics. The designers at Taldren went far beyond the norm in making this
latest StarFleet Command product as authentic and true to its Star Trek
background as possible. Every ship found in the game (save for a couple of
Romulan and Borg ships) is incredibly detailed and accurately reflects its
counterpart from the post-Original series programs and movies, including Star
Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager. The texturing and
modeling of all of the ships and objects found in the game are incredible to
view and extremely realistic in design. As for the sound effects, those too are
on par with the game's graphics design in the terms of Trek authenticity. Every
sound effect, from the launching of the Federation Quantum torpedoes, the
Klingon cloaking device effect, to the Borg beam-cutter weapon seems as if it
was taken directly from the Star Trek audio archives. Adding to this, the game's
designers where even able to recruit Trek actor alumni to perform voiceovers for
StarFleet Command III: included in the game's roster are Patrick Stewart
(portraying Captain Picard, of course), as well as Brock Peters and Greg Eagles
(who both portrayed Klingons in ST:TNG as well as ST:DS9).