Star Trek: Armada

Developer: Activision
Publisher: Activision

 

System Requirements Pentium 166 Mhz, 32 MB RAM

Recommended Pentium II 266MHz, 64+ MB RAM, TNT-based video card

Ratings
Code Issues Graphics:  8.5 Gorgeous maps, excellent ship models and great space battles…for an RTS anyway. Audio: 8 The music is functional, but the voice acting is top notch as are the sound effects. Interf ace: 7 A mix-bag here.  It is very functional and easy to use, but takes up too much of your screen.	Play Issues Solo Play: 7.5 Fun while it lasts because the story is great, but if only the AI was a little more offensive. Replay: 6 The quick action maps will keep you coming back when you need a Trek fix…or after watching First Contact. Multiplay: 7.5 When everything is stable, multiplayer is a lot of fun, but not addictive.   Learning Curve: 8 The first four Federation missions are more like tutorials that get you up to speed.
Other/Notes Documentation: 7.5: The manual tells you all you need to know…if you can find it. Pros:  Fun, fun, fun. And the eye candy is pretty excellent to bo//ot. Cons: The AI. Overall: 7.4

The Star Trek license in the world of PC games has a less than stellar reputation. Many companies get the license and seem to have no idea what to do with it. We've seen FMV games, adventure, 4X-space empire building, 'simulations', tactical strategy and now real-time strategy. Activision currently holds the license to make games based on Star Trek: The Next Generation. They present to us what amounts to a surprisingly fun, but flawed gameplay experience.

Star Trek Armada is comprised of a campaign consisting of twenty scenarios. You will begin the game as the Federation and move on to the Klingons, the Romulans and finally the Borg. The whole campaign is wrapped around a rather well thought out plot. Without ruining the surprises, the Federation wants to deal with the Borg threat, the Klingons are dealing with civil unrest, and the Romulans want an energy source that the Borg requires before they attempt to assimilate Earth. At the start of each mission, you are presented with a cinematic to set up the scenario. You are than given your mission goals which can change, and often do, mid-game. There are also cut scenes within the scenario's that help continue the progression of the story. The missions themselves are not always comprised of elimination of the enemy. They deal with capture this item, rescue this doctor, see this ship safely to the wormhole, etc. The initial Federation missions are a disappointment. They come off as merely a tutorial of how to play, which can ruin it for some. The missions do become progressively harder. But take note you Federation fans, you do get to play them again before the game is through.

Armada has all the trappings of a typical RTS game. To build anything, you need crew and dilithium. Dilithium is obtained through the mining of nearby moons that do eventually run out. Crews are added to your pool at a steady rate through starbases, your initial command center. Each race has a corresponding building. While they look different, they function the same. The only differences between the races are their ships. Romulans can cloak, Klingons have powerful weapons, the Federation is well balanced and the Borg can assimilate. So while their 'powers' do differ, the difference is not as noticeable as say the three opposing races in Starcraft. These 'powers' come in the form of the Federations anti-matter mines and the chain reaction pulsar, the Klingons Commando Teams and Poleron Torpedoes, the Romulan Spy and Phase Cloak and last, but not least, the Borgs Shield Remodulation and auto-assimilators (to name a few). Buildings come in the form of shipyards, torpedo turrets, the Federation Science Facility, the Klingon Gre'Thor Armory, the Romulan Tal Shiar Facility and the Borg Assembly Matrix. All the cool Next Generation ships are here also. These include the Defiant and Sovereign-class, the Klingon Bird of Prey and Vor'cha, the Romulan Raptor and Warbird-class and of course the Borg sphere and Cube. The Borg are also given additional ships to help keep them in balance with the other three races (something that I don't personally agree with, but your mileage might vary).

So unless you are completely new to the RTS genre, I think you can figure out the gameplay: collect resources, build your base, add defenses, build a bunch of ships and go attack the enemy. This is where one of the glaring flaws of Armada stands bold, the lack of a competent AI. The computer AI allows you to build your defenses and neglects any concerted offensives. It is pleased to sit where it is and wait for you to come snooping. Fun at first, but by the middle of the game you'll be scratching your head as three enemy ships attempt to get through the ten plus torpedo turrets you set up. And I don't mean one force of three ships; it will be a steady stream. The AI somehow figures that a set number is enough and doesn't play as aggressively as it needs to. This is not to say the enemy AI us useless, for taking out its base can be just as difficult and the ever-present threat of running out of dilithium will provide some long-term strategy. But I must admit it was the well-done story and its integration into the scenarios that kept me playing more than the gameplay itself. That and the fact that sending in an armada of cloaked Romulan ships unseen into the heart of the enemy defenses and than opening fire at there starbase does provide a certain thrill (of course this may be for Trekkers only). A second AI problem is your own ships. This game boasts some piss poor pathfinding.

Another reason you may find yourself playing are the graphics. Armada boasts some of the most beautiful space battles I have seen in a game. There is a cinematic action feature that hides the interface and provides an up close view of Star Trek ships blasting each other, very much like the initial battle in First Contact. It is a huge thrill I must say. Unfortunately, it is difficult to properly command your ships in this view which brings us to another Armada problem. In the regular game window, the interface, however useful it is, takes up a third of the screen. While they give you the option to move the different interface windows around and even hide them, the fact is that you need them, they are very useful, but they are just too big.

The interface is comprised of a mini-map, a speed rail that allows quick access to your ships special weapons, a cinematic window that shows you what's going on in another part of the map (double clicking on the window brings you to the spot), a ship display and the command menu. With the command menu, you can give limited orders to your ships. You can give them an alert status (green makes them run, yellow makes them attack only if attacked and red puts them on full offensive), tell them to scout, seek and destroy or defend a position (again, but to name a few).

In Armada, you are moving your 3D polygon ships on a 2D map. This is not Homeworld folks, the gameplay is simpler. While you get to group up to eight ships together, there are no formations to speak of. But the maps are gorgeous. While typical space is rather devoid of, well anything, planets, moons and some sort of nebula-like gases have always populated the space of the Star Trek universe. Armada is no different. Asteroids effectively rope off areas, planets provide better crew replacement, dilitium moons are important strategic areas and gases abound. The nebulae represented in Armada comes in varying colors that have varying effects (a rather interesting and well thought out obstacle). Red nebula damages ships with its volatile nature, yellow is radioactive and begins killing off your crew, while blue effectively cancels out all ship weapons and shields (a safe haven from the enemy). Green and purple also have their own effects (you don't want me to tell you everything, do you?).

Armada also has quick play maps and the typical multiplayer capability. The quick play maps allow you full control over setting up the type of game you wish to play. The multiplayer game, now more stable after the patch, is a lot of fun to play. Activision has also released, for download, a map editor and other editing utilities. There are a number of websites that provide mods for Armada. There is definitely a cult following for this game.

Star Trek Armada is a good game for any RTS Trekker. RTS fans themselves may find it fun for awhile, but you will not be playing it extensively due to the weak AI and lack of truly differing races. But for what it set out to do, Armada is a solid game.

If you like to comment on this review, please post a message at the forum.
Reviewed by Anthony Sage