Star Trek: Starfleet Command III (PC)
Could the third time be the charm?
By Mark Nov. 15, 2002
Game Stats
Platform: Windows
Game Type: Simulation / Real Time Tactical Combat
Developer: Taldren
Publisher: Activision
Release Date: Q4 2002
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StarFleet Command 3
Lowest current price: $38.95Once more, it's time to boldly go
where only a few games have gone before. The third offering
in the Starfleet Command series is nearly here, promising more
tactical starship combat than most occupants of the Captain's
chair could hope for. With a number of refinements and updates,
SFCIII could help usher in the next generation of fans, and
as the game is about to reach store shelves, we were able to
spend considerable time with a late build of the game and see
what to expect from the series' latest installment.
Really Big Ship For Really Big...Space?
No longer is the game set during the time period(s) of the
crew of the original Star Trek TV show. You'll finally get to
wage war with ships like Picard's barely broken-in Sovereign
class flagship, the Enterprise-E. Players can also control ships
run by the Klingons, the Romulans, and Borg. (There's no sign
of newer races like the Bajorans, Ferengi, Cardassians, however.)
It had been a long time since I had looked at the old Starfleet
Command II, and I was sure my skills at running a tight ship
had surely deteriorated to an unacceptable level. So, I was
pleasantly surprised by the quality of SFCIII's in-game tutorial.
An affable Captain Picard (voiced by Patrick Stewart) walks
you through the first four sections, dispensing the basic knowledge
you'll need in order to have a fighting chance in the cold vacuum
of space. Engineering, operating the helm (read: driving), power
management and weapons usage are among the topics covered. Interestingly,
after Picard does his bit, the last two lessons are presented
by Romulan and Klingon commanders who will highlight the major
differences in their ships' operations. Of course, they'll often
want you to experience these differences by pounding on Federation
ships.
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Comparing the nimbleness of these large vessels to a tiny fighter
craft is not unlike comparing the turning rate of a high performance
speedboat to that of the QEII. You don't fly these vessels with
a joystick; you issue commands with your mouse and hope your
crew helps you to victory, and it's the promised improvements
to the controls that could mean the difference between a smooth
and bumpy ride into the final frontier.
Starfleet Command III will boast an interface that is much,
much more simplified when compared to the one in the first two
titles. The more important controls and readouts take up a considerable
amount of real estate of the left side of your monitor, yet
the icons and schematics are clear enough to quickly give you
plenty of info. Most of the icons look as if they were lifted
directly from the Starfleet Battles board games (which this
game is loosely based on) and many of them serve the same purposes.
There are a few layers of icons and menus you will have to dig
through, but for the most part, the layout makes enough sense
to be much better than ever before.
Boldly Going …You Know Where
Unquestionably, the best new feature we experienced during
our hands-on preview was the ability to fire off weapons with
a single button click. Provided your armaments are charged and
your target within range, a press of the "primary"
or "heavy" buttons will cause your ship to shoot at
an enemy. You can (and will eventually have to) manually select
which weapons hardpoints to use, but the ship's computer helps
in auto-targeting enemy ships.
Ship power management is handled with moving sliders, not unlike
the old Tie Fighter games. Power is divided between shields,
weapons and engines, and energy directed to one area is taken
away from the other two. While this method may seem cumbersome,
most battles aren't exactly lightning-fast tests of reflexes,
so redirecting power to shields and handling your other responsibilities
can be done without snapping your wrists. Reinforcing weakened
shields is just a matter of clicking a ship schematic. However,
you have a finite supply of repair materials per mission, so
you must balance resources carefully when your ship is damaged.
There's also a slider for adjusting speed. Changing your heading
is generally a matter of clicking the space surrounding your
ship (in its own window) in the direction you wish to go. Using
the mouse wheel to quickly select which potential targets/victims
you want to attack also helps speed-up combat tremendously.
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