STAR TREK: VOYAGER - ELITE FORCE
Developer: Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Game Type: First Person Shooter
Similar To: Half-Life

Date: 10/20/2000
By: Rice

    When it comes to movie franchises that are ported to games, they generally do horrible. The translation is shoddy, the graphics and voice acting don't match up, and on top of that, the gameplay is utterly boring and resembles nothing of what the original holds. Case and point: the Star Trek franchise. As far as movies and TV shows go for this Gene Roddenberry creation, it's spawned millions of fans. For some reason though, when it comes to games, Star Trek just flops.

    However, there are two things going for the die-hard Trekkies this time that may get past this jinx. Firstly, Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force is built on the venerable Quake 3 Arena engine. Immediately upon knowing that, you can expect gorgeous graphics. Secondly, the game is developed by Raven Software. Believe me when I say nothing but brilliant quality titles come out of their house... especially first person shooters; Hexen, Heretic, Soldier of Fortune, and to round out the list, ST:V-EF.

Oh, baby... commence warp sequence!

    Raven is definitely no stranger to id's engine technology. All their first person shooters utilize a derivation of id's engine in one way or another, dating all the way back to good ol' Doom. ST:V-EF is only the 2nd game to come out sporting Q3A's engine, with Ritual's Heavy Metal: FAKK2 beating them out by a week or so. Pitting those two head to head in a graphics contest results in FAKK2 winning simply because that game allows for more flexibility and creativity in level modelling. However, that doesn't mean Elite Force's are anything to sneeze at!

    The Voyager ship is awesome. All aspects of it are modeled intricatly, including the sick bay, Captain's deck, turbo lifts, conference rooms, warp drive rooms, etc.... I had to surpress a shiver when I first heard my commander say, "Energize!". Likewise, the characters look just like their counterpart on TV. The Voyager crew's all there: Captain Janeway, Tuvok, Tom Paris, and the Doc. You also have your typical Klingon scavengers and of course, the menacing Borg. Trekkies rejoice! You finally have a game in which you can identify with, and actually take part in engrossingly.

"You will be assimilated..."

    A bit about the actual game itself: You play Ensign Alexander (or Alexandria if you choose female) Munro, second in command of Voyager's Elite Force. It's basically a squad designated to handle dangerous situations... perfect excuse for Raven to get some action in there. Not just gun-tootin' action either; there are also times when it seems like you're playing Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Janitor. The ship gets pretty wrecked, and since you're wearing a handy dandy hazard suit, you're often sent into the messy areas to clean up. That's not necessarily a bad thing, because it adds variety to the monotenous run and gun gameplay.

    Raven did a good job getting the player into the plotline as well. Sometimes there are pre-rendered cutscenes of Voyager zipping through space, and other times there are engine rendered cutscenes that stitch the story together. A big plus is that the mouths move accordingly to speech as well! My pet peeve reared its ugly head once again, but was quickly silenced by the excellent lip synching job. Another element of interactivity is the ability for you to walk around and make small talk with other crew members during your times of idling between jobs. It lacks the in depth conversations you have w/ the NPC's like in Deus Ex, but holds up well enough on its own.

Strollin' the hallways of the Voyager.

    The game itself is short. I don't think it took me more than 15 hours to beat the entire thing, and that's a generous estimate. The levels are fairly linear, and there really aren't any hard puzzles to solve. Press a button here, shoot an energy source here, crawl through a tunnel there, etc.... For some reason though, it rarely gets tedious, if at all. The whole time, I always felt I was on a "Star Trek" mission, and executed the tasks handed down to me w/ utmost urgency. I think part of the reason is the aforementioned well organized storyline, and the fact that rarely any mission is a solo one.

    I must applaud the sidekick concept implemented by Raven here, because rather them being a burden to me, I actually appreciated them there when I got into heavy firefights w/ enemies. The only thing is that they're still mortal, so you gotta protect their asses or else they'll die. Unless you're somewhat sadistic, you'll have the displeasure of watching them beam their dead body back to Voyager while you continue your mission minus one crew member. There are also minor scripted events that occur depending on some of your choices. For example, while on janitorial duty once, a generator down some corridor exploded, and a man was running for his life. You can either A.) turn on the force field BEFORE he escapes, thereby blocking his exit route and watch the fire engulf him, or B.) turn on the force field RIGHT AFTER he escapes and subsequently save the day, or C.) stand around like a dunce until the fire kills you too.

Energize!

    The sound and speech in ST:V-EF are likewise excellent. As I mentioned before, I got a nerdy thrill when I first heard the commander command, "Energize!" because it sounded so real. Plus, while you're on your team missions, the AI's yakk away in the background to give miscellaneous orders or just to make small talk. That may sound petty and annoying, but believe me, it really enhances the entire Star Trek experience. The voice acting wasn't cheesy either, unlike FAKK2's. When you beat the game, and the credits start rolling up, you'll see an extensive list of voice actors that collaborated to make it all possible. Even the Borg and their mechanical monotone sounded genuine.

    All in all, guess what? Raven comes through once again with another entertaining title that not only delivers full scale fun, but also halted the Star Trek gaming jinx that's plagued the franchise. Not only that, I can smell sequel / mission pack coming, because of the solid foundation that's been set with this game, the potentials have now grown astronomically. You need not be a fan of Star Trek to enjoy this game. I wasn't, and still ain't a fan of it. As you can see, it hasn't dampened my enthusiasm for it by one bit. By the way, multiplayer kicks ass too. It's smooth and fast paced, especially with all the laser flying around your head. I'll be looking forward to shoving this game into our next LAN party schedule. CTF, Borgs vs. Humans baby!

*Bzzzt* Eat that! You mechanical clown...

Final Grade: A-
-- Another winner by Raven. Doesn't add anything particularly ground breaking, but it's addictive and fun.

The Scale is as follows:
A+: Cream of the crop. Revolutionary in every way. Game of the year.
A: Very top notch. I had a great experience. Must make my top 10 list to qualify as an A.
A-: Not too shabby. Entertaining and overall good. 90% of the population will enjoy it.
B+ to B-: Still above average. Recommend for people that enjoy the particular genre.
C+ to C-: Average stuff... weak recommendation on my part. Make your own decision.
D+ and below: Crap. Don't go for it, unless it's for a special occasion or something.