Star Trek: Elite Force II (PC CD)

Gameplay:
Set in the Next Generation universe, you are Lieutenant Munro and your talents as a Hazard Team Commander are recognised by Captain Jean-Luc Picard. You and your team are assigned to the U.S.S. Enterprise. Played in 1st person perspective, your missions will take you to diverse locations such as a Borg Sphere, Romulan Outpost and even Starfleet Academy. Assisting you on these missions are the other members of the Hazard Team. You can interact with the team and their survival in some situations is crucial to your success. Along with the issued Tri-Corder and Phaser are a number of energy weapons available to you. From the limited range of the Compression Rifle to the ridiculously powerful Tetryon Gatling Gun. Each has the obligatory secondary fire mode. The control interface is familiar and along with the action there is also some puzzles to solve. The Tri-Corder playing a big part in this.

Graphics:
The enhanced Quake 3 Arena engine handles the indoor and outdoor environments brilliantly. Run on a P4 with a Radeon Pro 9700 produced superb framerates with all settings on high and FSAA at maximum. The death animations and character detail have also been greatly improved since Elite Force. The attention to detail is impressive. Whilst wandering around the Enterprise you can visit the Bridge, Sick Bay and even Stellar Cartography. The levels are all so colourful and interesting, with the exception of the Enterprise corridors! The textures are good and the lighting, whilst not dynamic, is realistic.

Sound:
Superb weapon and world effects accompanied by a dynamic score throughout. Take the voice acting as seriously as you want with vocal talent provided by Patrick Stewart himself. The cut scenes are fairly well acted. Not as good as GTA Vice City, but much better than IGI 2. The game takes full advantage of EAX hardware and sounds great on a set of surround speakers. The sound plays an integral part in the pace of the game. The strange alien sounds on the U.S.S. Dallas are great at keeping you guessing when they are going to attack.

Overall a superb game here. Good use of the license and not just for Star Trek fans, but for fans of the genre. This is a well thought-out and interesting game. Far more entertaining than some of the other stuff we've seen so far this year. Unreal 2 was just too short wasn't it?. But be assured that there is plenty here to keep you entertained.

The story of EliteForce II, though a little short is far superior to the originals, with options to choose your relationships with other characters to an interesting twist in the Storyline. The game is based around the Single-Player, its solid, well-polished and keeps you on your toes if your a trekkie and even a non-trekkie.

The graphics with use with 'Stencil Shadows' are very appealing and the best I've seen on the Quake III engine though not as good as Doom III.

The weapons are the best I have seen in any Sci-Fi Shooter, far superior to UT or UnrealII and JKII and can be used in a combination.

The Multi-play while slightly 'floaty' is a severe set-back for the game, the few maps are cramped. However, in a TM playing 'Bomb-Diffusion' and 'PowerStrugle' my opinion about the MP changed dramatically...It's fun..however, the upcoming patch should sort that...