Star Trek: Starfleet Command 2 - Empires at War
by Interplay
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Category: Video Games
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Product Summary
Brand: InterplayFormat: CD-ROM
Release Date: 2000-12-13
Platform: Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me
Model: FG-C95-1185-2
Publisher: Interplay
Accessories:
Video Game Reviews of Star Trek: Starfleet Command 2 - Empires at War
Customer Review: Improved computer version of STAR FLEET BATTLES
Summary: 5 Stars
Second installment of this excellent Star Trek tactical level wargame which tests your ability to think, not the speed with which you can click the mouse or hit buttons on the keyboard.
The Star Fleet Command series of games are a brilliantly executed computer version of the Task Force Games & Amarillo Design Bureau Star Trek boardgame, Star Fleet Battles.
If you have ever played the boardgame, and enjoyed it, this has almost identical ships, races, and rules, but with the computer dealing with all the tedious Energy allocation, combat results, etc. So instead of filling in forms, rolling dice, looking up tables and trying to remember which phasers you've fired you can concentrate on how your starship can defeat the enemy.
This game does not require any ability to hit the right part of the screen with mouse or joystick, nor lightning-fast reactions, nor the ability to repeatedly press any computer control with RSI-inducing speed. It is a test of tactical ability and particularly of using your intelligence to set up situation where your ship's weapons will be more effective than those of your opponent. (There are also a few scenarios which can be solved by using diplomacy or by appropriate use of ship systems other than weapons.)
You can opt to fight single-ship battles, command a squadron of up to three ships, or fight a campaign game set at the time of the "ISC Pacification Campaign."
In the "Star Fleet Battles" history the Organians mysteriously disappeared in the 2260's, between the original "Star Trek" TV series and the first "Star Trek" film, and the Klingons took advantage of their absence to launch a major war which rapidly spread to engulf most of the races in the galaxy. The Organians returned and stopped that war, but encouraged a new power, the Interstellar Concordium, to impose peace on the galaxy. The attempt to impose a "Pax ISC" provides the backdrop and context for the campaign game.
The six Star Trek nations which you could play in the first Star Fleet Command game were the Federation, Klingons, Romulans or Gorns, and Lyrans or Hydrans from the boardgame. The Orion Pirates appear as a non-player race in the first two games (there is a later expansion in which you can play them.) This second game adds the ISC and re-introduces the Kzinti ships and systems under the name Mirak.
It is with some trepidation that I explain this, because a letter I wrote making a joke on this subject to a games magazine generated an avalanche of hate mail from Star Trek fans.
Larry Niven's Kzinti from his "Known Space" series also appear in the "Star Fleet Battles" universe: when Niven wrote some of the episodes of the animated Star Trek series many years ago, he adapted his own short story "The Soft Weapon" as a Star Trek tale, complete with Kzinti. So Task Force games allocated them a place in the Star Trek galaxy complete with a unique set of ship types and tactics. Larry doesn't seem to have been at all bothered by this, he certainly never sued TFG or the Amarillo Design Bureau, but for legal or contract reasons the people who put out the first version of the computer game decided that having the Kzinti in it was asking for trouble.
However in this second version of the computer game, they put a new race in the same part of the galaxy which the Kzinti occupied in the boardgame, flying exactly the same ship designs which the Kzinti used in the boardgame, so the wargamers who loved having those ships in their games were happy, but they called the replacement race the Mirak, and the graphic of a Mirak captain doesn't look like the Kzin in Larry Niven's books, so the lawyers were happy.
The other new thing in this second game is - CARRIERS AND FIGHTERS! Only the Hydrans had fighter shuttles in the first computer game, but in this one just about every carrier design in Star Fleet Battles from the mighty Federation Space Control Ship (my favourite ship in the game) down to light carriers is available.
There are two new campaign games - one available to all races which covers the history of the ISC Pacification campaign, and one resrtricted to the Mirak, Lyrans, Hydran which involves finding ancient technology and using it to defeat your enemies. The campaign games incorporate almost all the scenarios in the boardgame, from patrol and convoy actions to base attack/defence, and "the surprise reversed." There are also a range of battles in the campaign game which feature various space monsters new ideas like hostage rescue, and the campaign game knits together into an entertaining storyline.
For reference, there are currently four "Star Fleet Command" computer games
1) The original "Star Fleet Command" set in the general war
2) This game, "Star Fleet Command II, Empires at war" set about a decade later during the attempt by the Interstellar Concordium (ISC) to impose peace on the galaxy.
3) Star Fleet Command "Orion Pirates" which is a free-standing expansion for the second game, and you can play as any of the eight empires from this game or as one of eight clans of Orion pirates.
4) Star Fleet Command III, set a century later in Picard's time, and you can play as the Federation, Klingons (now allied to the Federation), Romulans (still enemy) or Borg.
So if you want to play the Orions, get the third expansion, if you want to play as or fight the Borg, get Star Fleet Command III.
Description of Star Trek: Starfleet Command 2 - Empires at War
Ever since Starfleet Command's release, Star Trek fans have been anxiously awaiting a sequel with the same blend of strategy, real-time action, and respect for its source material. At last Starfleet Command II: Empires at War is upon us, and although it doesn't quite live up to all the promises, it's still a worthy sequel. There are more races to explore, more technological gadgets to experiment with, and the game's stunning universe is rendered with an improved 3-D engine. Unfortunately, the campaigns for each race are boring and repetitive, and the promised online universe for massive multiplayer battles was not ready when the game was released.Starfleet Command II, like its excellent predecessor, is ultimately a game of balance. The ships you command are massively powerful, but that power can't be everywhere at once. Doubling your rear shields means reducing your defensive power elsewhere or shunting power away from the ship's weapons. Transporting marines to disable an enemy vessel's vital components or physically take it over requires lowering a shield section, leaving you completely vulnerable for a few precious seconds. Every tactic at your disposal involves compromise.
Realism is taken up a notch by the plodding, massive ships you command. Everything from turning to charging weapons takes time, forcing players to think several minutes ahead of their ship when plotting strategies. The ships look, sound, and behave as they should, and plumbing their various strengths and weaknesses can take weeks of study and practice.
The end result is a game that actually makes you feel like the captain of a large starship, to the point where the line between strategy game and all-out simulator is blurred. If the generic campaigns were improved and the massive multiplayer component ever works properly this could become the best Star Trek game ever. As it stands, it's still worth the money for its challenging skirmish modes and stunning audio-visual fidelity. --T. Byrl Baker
Pros:
- Lots of thought required, but the real-time action also keeps players on their toes
- Generally remains faithful to the board game it's based on while capitalizing on the computer's strengths
- The audio sounds like it was taken directly from a Star Trek movie, ships are rendered in amazing detail, and explosion effects are fantastic
- Persistent online universe wasn't available at launch, but should eventually make this game even better
- Severely weak campaigns
- Still plays out on a flat, two-dimensional plane instead of three dimensional space
Star Trek fans and strategy gamers loved the mighty starship combat in the original Starfleet Command. Interplay listened to gamers' cries for a sequel and made the all-new Starfleet Command II: Empires at War look better, play better, and overall even more impressive than the original. The single-player campaign is now called Metaverse, which comes from the term metagame, meaning game within a game. Each campaign has about 60 individual missions that feature greater context, flexibility, and impact on the fate of your empire. Metaverse is available for online play. There are two new races in addition to the original six: the savage Mirak Star League and the Interstellar Concordium, which aims to enforce peace at any cost. New ships are available, including escort vessels, patrol craft, and fighters, bringing the total variants to more than 1,000. A hex-based quadrant system now regulates movement, increasing the map resolution and the number of sectors. A new fleet interface makes for easy target monitoring and allows fleets to operate as a single unit or for individual ships to move autonomously.
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