Star Trek: Invasion

Pros • The game is just plain fun • The use of Michael Dorn and Patrick Stewart adds to the authenticity • Interesting and dynamic plot • Great play control and button layout • Two-Player Deathmatch allows you to put your skills to the test against your friends • Enemies are intelligent and very challenging • Top-Notch graphics and sound	Cons • Some very long and difficult levels get a little tedious • Two-Player Cooperative Mode would have been nice • Some levels really need checkpoints
Bottom Line Don't bury the PlayStation just yet, this is one of the best games I've seen. Along with a great plot and wickedly detailed graphics, this is a PC caliber full 360 degree flying and fighting experience. I have to admit right off the bat that I am in no way a Star Trek fan. I've watched some movies and TV episodes but I never did get into the Star Trek Universe. That is, however, irrelevant to the fact that Star Trek: Invasion is an absolutely amazing game. Activision and Warthog have put everything that is needed to immerse the gamer into the Star Trek world as a newly recruited space fighter pilot of the Valkyrie ship. The game features 20 plus missions of varying complexity and difficulty. The various enemy fleets you encounter are some of the better AI fighters I've seen in a video game. The graphics in this game are absolutely first rate which makes it fairly easy to learn to navigate yourself through space and find and attack bogies. The Valkyrie is a very responsive and easily maneuverable ship with easy to use controls. The only real drawback is that some of the missions are obscenely difficult and would benefit from checkpoints, particularly some of the long missions.

Out in deep space, a number of Federation Satellites are mysteriously destroyed. The last transmission showed a fleet of black cubes making their way through space. Elsewhere, the U.S.S. Sentinel has gone missing. The only information that can be gathered comes from an escape shuttle, which two crewman were able to escape in. The shuttle was rescued from a mysterious new race in deep space. I really don't want to tell you anymore about the story of this game because the way the plot unfolds is very much an integral part of this game. There is some turmoil in the galaxy, and the Federation must scramble to find out what. Your task, as a pilot of Red Squadron aboard the U.S.S. Typhon is to eliminate any and all enemy ships in your way so that Star Fleet can discover more about the impending threats. There are also all of the usual suspects in this game, including the likes of the Klingons, Romulans and the Cardassians.

With all of that in mind, you strap into the seat of a Valkyrie fighter as a new recruit. Even if you've played space shooters before, it is worthwhile to run the training missions. They are set up as part of the plot and as such, you are fed news and intel as you progress through training. Upon completion, you are immediately sent out to do some real fighting. Star Trek: Invasion features over 20 missions, each of which have numerous objectives. The game is quite long and can take some time to complete. Mission objectives include destroying enemy squadrons and mother ships, protecting convoys, rescuing lost spacecraft and gathering intelligence (The usual "save the galaxy" stuff).

As you proceed through your missions you are briefed by Lt. Commander Worf (with the real voice of Michael Dorn). Throughout the actual mission campaign itself, Worf also updates you with intelligence, as needed. In addition, Captain Picard also appears periodically. He is working in another part of the galaxy, trying to understand what is going on with the impending threat from the Borgs and the mystery race, as well as the disappearance of the U.S.S. Sentinel. The use of the real actors adds to the authenticity of the game (Lucasarts should take heed to this point).

As I stated earlier, the graphics are awesome. In some flight combat games, you sometimes overly rely on the radar to find enemies. Here, although you do need the radar, you can rely more on visually spotting targets. Whether the opposing fighters are far away or right in front of you, they are perfectly detailed and fly ever so smoothly. In group combat scenarios, you don't have to rely on the radar to tell you who is friendly and who isn't, you can easily tell by sight and even their attack patterns. Although this is nothing new to the PC, it is definitely the best the PlayStation has seen. The HUD is also well laid out, though it was a little confusing at first. There is little in the way of numbers. There are bars and icons that indicate shields, warp speed and energy, much like on the Enterprise (I have seen a few episodes).

The great graphics are also coupled with some of the best gameplay I have seen. The Valkyrie is completely maneuverable throughout the levels. You can attack enemies from any angle. If someone is oncoming you can fly up and over him and come right around behind. Feeling a little bold, use the Strafe button to attack oncoming enemies diagonally. If the action getting too hot, use the Evasive Maneuver button to quickly escape. Double tap the thrust and you can move forwards or back at warp speed. Use the triangle button to target enemies, hold it down to motion lock onto them. The buttons are really laid out well and are easy to use effectively.

This game also excels in the sound category. The weapons’ sounds are powerful as are their impacts. You can listen as your phasers break down a shield and then proceed to do some hull damage (the same also goes for your craft). The music is very full and much like a movie score.

One thing that is becoming more and more common in games is a multiplayer feature. In this game there is a 2 Player deathmatch in one of five levels. This can be quite fun if both players are good. If not, the matches are always one-sided. What really would have been nice was a two-player cooperative-mode. I really don't know why more games don't get into this feature. That was what turned the Twisted Metal series from great games to absolutely awesome games. It would have worked perfectly in this game.

The only real drawback to the game itself is that some missions are so long and difficult that they make it tough to want to attempt them over and over again from the beginning. These levels would really benefit from some form of checkpoint. Granted that this would be tough to do considering you don't get multiple ships, and may even have made the game a little too easy. Considering the achievement that this game is, this is a relatively minor point.

Overall, Star Trek: Invasion is an excellent Swan Song for the PlayStation. It ups the ante on space combat games and most certainly gives PlayStation 2 a tough act to follow. The awesome graphics, sound and gameplay along with the integration of cut-scene videos, changing mission parameters, ongoing contact from Worf, Picard, and others makes for a very dynamic and fun gaming experience.

Mandip Sandhu

Info & Screenshots