Review--Star Trek Legacy

[Lord Martok]

VIDEOGAME: STAR TREK: LEGACY
DEVELOPER: MAD DOC SOFTWARE/BEHESDA SOFTWORKS
PUBLISHER: CBS
SYSTEMS: XBOX 360 AND PC (360 VERSION REVIEWED)
RATING: E (EVERYONE for FANTASY VIOLENCE AND MILD LANGUAGE)
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 1 (2-4 ONLINE)

Graphics: 5/5
Sound: 4.5/5
Control: 3.5/5
Story: 3/5
Endorphin Factor: 3/5
Frustration Factor: 3/5

Scoring system:
Average: 3.6 /5

GAMES IT COULD BE COMPARED TO: STAR TREK BRIDGE COMMANDER, STAR TREK ARMADA

DETAILS: This is the third Star Trek game released from Bethesda and CBS. The first was Star Trek Encounters for the Playstation 2, a very arcadey shoot 'em up. The second was Star Trek Tactical Assault for the Sony PSP and the Nintendo DS; a portable version of Starfleet Command. Now we have what is supposed to be the creme de la creme of the Trek games from this company in the form of Star Trek Legacy, a game which spans all of Star Trek lore, from Enterprise, TOS, TNG, DS9, and Voyager. And I have to say, I'm a bit underwhelmed.

The object of the game is to beat the single player missions with a fleet that you amass throughout the generations. You can switch between individual ships for direct control, or you can command your small fleet to go to a certain point, or engage a certain target.

Graphically, this game is beautiful. The ships are gorgeous and extremely detailed...even moreso than they were on the older PC title Star Trek Bridge Commander (and at the time, those ship meshes were damn sweet!). The nebula and planets look great, and the starbases this time around finally get a good dosage of detail and light. (In Star Trek Tactical Assault, starbases were given minimal detailing). Phasers and photons blaze in this game. And they've covered the gamut of phaser effects from the original series and the Next Generation, right down to the "rapid fire" phasers from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Explosions are pretty nice. Ships break up, and explode with a small shockwave effect (that incidentally does NOT damage nearby ships....hmmmm.)

Sounds and music are also well rendered. Phasers and photons sound like they should. The voice acting from Scott Bakula, William Shatner, Patrick Stewart, Avery Brooks, and Kate Mulgrew (each playing the captains they characterized in their respective shows) varies from tired to enthusiastic (as a result of reading their lines). The music in this game is the same scores that you may have heard if you owned/played Star Trek Encounters and/or Star Trek Tactical Assault. The musical score is beautiful nonetheless, and varies with the intensity of the action on screen.

CONTROL: Ok...here's where we run into the first real hiccup. Sometimes the controls just DON'T wanna work...and it doesn't matter if you've taken damage from enemy fire or not. They sometimes just WON'T respond. It's rare...but it does happen. The ships handle pretty much the way they should, like slow, lumbering capital ships. (Smaller vessels have a bit more maneuverability.) Speed is handled in one of two ways. By tapping the "B" button, you toggle between full impulse power, and all-stop. By tapping "Y", you can enter warp (and exit warp) if conditions permit. You can also plot where you wish to go (as well as your fleet) on the area map. Subsystems targetting....one word....fuggeddaboutit! Even if you do achieve a top phaser lock, you cannot choose which subsystem to attack on an enemy ship, no matter what the game manual tells you....and that sucks! You can also allocate power between the three power usage systems on your ship(s)....weapons, engines, and shields. You can choose to strike a total balance between the three, or between any two, or just slam all power into one subunit.

Also, getting a photon/quantum torpedo lock is spotty at best. It seems that the torpedo tubes have a razor thin firing arc, and it's often difficult to fire off more than one torpedo when you do get that occasional torpedo lock. The nice thing is, for the most part, the torpedoes that you do manage to fire seem to track pretty well.

In Skirmish mode, (single player deathmatch) the most frustrating thing is that you CAN NOT choose which enemy ships you wish to face. Almost by default, whatever ship you pick for yourself, the computer INVARIABLY picks a battleship from whatever era you choose to fight in. (For example, if you choose to fight in the Original series era, and you decide to play a Federation Miranda Class--a cruiser....and you decide you want your enemy to be a Klingon, the AI will automatically pick the Ravenous battleship. That just flat out bites, because a battleship is the most powerful class in this game.) Hopefully, Bethesda will release a patch that corrects some of the oversights I've listed above.

Online multiplayer mode is interesting, and you run into a wide array of tactical styles. Being that this is a niche game, I am not at all surprised that there were so few players online the first night I tried this. Most of the time, they wanted to run single-ship deathmatches (each player commanding a single ship instead of up to four each.) The small group of players I encountered were pretty cool, and had a great sense of humor....hopefully more in the Trek community of gaming are like that. Occasionally, a player would be dropped from the server, and that proved frustrating (for those of us who were able to continue, as well as for the player in question.)

For all the graphical eye candy, and the desire to command a small fleet of ships in a gorgeous 3D space universe, this game leaves MUCH to be desired, and feels as if it were sent out the door only half completed...despite the two or three times it got pushed back. (Almost like the Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness game.)

BOTTOM LINE: Trekkers/(Trekkies) will probably enjoy this game. I am a Trek fan, and although it didn't quite live up to the press it was getting, it's still a decent Trek game, and hopefully patches will be released to enhance this game to a better level of stature.

[Caelux II]

That's a little bit of a bummer. I'm a huge Star Trek fan (The Next Generation owns all), and I was actually looking forward to this. I was hoping to maybe get this and immerse myself in the game. I think I'll have to give it a rent first.

I'd really love to see a Star Trek game based on the Next Generation series. Where your missions (there would have to be a gazillion of 'em) tied in closely with the TV shows.

One aspect of the game you could be Picard and do actual "ship" missions that take you around the galaxy and actually take time to cross, battle with the Enterprise, even do transport missions. Another part the game could be either 3rd person or first person await teams. You'd get to beam down to planets and complete missions, whether they be to help civilizations, stop natural disasters, or save nearby planets and stuff. Even on await teams during hostile encounters, you could have a command system (ala Ghost Recon/Rainbow) to give orders to your party members. The possiblilties are truely endless. So many Star Trek shows (past and present) offer so many ideas for things to do in a game.

This type of game, done with next-gen expectations for graphics, content, plot, etc, would truely make me a happy Trekkie!!!

[Lord Martok]

Originally Posted by Drakkari

That's a little bit of a bummer. I'm a huge Star Trek fan (The Next Generation owns all), and I was actually looking forward to this. I was hoping to maybe get this and immerse myself in the game. I think I'll have to give it a rent first.

I'd really love to see a Star Trek game based on the Next Generation series. Where your missions (there would have to be a gazillion of 'em) tied in closely with the TV shows.

One aspect of the game you could be Picard and do actual "ship" missions that take you around the galaxy and actually take time to cross, battle with the Enterprise, even do transport missions. Another part the game could be either 3rd person or first person await teams. You'd get to beam down to planets and complete missions, whether they be to help civilizations, stop natural disasters, or save nearby planets and stuff. Even on await teams during hostile encounters, you could have a command system (ala Ghost Recon/Rainbow) to give orders to your party members. The possiblilties are truely endless. So many Star Trek shows (past and present) offer so many ideas for things to do in a game.

This type of game, done with next-gen expectations for graphics, content, plot, etc, would truely make me a happy Trekkie!!!

There is a Star Trek Massive Multiplayer Online in the works that almost sounds more like your cup o' tea, Drak.

Also, I just finished a killer multiplayer session with three friends, and we had an awesome time this time around. (I even got me a few kills....W00T!)

Subsystem targetting is achievable, you just have to be really quick and patient at the same time. If you're going to try and keep weapons dwell on an enemy ship, use slower impulse speeds.

I've found it best to keep energy allocation between weapons and shields (with a favor toward shields).

Lord Martok

[Caelux II]

Would you happen to know the name of this game in the works?

Edit: Nevermind, I found it. Star Trek Online is the name of it. All I gotta say is WOW! If this game sees the light of day, it's gonna be an amazing experience. To think you start off in Starfleet and can work your way up to being a Captain and commanding your own ship....awesomeness! Even the early screenshots look tantilizing and I wanna jump in right away and start playing.

Edit 2: ZOMG! Holodeck PvP combat! This is just getting better and better the more I read! Haha! Martok, thanks so much for telling me about this!

[Lord Martok]

You're perfectly welcome.

[Lord Martok]

UPDATED REVIEW FOR STAR TREK: LEGACY

XBOX 360 VERSION COVERED


PROS: Gorgeous starship and background graphics.
Phasers and photons blaze nicely.
Starship explosions seem to look better on this game as compared to the PC version.
Online multiplayer is fun, especially if you're working in teams against each other.
Voice overs are pretty cool.



KHANS: Occasional framerate stutter.
Skirmish mode is shallow.
Controls can be a bit cumbersome, as they try to squeeze multiple functions into combo button presses.
360 Controller thumbstick buttons are hair triggered, and can sometimes interrupt your attack when you're laying down a solid barrage of fire.
Online multiplayer also has a few quirks.... player dropout, occasional freeze up.


Overall though, this game (360 version) is starting to score some major cool points with me. Hopefully the online multiplayer community will pick up some on this game.

[Trenchdigger]

Originally Posted by Lord Martok

UPDATED REVIEW FOR STAR TREK: LEGACY

XBOX 360 VERSION COVERED


PROS: Gorgeous starship and background graphics.
Phasers and photons blaze nicely.
Starship explosions seem to look better on this game as compared to the PC version.
Online multiplayer is fun, especially if you're working in teams against each other.
Voice overs are pretty cool.



KHANS: Occasional framerate stutter.
Skirmish mode is shallow.
Controls can be a bit cumbersome, as they try to squeeze multiple functions into combo button presses.
360 Controller thumbstick buttons are hair triggered, and can sometimes interrupt your attack when you're laying down a solid barrage of fire.
Online multiplayer also has a few quirks.... player dropout, occasional freeze up.


Overall though, this game (360 version) is starting to score some major cool points with me. Hopefully the online multiplayer community will pick up some on this game.

"Khans."

Thanks for the review, Martok. This, and your other reviews are quite helpful to folks like myself who don't want to spend money on every game.

[Lord Martok]

Thanks, Trench.

If anything, consider it for a rental....your actual mileage with this game may vary.

The pros (in the magazines) still give better reviews because they play the games all the way through (whether they like it or not). I just give out of the box, first hour, or first day impressions....then again, that's why I sometimes give "follow up" reviews if the game has gained or lost stock with me in any way.

Humbly,
Lord Martok

[Caelux II]

TeamXbox has their full review up now. The article is here.

[Lord Martok]

Thanks, Drakkari.

Based on what they said, here's my points or counter points:

Full discombobulation ahead sir. Without a horizon as reference, the plane-like controls of Star Trek Legacy create havoc.

I'd have to disagree. Most of the people I do battle with, and myself, have little trouble piloting our ships...although sometimes trying to fight vertical can be a little frustrating as you cannot straight dive or climb toward enemies.

Targeting system needs tweaked.

Agreed. Subsystem targetting is often spotty, but it is quite rewarding when you DO get a specific subsystem lock.

Star Trek production feel has been nailed.

Again, for the most part...agreed.

Too basic for a next-gen game representing 40 years of sci-fi history.

Strongly disagree. The ships and backgrounds are simply beautiful. If anyone here has ever played Star Trek Bridge Commander on the PC, and thought the ships looked beautiful in that game....this game goes well beyond STUNNING. The ships themselves almost look like photographic quality models. I also like how they got the phasers and photons coming out of EXACTLY the right hardpoints on each ship. Nice touch. Phasers and photons are beautiful.

Inspiring symphonic soundtrack. Above average sound effects and voice acting.

Complete agreement. Bi La Kaifa. (Nothing further need be said.)

Online play helps, but lack of save points may lead to premature engine failure.

Agreed. If you are well into a complex mission, and you get destroyed, you have to start from the beginning of the mission. I've always hated that. And the online play is really good, but with a few tweaks, it could be spectacular.

At times, like a model ship suspended by strings in front of a black background.

If he's saying the game could be a lot better with a patch, it most certainly could....but overall, I think it's still a pretty good game.