RTSHeaven Reviews: Elite Force 2

[DukeLeto]

RTSHeaven Reviews

Welcome to the second edition of RTSHeaven Reviews. Today, we're taking a look at the new Trek-based First-Person Shooter, Elite Force 2.

First off, though, let me tell you of a few changes. For one, I'll be adding a new section, "continuity", for sequels. THis would deal with how well they go together. For instance, it would make no sense if Munro, Telsia, and Chel were missing from the sequel, now would it? I'll also be instituting a ratings system: 3.5+ is recommended, 4 is a Bronze Star, 4.5 is Silver, and 5 out of 5 is Gold. I've also updated the "vital stats" section with some new stuff: Shelf Price (USD), version reviewed, ESRB Rating, and my own parental advisory. All for you, my devoted fans! :P

Review #2 - Star Trek: Elite Force 2

Ah, Elite Force. The game that finally broke the Star Trek curse. It finally appealed to the masses, and not just the Trekkies. But will EF2 have the same universal appeal as it's predescessor, or will it fall through the cracks like Armada?

I've seen that bloke somewhere before...

Elite Force 2 starts off with Munro on a Borg Sphere, seperated from most of his team...somewhat familiar. What a way to start out a sequel, exactly like the original! That bodes well... ::)

But don't be fooled: Elite Force 2 is not to be overlooked. In fact, you should buy it. Right now. Go get it. You will definately be happy.

But, if you want a better explanation on why, read on...

Critical Stats

Full Name: Star Trek: Elite Force 2

Genre: First-person shooter

Publisher: Activision

Developer: Ritual Entertainment

List Price: $49.99 USD

Version: 1.0

ESRB Rating: Teen

Parental Advisory: Scifi Action/Violence, Mild gore, Extremely mild innuendo.* Not for the really young ones.

*This is a rocky area for some parents, so to elaborate: Alex and Telsia have an implied relationship, although you never see more than hugging, and one kiss (and then only if you watch the cutscenes), and Kleeya must get awful cold in that bikini... ;)

Graphics

The engine is, one again, the Quake Three engine with some major improvements. The weapons and environments are very well modeled, featuring some absolutely breathtaking backdrops and effects. The skinning is superbly done, and the surfaces actually appear to have some depth. Characthers are modeled equally well, but their movement is a bit jerky. The Q3 engine was designed for deathmathes, not character development. You do have to say one thing, though. The death animations are superb. ;)

Speaking of the Q3 engine, it does start to show it's age. However, with graphics turned up pretty high, EF2 can easily compete with the likes of UT2k3 and Renegade.

But, minor gripes aside, EF2 delivers a solid graphical performance.

Section score: 4/5

On a side note: Has anyone else noticed that Munro looks exactly like John Travolta?

Audio

Another area where Elite Force 2 really shines is the audio.

Weapon sounds and explosions are terrific, adding a great feel to the battles. Character voices are little bit underwhelming, though, as they say the same things over and over again. (Chell must say "We've got contacts!" no less than thirteen times a mission.) And theere is a supicious absence of most of the lead characters: Worf, Troi, LaForge, and Data are all missing entirely, and there are very poor stand-ins for Crusher and the computer.

The soundtrack, of course, is terrific. It is dynamic as well, meaning you can really get revved up in a good battle. (The other side of the coin is sometimes falling asleep during puzzles. :P)

An interesting note is that Munro is voiced by the same guy who does Kyle Katarn in Star Wars: Jedi Outcast. Who would've thunk it?

Section score: 4/5

Storyline

The first missions are taken directly from the last episode of Voyager, Endgame. Fans finally get to learn how Voyager got in, and back out of, the Borg Sphere.

After you are transferred to the Enterprise, the rest of the story involves ending the Exomorph threat. While mostly ripped from Alien, it is still fascinating to watch unfold, and draws you in so much, you'll likely be up all night trying to finish it...

Section score: 5/5

Single Player

...at which you will likely succeed. Although mush longer than the first, Elite Force 2 is still much shorter than the industry standard. I managed to finish it on easy in 5 days, and that was playing no more than two or three hours a day.

That aside, the campaign is great fun. The atmosphere is set perfectly for each mission. For instance, when you first beam aboard the derelict Dallas, the lights are out and gravity is off. Dead bodies float around the ship, and you see gimpses of aliens darting into holes and jefferies tubes.

Unfortunately, the AI is rather lackluster. Enemies make very little use of cover (and exomorphs never go for cover), and are incredibly easy to sinpe off. The teamate AI is equally dumb. Your teammates will often get in your way, and never manage to kill enemies (except possibly exomorphs) by themselves. They are also absent for almost every single boss, with the exception of only one.

Furthermore, you spend a lot of the game alone. I thought it was supposed to be the Hazard Team, not the Hazard Guy. Of course, given the teammate AI, maybe that's not such a bad thing after all. :P

Nonetheless, the puzzles and "mini-games" can be quite interesting. Although they may require you to reload a lot.

On that note, a few places are downright infuriating. For instance, the second-to-last level has you duking it out with all of the exomorph bosses to that point, two at a time, which means a lot of reloading.

All that aside, you will definately enjoy playing through the game, although the campaign's "replauyabiltiy" is almost nil. (Except to find more golden starships to unlock the secret levels, which are kind of cool)

Ona a final note: There are a few prompts to choose what to say when talking to Telsia and Kleeya, allowing you to establish eaither a lasting relationship with one of them. (Note: I would choose Telsia. Kleeya eventually leaves Enterprise, and by then, Telsia's so pissed at you, she responds to all prompts to talk with "Get away from me.")

Section score: 3/5

Continuity

Not mcuh to say; follows the original fluidly, except that even if you saved Foster and Odell in the original, they are absent from EF2. Plus you can't play as a woman, but be honest: who cares? How many women are drawn in by mass killing of giant insects? Meh.

Section Score: 4/5

Multiplayer

Multiplayer is fantastically executedm with Id's now-famous ingame server browser. There are relatively few maps, but the ones included are all unique (well, one of the DM maps is the holodeck training map) and provide quite a bit of variety.

The multiplayer game modes are pretty standard, including DM, TDM, and CTF. The new ones, Bomb Defusion and Power Struggle, however, are rather unique. There is a host of modifiers as well, including Action Hero, Disentigration (think Insta-gib), and the ever-popular Specialties.

Bot AI, although again somewhat lackluster, finally understands all the modifiers. Unfortunately, they're rather dumbfounded by Bomb Diffusion.

Section score: 5/5

Gameplay

The weapons are very balanced this time around, finally allowing you to play a holomatch with a weapon other than a Photon (now Quantam) Burst.

The mood, both in SP and MP, is wonderfully set. Lighting and atmosphere are matched perfectly to the level's "feel".

Er, well, what's left to be said that hasn't been already? Buy it, play it, love it.

Section score: 5/5

The lowdown

Pros:

Great graphics.

Riveting storyline.

Good campaigns

Fun multiplayer.

Varied MP maps.

Balanced weapons.

Cons:

Aging engine.

Braindead AI.

Bots don't understand "Bomb Defusal" mode.

Still a bit short.

Reccomended: Yes.

Overall Score: 4.5 *Silver Star award*

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I leave you with this: Go buy EF2, and try not to stay up too late.

Be sure to leave some comments!

[Navaros]

most professional reviewers say the game is quite sucky since you spend 90% of your time killing personality-less insects rather than cool enemies like Borg. sounds very boring to me. to make it a fun game, it should have been 90% killing Borg instead of just a few levels at the start with Borg and the rest mostly just killing bugs. ::)

[DukeLeto]

Which reviewers would you be talking about?

Certainly not GamesDomain: http://gamesdomain.com/gdreview/zones/reviews/pc/jun03/Star_Trek_2.html

Or PCGamerUK: 84%

Eh? Now which reviewers where you talking about...? ::)

Somehow, I get the feeling if it was 90% killing Borg, you would have complained about that too. ::)

[Navaros]

Somehow, I get the feeling if it was 90% killing Borg, you would have complained about that too. ::)

no way dude. Borg are COOL. bugs are boring.

[DukeLeto]

I would have preferred more Borg. Borg are cool.

But it';s not all bugs. In fact, the layout is like this:

Mission one: Borg

Mission two: Romulans

Mission three: Exomorphs (bugs)

Mission four: Exomorphs

Mission five: Spider things (not exomorphs)

Mission six: Idryll

Mission seven: Exomorphs

Mission eight: Exomorphs

Mission nine: Mixture of Kilngons, Humans, and Andorians

Mission ten: Romulans

Mission eleven: Mixture of Romulans and Exomorphs

Meh. Maybe you're right after all...

[Apollyon]

Well I'd have preferred fighting less bugs in Emperor too. ;D

[Taqwa11]

most professional reviewers say the game is quite sucky since you spend 90% of your time killing personality-less insects rather than cool enemies like Borg. sounds very boring to me. to make it a fun game, it should have been 90% killing Borg instead of just a few levels at the start with Borg and the rest mostly just killing bugs. ::)

The Borg has personality? One of the Borg's most appealing aspects as an evil entity is the fact that it is without personality or individuality. I don't know about having more Borg killing and less bug killing. After all, the first EF had A LOT of Borg killing AND bug killing to satisfy Borg-killers and bug-killers alike. :D