Star Trek Armada features a very nice touch after a mission is completed, the
Admiral's Log. This provides one of the most extensive post-battle
breakdown screens ever seen in a strategy game. In addition to the
standard resource/structure/research scoring breakdown, the Admiral's Log
provides statistics for each and every ship class that the player created during
the game. You'll be able to see the number built and destroyed, as well as
kill ratios for each ship class. This will help you to learn which ships
you are using effectively and which are a waste of resources. In addition,
the Admiral's Log gives a detailed history of every single ship built,
specifying when the ship was built, the battles in which it participated, its
kills, and the date of its destruction, if appropriate. This level of
detail is great for any player remotely interested in seeing how well he/she
performed in a battle and gives each mission more of a historical feel. It
would have been nice, though, if ships could be carried over from one mission to
the next, building a storied career spanning several wars.
The graphics in Star Trek Armada II are a mixed bag of good and not so
good. The maps are very nicely done - colorful nebulae pulsate with light
and swirling gasses, planets rotate, and asteroids tumble. Weapon effects
and explosions are well rendered as well. The ships themselves look best
at a medium zoom level. Up close they are not as sharp as they should be,
and at a distance it can be hard to distinguish between different ship
classes. It is important to group ships before going into battle, as it
can sometimes be difficult to tell whose ships are whose. This is
especially the case in skirmish or multiplayer games where your opponent may be
playing the same race as you.
Although each race shares a lot of similar ship classes and structures, they
each possess unique characteristics and special weapons that make them play
differently. For example, Species 8472 has no need for dilithium, latinum,
or metal, requiring only biomatter to function. With six races to choose
from, players will enjoy a greater replay value from Star Trek Armada II as they
try to master each of the races.
Probably the biggest knocks against the game are the challenge provide by the
AI and the focus on resources. The enemy AI is not as challenging as it
could be, and patient and persistent players will not find themselves losing
very often. Good thing the game comes with a multiplayer component.
The focus on resources results in games that usually follow the same strategy -
secure resources, build massive fleets, use massive fleets to get more resource
sources and take them away from the enemy. Despite the game's careful
tracking of the history of every ship, ships in Star Trek Armada II are often
cannon fodder, destined to be flung at the enemy in wave after wave of fleets.
In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated: 78%.
The implementation of the 3D engine is less than ideal and games would benefit
from more strategic options than "exploit and destroy". However,
it still is an enjoyable game, and the wealth of available races and ships
should please most strategy fans.
System Requirements: 300 MHz Pentium II CPU; 64 MB RAM; 8 MB
Video RAM; 4x CD-ROM; 1.3 GB Hard Drive Space; Mouse.
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