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Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force - PAGE 1
Shawn Hawkins - Monday, October 9th, 2000

First Impressions

Once again there is an attempt to capitalize on the Star Trek series. Activision and Raven Software have released a new first person shooter: Star Trek Voyager-Elite Force. Elite Force begins much like the Voyager television series with one stipulation; you are playing the main character from the first person's point of view. In this episode, Voyager has been transported to an uncharted region of space by an unknown alien intelligence. Voyager is left helpless amongst a deluge of other drifting ships. It is up to you to aid in Voyager’s recovery and to protect the ship and its crew should any threatening life forms present themselves. As a member of the Hazard Team, under the command of Lt.Commander Tuvok, you must battle races of Star Trek greats such as Klingons, Malons, Hirogens, and the Borg. The action takes you to a variety of fighting environments such as a Klingon war ship and a standard Federation ship identical to the U.S.S.Enterprise Class A starship. For the "Treky" or even Star Trek enthusiast, this game provides an opportunity to indulge in joyous nostalgia. Sadly, for the first person shooter fan that wants to see some new ideas, disappointment is inevitable. Raven Software and Activision have succeeded in churning out ideas we have already seen on television along with a game engine that already exists in Quake 3. The aim of this game is not to push the first person shooter genre to new heights but rather to regurgitate Quake 3 with Star Trek Voyager characters and skins. Although Elite Force does show some achievement in programming and is in general an extremely professional product, it is not a breakthrough in first person shooter gaming, and is rather limited in its contributions to the genre.

The game's length is short in comparison to other games of this genre. It should take only a couple of days to finish even for the casual first person shooter hobbyist. This is truly disappointing. The thrust of the game itself is its close relation to the television series, giving it enormous possibility. For some reason, Raven Software kept it short and easy. This leaves the Star Trek enthusiast rather shortchanged and insulted. I pity the "Treky" who buys this product only to be teased with less than two full days of playing time in single player mode.

The general feel of the game is what creates a sense of being a character in the television series. It immerses the player into the perceptual world of a Star Trek Voyager crewmember. For instance, the single player main menu is in the style of a computer console aboard the ship. It even makes the "bleep" sounds adding to its credibility. (Raven Software and Activision were as thoughtful enough to allow key configuration to be accessed through the main menu, which can be accessed at any time during the game.) There is also a certain amount of depth within the behavior of the crewmembers. The player can initiate conversation with other crewmembers allowing for interesting dramatic monologues.

The gaming environments aboard alien ships are excellent in their graphic design and detail. There are countless examples of 3-dimensional looking textures, complete with moving background and foreground sections, as well as effects that aid in creating a sense of realism. There are a number of effects that look quite realistic such as firefly like creatures that fix broken equipment and moving liquid substances that mimic fluid dynamics with accuracy.

Both alien and crew characters have great facial expression complete with moving eyebrows and blinking eyes. Characters also take on a natural looking manner in that when standing still their bodies’ move slightly to imitate movement in the natural world. When characters speak, their lips move in perfect time with the words. These effects definitely add to the overall gaming experience. Although crewmembers look real, they certainly don't act like it. The AI controlling the crew would often leave them staring at walls or running aimlessly in circles when engaged in a gun battle. At times, a fellow crewmember would run directly) into the player's crossfire. It is these kinds of events that take away from the gaming experience.


Article Index

1.First Impressions
2.Sound, Weapons, and Final Thoughts
3.Screenshots

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