Starfleet Command 3

Preview - The latest strategic offering to boldly go...

'Oh no, it's another Star Trek game', I hear you cry. Another mediocre game where the developers take their medieval setting and just swap all the textures around and slap a silly space title on the box. As a huge Star Trek fan (Voyager not withstanding) that mainly sums up my thoughts on not just Star Trek games, but many licensed properties. Every so often though a game sneaks out that gives me a glimmer of hope. Works of art like Rare's "Goldeneye" and Computer Artwork's "The Thing" that inject the style and magic of their respective inspirations into the games they make. Starfleet Command does just that.

The Star Trek universe is one of the most well known franchises around. Everyone and their Grandmother knows who Kirk and Spock are. I've avidly tuned in to watch Picard explore the galaxy, Sisko to defend the wormhole and even seven long dismal dark years of Voyager hasn't dampened my enthusiasm for Roddenberry's creation. With this success comes the challenge of having to satisfy both the casual watchers and the hardcore aficionados. This dilemma carries over into the games that are spawned. The results are games like "Voyager: Elite Force" or "DS9:The Fallen" that are very good, but whilst playing them I sometimes sensed that the setting was very forced for the game style. Starfleet Command lets you fulfil the dream of all would be Captains. No, not a visit to Quarks holosuite for a chapter of Vulcan love slave. I mean grabbing yourself a star ship, arming yourself to the teeth with photon torpedoes and bolting about the galaxy seeking out new life, before swiftly blowing them up.

The first game was originally based on the board game of the same name and was successfully developed by Taldren software. Taldren went on to make a sequel and a stand-alone expansion pack and are now hard at work on the third major release called Starfleet Command 3 (catchy). Taldren have gained a very reputable following for solid gameplay, tactical depth capped off with nice graphics for this series. The fact that the same team have been working and refining the title is a very good sign as I'm sure the fans would agree. One addition to Taldren's team is Danny Pelfrey, an Emmy award winning composer who will be responsible for scoring the new game. The first two games were based in the Kirk era i.e. the original series, and were published by Interplay. However Activision will be publishing the third instalment and it will be based in the Next Generation era, just after Voyagers return from the Delta Quadrant. Activision acquired a ten year exclusive license back in 1998 to all past, current and future Star Trek game properties across all platforms with the only caveat being that previous agreements with other companies be kept, i.e. Interplay holds the original series license until the end of 2002.

Though the ships are rendered with an in house 3D engine essentially it's a flat playing area, but ships will move up and down to avoid clipping right through each other. You must manoeuvre your ship to bring your weaponry to bear on the enemy, trying to keep your own weak points covered. The managing of all your ships systems is the main tactical focus of the game. From balancing you power levels, deciding if you want more for weapons, speed, shields, or other aspects like counter measures and sensors. Like all good tactical games, the developers give you a host of options and it's up to you to use your cunning and wits to win a battle.