They may have canned the show, but they can never take away the Voyager -- at least not if you pick up a copy of the Star Trek: Voyager Elite Force Expansion Pack which lets you beam aboard the fabled ship and explore 10 of its decks. The pack also includes new multiplayer modes, maps and models and features two new single player games. The pack also includes fixes for the original game, demos of Star Trek: Away Team and Star Trek wallpaper, all for a penny under $20.
OverviewGameplay, Controls, Interface
The Expansion Pack's main feature happens to also be its weakest one. I can't imagine any but the most hardcore Trekkies enjoying the pointless, plotless, seemingly endless Virtual Voyager option. The point of this feature is to explore 10 decks of the ship including the bridge, officer quarters, holodeck, transporter room, sickbay and engineering, trying to complete incredibly simplistic objectives like visiting astrophysics. You can also collect odd items, such as the Seven of Nine plate set or action figurines of different characters during this bizzaro scavenger hunt.
Buried in the middle of this mindless foray into Trekkie trivia is a chance to play three fairly engaging single player missions in Voyager's holodeck. My favorite mission is based on Lt. Parris' kitschy Captain Proton serial. In it you play Capt. Proton and, although the enemies are fairly mundane and rather repetitive, the black and white film noir feel of the mission makes it a must play.
Multiplayer
The real reason to buy the Expansion Pack is for the multiplayer add-ons which drag Star Trek: Voyager Elite Force kicking and screaming into competition with Quake and Half-Life. The pack adds 12 new models including the ones featured in Captain Proton and 21 new maps including some excellent Voyager mock-ups and interesting player created maps. Most importantly, the Expansion Pack also adds five new ways to beat up on your best buds.
You can still play the standard holomatch, team holomatch, and capture the flag, but you won't want to after you check out the new modes.
In Action Hero, one player is randomly selected to start off with more weapons, health, and power than the other players. Killing the action player gives you five frags and the Action Hero bonus of more stuff. Unfortunately that tends to make for quickly out-balanced games with a single strong player typically killing the Action Hero and dominating the game.
In Specialties you choose from six specialties for your character. Your choices include infiltrator, medic, technician, demolitionist, heavy weapon and sniper. Each grants you a couple of new abilities and limits the types of weapons you can use.
In Elimination, once you're out you have to sit out for the rest of the game, which doesn't really fit with the whole holodeck theme.
Assimilation is a team game where one side plays as the Borg and the other as the soon to be victims. Players killed by Borg respawn as Borg. But if you kill the Borg Queen, played by a randomly selected Borg-side player, then the game is yours. Borg players also move slower, have the ability to teleport and only get to pick from one or two weapons.
Finally the Disintegration option allows you to arm players with a Super Compression Rifle, which instantly kills and makes for exciting fire fights.
The game also allows you play all of the multiplayer modes in a single player game with computer controlled players. The computer AI may not make for rocket scientists but it will give you a run for your money, allowing you time to work on basic strategy and letting you memorize all of those new maps.
Graphics
Besides the fact that there are tons of new models and maps, the graphics remain at the same high level in the Expansion Pack as they were in the original Elite Force game.
Audio
It may not seem like a big deal, but Jeri Ryan, sultry Jeri Ryan, actually does all of the voice acting for her Seven of Nine character. Heck, she even went back and did her voice for the original game as well. If you're too cheap to fork over the $20 for the Expansion Pack make sure you download the free update for her voice -- her lovely voice.
System Requirements
Pentium II 233Mhz or AMD 350Mhz K6-2, 8 MB video card, 64 MB RAM, Windows 95/98/ME/2000/NT 4.0, 150 MB of uncompressed hard drive space plus 130 MB for the Windows swap file, and a 4x CD-ROM drive.
The full version of Star Trek: Voyager Elite Force is required in order to play the Expansion Pack.
Documentation
Why, oh why do the new single player missions have to be buried in the middle of the boring Virtual Voyager and, more importantly, why didn't they mention it in any of the documentation. It took me forever to figure that out on my own.
Bottom Line
I can't figure out what made them decide to connect such a mediocre feature as the Virtual Voyager with such a strong game as Elite Force. I think it must be because they wanted to beef up what they were giving customers, which also explains the wallpaper add-ons. But even with that, calling this release an Expansion Pack is overstating things -- it's really more of a module or add-on. But it is only $20 and the multiplayer options make it worth the price.
Overall rating: 8
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Total votes: 34
May 1, 2003 - 9:00pm
Even though the six-year run of Star Trek: Voyager is over, the Elite Forces unit is going. Trumping the original Star Trek: Elite Force, the sequel picks up where the show left off. And, Trekkie or not, there's an epic story in the making that'll make you want to sign on for the new mission.
The setup is this: After destroying a Borg sphere--an event that occurs at the end of the Star Trek: Voyager television series and serves as your first mission in Elite Force II--your crew gets unwillingly reassigned to desk jobs by an annoying Star Fleet bureaucrat. Thankfully, Captain Picard (voiced by Patrick Stewart) intervenes, reassembles your crew, and whisks you off on a surprisingly atypical series of missions that involve Alien-style creatures and two races new to the Star Trek universe: the Attrexians and the Idryll.
The Attrexians are a gnomish society centered on mining and construction. The Idryll, an elfish-looking race long oppressed by the Attrexians, are much more sophisticated--and mystical. The conflict between these two races, as well as the origin and nature of the alien menace, is central to the game's main story line.
Elite Force II's plot is massive (at least three times as big as the original, which should please fans unhappy with the first game's short length) and spans more than 10 different locales, which range from trippy bio-sci-fi factories to arctic Romulan outposts. This large number of worlds and settings promises to keep gamers interested, especially given the amount of play variance Ritual and Activision are striving to achieve
Star Trek Elite Force 2 Free Download
DEMO MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
3D Hardware Accelerator Card required - 100% DirectX 9.0 compatible 32MB video card and drivers
Pentium III 600 or Athlon processor or higher English version of Microsoft Windows 98/98SE/ME/2000/XP 128MB of RAM Quad Speed CD-ROM drive (600 K/sec sustained transfer rate) and drivers 200 MB of uncompressed free hard disk space (plus 500MB for Windows swap file) 100% DirectX 9.0 compatible 16 bit sound card and drivers 100% Windows 98/98SE/ME/2000/XP compatible mouse, keyboard and drivers DirectX 9.0
Important Note: *Some 3D accelerator cards may not be compatible with the 3D acceleration features utilized by Star Trek Elite Force II. Please refer to your hardware manufacturer for 100% DirectX 9.0 compatibility. (This product does not support Microsoft Windows 95 or NT.)
Demo Supported Chipsets for Windows 98/98SE/ME/2000/XP
ATI Radeon cards (* Radeon 7200 not supported in Demo) nVidia TNT2 and TNT2 Ultra All nVidia GeForce chipsets
IMPORTANT NOTE: This demo is based on pre-release code, and does not reflect the expected final quality level of the full, released version of Star Trek Elite Force II. Any bugs encountered will likely be resolved; weapon balance, level design, scripted sequences and monsters encountered all may change in the final version.
Due to its pre-release nature, Activision Customer Support does not officially support this demo. Please do not contact Activision Customer Support for assistance with this pre-release demo.
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Star Trek: Elite Force II is a first-person shooter video game developed by Ritual Entertainment and published by Activision. It was released on June 20, 2003 for Microsoft Windows and later for Apple Mac OS X. Elite Force II is a sequel to 2000's Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force. Whereas the original game was powered by the first version of id Software's id Tech 3 engine, Elite Force II is based on a heavily modified version of the Quake III: Team Arena engine with Ritual's ÜberTools GDK, allowing for expansive outdoor environments and higher quality facial animations.
Background[edit]
Unlike the first game, Elite Force II is largely set on board the USS Enterprise-E stationed in the Alpha Quadrant. The game's storyline is a semi-sequel to the movie Star Trek: Nemesis, and the end of Star Trek: Voyager series. Many of the members from the original Hazard Team reappear. However, only a few of the primary cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation did voice acting for the game, among them Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard and Dwight Schultz as Reginald Barclay. Tim Russ returned to do voice work as Tuvok. Several actors from Star Trek series provided additional voice acting: Jeffrey Combs (Weyoun from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Commander Shran from Star Trek: Enterprise) as one of the main villains; Tony Todd (Kurn from Star Trek: The Next Generation) as Korban; J. G. Hertzler (Martok from Deep Space Nine, plus roles in Voyager and Enterprise) as Lurok; and Vaughn Armstrong (Admiral Forrest in Enterprise) who contributed several character voices.
In the game, the player reprises the role of Alexander Munro (voiced by Rino Romano), a Starfleet lieutenant. During the first several levels Lieutenant Munro returns to the Alpha Quadrant with the rest of the Voyager's crew and is assigned to a teaching position at Starfleet Academy. Eventually he is transferred to the position of a newly formed Hazard Team's leader on Enterprise-E under the command of Captain Picard. There are also limited opportunities for exploring the ship between missions, reminiscent of the 'Virtual Voyager' feature found in the first game's expansion pack.
Plot[edit]
The game begins with Voyager traveling through a Borg transwarp conduit (as seen in the Voyager series finale, 'Endgame') when a Borg sphere captures the ship. The Hazard Team, led by Lieutenant Munro, is dispatched to destroy the sphere's dampening field. Voyager then breaks free from the Borg Sphere and returns to the Alpha Quadrant.
A screenshot from the game depicting a shootout between the player and the Romulans in a simulated scenario.
Considered to be redundant, the Hazard team is split up; Munro is assigned to teach small unit tactics at Starfleet Academy. Two years later and after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis, Captain Picard witnesses his performance and requests that Munro re-establish the Hazard Team for service on board the USS Enterprise-E. Shortly after the reinstatement, the Enterprise receives a distress call from the USS Dallas, where Telsia Murphy, a former member of the Hazard Team, has been assigned as a security officer.
Once aboard, the Hazard Team encounters a race of aliens (later dubbed Exomorphs) who have commandeered the ship. After attempting (and succeeding) to save the remaining crew, Munro is reunited with Telsia, who joins the team. A nearby Attrexian station which the Dallas had sought to aid is still besieged by the Exomorphs. When the defense systems are reactivated the remaining invaders abandon the station, leaving ion trails which the Enterprise follows to the planet Idryll.
There the Hazard Team locates archaeological post manufacturing the Exomorphs under control of Krindo, his father, and Kleeya (an optional love interest of the main character). The Idryll explain that the creatures turned hostile because of a malfunction. Kleeya later decides to stay on board the Enterprise, which upsets Krindo. His forces invade the Enterprise in proximity of another Exomorph-infested colony, Taravar 7.
The Enterprise fends off the attackers and the Hazard team is beamed to Taravar 7, where it aids the inhabitants. In a nearby factory, Krindo's crashed ship is discovered. Munro is captured, but is set free when Krindo witnesses his father's death at the hands of the Exomorphs he created, which no longer obey him. Munro then persuades him to help stop the Exomorphs and the two escape together.
On the Enterprise, Krindo confesses he made money by selling Idryll artifacts to a Ferengi named Omag. He surmises that Omag decoded the location of Master Control Facility, a place with the ability to override all other centers controlling Exomorphs. With Krindo's help, Omag is tracked to a nearby mercenary base and captured.
During his interrogation, Omag reveals that the coordinates to the facility were sold to a secret Romulan group called the Empty Crown. Munro infiltrates the base in a Romulan disguise and with the help of a spy retrieves the location of the Master Control Facility. However, when the informant declares her true allegiance to the Empty Crown, a fight ensues. Gonzalez, one of the Hazard Team members, subsequently sacrifices himself so that Munro can be transported to safety.
The final battle takes place in the Romulan Neutral Zone. Munro enters the facility where the remnants of Empty Crown forces reside under the leadership of Commander Suldok. While the Enterprise is threatened by Romulan Warbirds for violating the Neutral zone, the final confrontation commences on the surface. In culminates with Munro defeating Suldok and confronting the overmind of Exomorphs, a creature called Archeopendra.
After the battle, Munro returns to the Enterprise, where Picard hands over the evidence regarding the Empty Crown and peacefully leaves the Neutral zone. He is also extremely pleased with the Hazard Team's performance and recommends the incorporation of similar units within Starfleet. In the last scene Alexander Munro is seen kissing either Telsia Murphy or Kleeya, depending on whose invitation he chose during the exploration of the ship.
Gameplay[edit]
In Elite Force II, the main protagonist makes his way through linear and strictly defined levels, encountering various kinds of hostile creatures along the way. He is often accompanied by members of the Hazard Team who cooperate with him. These characters often help Munro enter areas or disable devices crucial for the plot to evolve.
When switched to secondary mode the tricorder can detect and highlight structural defects.
There are total of 15 weapons (including the tricorder) at the player's disposal. All of them facilitate two modes of operation. The primary fire commonly releases a steady stream of shots (or energy bursts) inflicting low damage at a low ammo cost, while the secondary fire expends a larger amount of ammo to fire a much slower and more powerful blast. All energy-based weapons can be recharged using terminals while projectile-based weapons need to be supplied with appropriate ammo. Health is replenished by activating nanites in player's suit using health stations.
Although Elite Force II is a first-person shooter, solving puzzles is also required. During the waveform modulation the player is presented with random sine wave attributes of which must be exactly reproduced by using the tricorder. There are three options - amplitude, frequency and offset modulation - that accordingly alter the initial curve. On higher difficulty levels a factor of time is to be taken into account; if the protagonist doesn't complete the puzzle within the time limit, the waveform is generated again with different proportions. To help player a composite visualization is present.
Power routing minigame
Power routing is needed when certain devices too difficult for the tricorder to modulate must be turned on. The objective is to connect two nodes on the opposite sides of the grid by manipulating the pipes. There are two types of pipes to be found within the array:
On higher difficulty levels, the number of nodes to be connected rises and a time limit is introduced. If player fails to solve the puzzle within the time frame, the pipes are reset to their original positions.
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In scripted situations, the main character may also choose a response from a predefined set which has an effect on the outcome of the discussion and possible repercussions. For instance if Munro offers a prisoner chance to escape, he ends up in prison himself. A preference regarding a love interest is also determined from the choice of dialogue options - the player can accept invitations from one of two female non-player characters.
Throughout the course of game, the player is given a possibility to collect golden starships (miniature models of USS Excelsior NX-2000) to unlock additional content in a form of six additional playable levels. There are a total of 81 starships, 70 of which are required to unlock the six secret maps accessible via the main menu.
Development[edit]
Towards the end of March 2002, rumors were reported that a sequel to Elite Force was in development.[1] Activision confirmed these rumors at the beginning of April,[2] officially announcing Star Trek: Elite Force II on April 4, 2002.[3] The game was the last Star Trek title to be developed under Activision's supervision, following a dispute with Star Trek licensing holder Viacom,[4] and was produced by Ritual Entertainment.[5] Like Elite Force, Elite Force II was developed on the id Tech 3 game engine, one of the last games to do so.[3]
In November 2003 Ritual Entertainment released the source code of their server-side code base for multiplayer gaming under a non-commercial license.[6][7]
Reception[edit]
Elite Force II received 'generally favorable reviews' according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[8]
References[edit]
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Star_Trek:_Elite_Force_II&oldid=902066428'
If you're looking for a fix after watching the final episode of Star Trek: Voyager, your search is over: Activision has released a worthy shooter based on the syndicated television series. Quake III lovers will be ecstatic about Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force since it uses the same engine -- think of it as Quake in the Star Trek universe. The game lets you feel as if you're actually on Voyager itself, with every little detail, from the way the ship looks to the way enemies attack you.
You begin the first level in the dark and creepy halls of a Borg cube. The Borg look terrifying and, just as in the television series, they go down when you shoot them -- only for a minute, though, before they adapt to your weapons -- and then you'd better start running. As all persevering gamers will discover, however, passing the first level is simply a prologue to the actual start of the game, similar to the opening sequence on the show.
Why, though, couldn't the designers get the crew of Voyager right? They almost look like their real-life counterparts but not exactly -- their appearances look just a little off. Fortunately, the voices are correct and, to the game's credit, it uses the real actors from the show for voiceovers. Capt. Janeway commands you in that familiar nasal-tone, Tuvok sounds like his logical-self, and the doctor is as annoying as usual.
Since it's powered by the Quake III engine, Voyager's gameplay will be immediately familiar to fans of id's game with its identical controls. While those used to the Quake series will have no problems getting into Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force, novice players may take a bit longer to build up proficiency.
With a game filled with interesting environments and a riveting storyline, one would think it would be difficult to put down, but that's not necessarily the case here. The single-player mode, though fun, is too short and you'll beam the game up to a shelf in a matter of days (most will be able to finish it in a weekend).
Yet the game's replay value is bolstered by its multiplayer modes, where you can select from the entire cast of the Voyager crew and battle online. Despite its short nature, Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force should be given a chance since the enjoyment level is high. As the Borg are so fond of saying: 'Resistance is futile.'
Graphics: The graphics are very attractive and could be a selling point. From the moment you step onto the bridge, you feel as if you are actually watching the television series and the Borg cube looks really creepy. One click root crack. Characters almost look like their real-life counterparts but not exactly. For example, Torres' face just doesn't look right with the forehead just a bit too high and smaller than on the TV show. Mostly, though, graphics are sharp and explosions scream Star Trek.
Sound: The sound is excellent with phaser blasts, warp effects and even transporting noises spot on. The best feature, though, is the real-life actors who lend voices to the game to give it that extra Star Trek: Voyager feel. The familiar nasal tones of Capt. Kathryn Janeway at the helm or Tuvok offering his logical insight give the game a boost. Overall, the sound will blow you away.
Enjoyment: Although short, it's still very enjoyable. Like any other Star Trek episode, the story is great and the characters are always interesting and you'll be sucked into the story to find out what happens next. The real enjoyment comes from playing multiplayer, where you can select from any of your favorite characters and do battle against your friends or multiple players online in a variety of death matches. Because of the Quake III engine, deathmatch gameplay is much the same as in that game with nothing really new.
Replay Value: Single player mission is too short to sustain solo play for long. Playing against others online in a huge frag-fest is mandatory to extending the game's replay appeal.
People who downloaded Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force have also downloaded:
Star Trek: Elite Force 2, Star Trek: Armada 2, Star Trek: Armada, Star Trek: Bridge Commander, Star Trek: Legacy, Star Trek: Away Team, Star Trek: Starfleet Command 3, Star Trek: Borg Overview
Star Trek: Voyager Elite Force (ST:VEF) is not your typical Star Trek game and as soon as the cheering dies down, I’ll tell you why. While most of previous video games based on the Star Trek franchise have been commercially effective, it was a rare one that was better than mediocre. With such a rich universe and dozens of unique characters, it is surprising that the first Star Trek game in recent memory that really works is this first-person shooter game.
When the crew from the USS Voyager (the latest Star Trek incarnation and the only one still producing new episodes) defends itself from an attack by a hostile probe, the ship and crew get transported to a starship graveyard. It seems that a Bermuda Triangle in space is sucking up ships left-and-right and some conquest hungry aliens are behind it. Your character, Ensign Munroe, must help run odd jobs as part of a new Hazard Team. Whether the Captain calls for beaming to an alien vessel, fixing a leak in engineering, or defending the Voyager from cockroaches the size of Volvos, you’re her man (or woman). While both the story (and the newly introduced characters) are second-rate television material, they make for a quick-paced background to some heavy-duty action sequences. Though there is a little too much action for a typical Star Trek episode, there is a nice dose for a thinking-man’s action game.
Gameplay, Controls, Interface
The actual controls and gameplay should be familiar to anyone who has played Half-Life, Quake, etc. (which means everyone reading this). You attack baddies, defend teammates, and hit switches while trying not to get killed. Being that there will be many fans of the show playing this game, I’m glad that the designers opted to have at least some quantity of real environment type puzzles. Not only do these decision points partially change what happens later in the mission, they provide a nice change of pace from mindless action game mechanics. While the quality of the puzzles compare favorable with a game like Half-Life, there were not enough of them to warrant a score as high as a game of Half-Life’s caliber. All in all, the game seemed a little brief, only taking me about 15 hours to beat on the lowest difficulty level.
Of course, multiplayer is encouraged -- this through the use of Quake style arenas, new character skins for all of the Star Trek characters, and some interesting themed levels. You can also play through the multiplayer levels against computer controlled bots if, like me, you have a slow Internet connection.
Graphics
Using the new Quake III engine, ST:VEF looks amazing. Both smooth and detailed, the ships and characters are lovely to look at. Your teammates move around you, taking point, gesturing, opening doors, talking (watch their lips move!), and generally being helpful and a nuisance at the same time. The weapon effects are superb, with lightning crackling, phasers flashing, and your Personal Photon Torpedo Launcher (YES! You heard right!) causing burn marks on the walls. There are a few video scenes showcasing ships maneuvering or firing, but most of the cinematics are done within the Quake engine. None of the cinematics are spectacular, but they serve to forward the story. The scripted sequences that occur while you are playing, ala Half-Life, do much more to set the mood.
Audio
I may have been able to adjust the audio for better error-free playback, but as it was, the crewmembers' comments would often skip and stop abruptly. The quality of the actual voice acting was generally good, with the name actors doing their job enthusiastically. I had to groan at a few of the especially campy lines (come on people, even Star Trek: Voyager isn’t that campy), but most of the dialogue drew me into the idea that I was playing along with an episode of the show.
System Requirements
Pentium II 233Mhz, 8 MB 3D hardware accelerated video card, 64 MB RAM, and 650 MB hard drive space.
Bottom Line
Just a little before the end of ST:VEF, there is one section that frightened the daylights out of me. Not one of those shock-induced jumps caused by monsters falling from the ceiling, but an actual case of the cold sweats. That was when I knew that ST:VEF was not just a great Star Trek game, but a really great game in general.
Overall rating: 7
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