Star Trek Voyager: 

Elite Force

(Click box cover art to order)

A Techtite Review

While many Trekkers worried if Y2K would be the beginning of the end for Star Trek on TV (the 2000/2001 season was Voyager's last), it still has its effect on the multimedia world. Episodes of the original series are now available on DVD, with Next Generation episodes coming soon! As for video games, while Hidden Evil was a bit of a let down,  Armada was a lot of fun. Now comes Star Trek  Voyager: Elite Force, and if it wasn't based on the least popular of the Star Trek spin offs, it might become the best selling Star Trek game ever, with a lot of the spirit of Star Trek throughout (even more than the Voyager series itself!).

The storyline involves a ship attacking Voyager that is actually much more dangerous than expected;  whenever ships are able to destroy probes like this one, they are considered useful, sent to a parallel dimension, and disassembled for parts. The Voyager soon finds itself among a graveyard of ships, with any number of mission possibilities. Among them are missions that require you to find a computer database with more information about where Voyager is, help find items to repair the ship, and most importantly, keep out of trouble until Voyager can escape (no easy task). As an added perk, you can play as either a female Ensign (for a sort of Tomb Raider feel to the cutscenes), or as a maverick male ensign, who often resists authority (what Trek character doesn't?). Choosing either one doesn't change gameplay in the least, although some Trekkies might be amused at the female Ensign's choice of "disguise" in the mission involving The Original Series.

Yes, you heard that right; there's even a mission that salutes the original series; and how cool is that? This game was obviously made by Trekkies, for Trekkies. Even elements of other Trek series are implemented into this storyline. Keep in mind, this "warp" of time and space means that any ship from the entire galaxy can be trapped in this parallel universe. Get ready to not only battle at least two new races, though also Klingons (who have been here so long, they know nothing about the truce between them and the Federation), Borg, the "swarm" (i.e., Species 8472), and yes, characters based on one of the best episodes from the original series itself! What characters these could be I'll leave as a surprise, though fans should be quite pleased at such fertile imagination in the action-game genre.

Fans of the Voyager series should be pleased even more. The game uses all except one of the series' original voices, and you interact with all of them throughout the game. On alternate missions, get ready to go on away teams that include Tuvok or Seven of Nine. During a Warp Core Breach, you get to help out Torres. When a shuttlecraft is needed, it is piloted by Paris. On at least three occasions, The Doctor is there to heal your wounds personally (usually after a heavy battle). Even Harry Kim, Chakotay, and Janeway are present, though mostly just in the in-game cutscenes. The list goes on and on, with even a few new characters to fill in the gaps ("your" character is among them).

The Voyager ship is able to be explored level by level, as missions progress; a very nice touch. While I would have liked to explore the ship more freely (only one or two levels can be explored at a time, before the next away mission begins), the attention to detail is exquisite.  You'll be able to visit the mess hall, transporter room, briefing room, bridge, shuttle bay, holodeck, and even your own quarters. Whenever a prototype weapon is introduced, you're offered to test it in the holodeck, in three amusing mini-quests(!), based on the Old West, Camelot, and the Klingon world, Kronos. After one of the tougher missions, a cute interactive moment is offered, where a teammate expresses some feelings for you, then gets interrupted by Neelix; a nice attention to storyline.

There are other attentions to storyline, though not as often as you'd wish. In one of the starting missions, you must make your way to Engineering, and along the way, you must help at least two teammates from possible explosions that might kill them. In one instance, you must decide between closing a shield over an explosive area before a crewman can escape, or allow him to limp to safety and activate the force field in the nick of time! Saving the crewmen means getting a clue to how to proceed, a la Half Life, though unfortunately such alternate choices are not seen for most of the rest of the game. You get to save a teammate from Borg assimilation, though that's about it. Maps were also a little bit too linear, with no major adventure-type puzzles; a small setback. Given all the recent 3D games that try to make something extra out of the 3D game genre, like Thief 2, MDK2, and of course Half-Life, this is slightly disappointing. Regardless, the game is still better than the earlier Trek 3D game in the past year, Hidden Evil, and is still a fun ride. 

The game uses the Quake III game engine, so you can already get some idea of the graphics at play here. FX for beaming into/out of an area, vaporizing a tough adversary, and character models themselves, are all excellently done. In case you were wondering, Seven of Nine isn't too shabby, either, especially on the away mission to a Borg Cube. Speaking of Borg; many have laser sights on their head that project as far as they can shoot, making a particularly eerie effect when walking slowly though the Borg ship, and suddenly a laser sight is targeted on you! As for other attributes, they even surpass Quake III itself; AI of your team mates actually make them useful to you on away missions (are you listening, Daikatana?), and environment items can be shot to affect future battles in that area (in one area, shooting a door's controls means enemy reinforcements cannot arrive).

Then there are the gripes. For one, given how much Seven of Nine saved the TV series from an early departure, you'd think she'd be seen in more scenes, and on more than just one away mission with you. Granted, it's the longest, coolest, Borg Cube away mission, yet it's still disappointing you don't see her more. The same goes for other crewmembers, who are mostly just there for cameo appearances during non-interactive cutscenes. Choosing your team would have been nice; perhaps with the option to always take along one "senior officer" per mission (after all, you're only an ensign). Still, with all except Jeri Ryan (7of9) reprising their actual character voices, even mere cameo appearances enhance the game.

Elite Force is also available as a "Collector's Edition," with some amusing added perks of the Trekkie-convention variety. One, there's an additional CD, with original game music and conceptual art (not unlike the "bonus features" of a DVD film!).  Second, there's a nicely manufactured, 96 page graphic novel, with an amusing story based on the series. Then there's a cool lapel pin, apparently resembling the communicator badges used by the "Elite Force" in the game. This Collector's Edition is better than most, IMO, because unlike other "limited collector's editions," the makers of this game realize that people who would want to buy this item would rather do it off the shelf or online at a software web site, and not on eBay from a "software collector", with the price nearly tripled! In other words, the collector's edition is still for sale, and readily available, as of the time of this review; you can actually buy the collector's edition, without having to pre-order the game months in advance. What a concept!

In conclusion, Collector's Edition or not, this is one of the better action games this year. Its rating goes down a notch only because of its linear gameplay and lack of adventure features that made Thief 2 and the like so superior this year. Even so, it's still a lot of fun, and highly recommended for any Trekkie. After all, could you really pass up going with Seven of Nine on an away mission?

	Final Rating : Large Crater. It's a shame that this game is based on one of the lesser Star Trek spin offs, because it's one of the best recent Trek games.
For more on this site's ratings system, click here.

(Click box cover art to order)