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Starfleet Command 3

The latest strategic offering to boldly go...

'Oh no, it's another Star Trek game', I hear you cry. Another mediocre game where the developers take their medieval setting and just swap all the textures around and slap a silly space title on the box. As a huge Star Trek fan (Voyager not withstanding) that mainly sums up my thoughts on not just Star Trek games, but many licensed properties. Every so often though a game sneaks out that gives me a glimmer of hope. Works of art like Rare's "Goldeneye" and Computer Artwork's "The Thing" that inject the style and magic of their respective inspirations into the games they make. Starfleet Command does just that.

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The Star Trek universe is one of the most well known franchises around. Everyone and their Grandmother knows who Kirk and Spock are. I've avidly tuned in to watch Picard explore the galaxy, Sisko to defend the wormhole and even seven long dismal dark years of Voyager hasn't dampened my enthusiasm for Roddenberry's creation. With this success comes the challenge of having to satisfy both the casual watchers and the hardcore aficionados. This dilemma carries over into the games that are spawned. The results are games like "Voyager: Elite Force" or "DS9:The Fallen" that are very good, but whilst playing them I sometimes sensed that the setting was very forced for the game style. Starfleet Command lets you fulfil the dream of all would be Captains. No, not a visit to Quarks holosuite for a chapter of Vulcan love slave. I mean grabbing yourself a star ship, arming yourself to the teeth with photon torpedoes and bolting about the galaxy seeking out new life, before swiftly blowing them up.

The first game was originally based on the board game of the same name and was successfully developed by Taldren software. Taldren went on to make a sequel and a stand-alone expansion pack and are now hard at work on the third major release called Starfleet Command 3 (catchy). Taldren have gained a very reputable following for solid gameplay, tactical depth capped off with nice graphics for this series. The fact that the same team have been working and refining the title is a very good sign as I'm sure the fans would agree. One addition to Taldren's team is Danny Pelfrey, an Emmy award winning composer who will be responsible for scoring the new game. The first two games were based in the Kirk era i.e. the original series, and were published by Interplay. However Activision will be publishing the third instalment and it will be based in the Next Generation era, just after Voyagers return from the Delta Quadrant. Activision acquired a ten year exclusive license back in 1998 to all past, current and future Star Trek game properties across all platforms with the only caveat being that previous agreements with other companies be kept, i.e. Interplay holds the original series license until the end of 2002.

Though the ships are rendered with an in house 3D engine essentially it's a flat playing area, but ships will move up and down to avoid clipping right through each other. You must manoeuvre your ship to bring your weaponry to bear on the enemy, trying to keep your own weak points covered. The managing of all your ships systems is the main tactical focus of the game. From balancing you power levels, deciding if you want more for weapons, speed, shields, or other aspects like counter measures and sensors. Like all good tactical games, the developers give you a host of options and it's up to you to use your cunning and wits to win a battle.

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1. Looks like a great game. Cannie wait captian!

   Chief Thursday, 10 October 2002, 06:37:27

2. Can't wait to lay my hands on it!

   Really liked the last games too, even though the campaign wasn't really coherent.

   Feni Thursday, 10 October 2002, 08:30:6

3. Looking very much to playing this new game..But hope its not one that requires endless patches like the other ones

   Cold Assassin Thursday, 17 October 2002, 06:04:51

4. Looking forward to playing this new game..I just hope its not the same endless patches again

   Cold Assassin Thursday, 17 October 2002, 06:06:32

5. Man I what this game so bad hope its better then SFC2 and OP was becouse I'm not going to pay 50 or over for it.

   Jeremy Thursday, 31 October 2002, 18:20:49

6. I started on the origional Starfleet game and was impressed then. So far so good with the rest. Hopefully the patches won't be so long. Full speed ahead Scotty.

   jedimasterr Saturday, 2 November 2002, 00:05:11

7. Yes! It is finally released. I have always loved Star Trek Voyager and now you get a chance to pilot/captain the ship itself! Maybe one day we will see Janeway herself playing the game in multiplayer! Or perhaps even better, they will design ships to work on but ones that just sit on the ground!!! :)

   JanewayVoyager Saturday, 11 May 2002, 11:17:14

8. Just bought it. Must say I am really disappointed in how the game has been dumbed down. SF2 may have had too much details and micromanagement but sf3 is too little.

   Instead of being able to manage your systems to get and edge on your opponent you buy officers who do everything in the background. Or allegedly do so in the background as there is no way to verify if they are doing anything.

   Most of the ships seem generic now without the interesting characteristics you found for each race in the earlier race. Apart from the borg which are too good and everyone will play the other races now have a bunch of new weapons that are really unimpressive and vague.

   Or perhaps the weapons are great and I just dont know. The pamphlet manual is sad and looks like one you would find in a $10 (4 pound) game. You have no idea how to best employ your weapons or the ranges of said weapons.

   Ship speed is lame now as everyone seems to be able to maintain the same speed and if you want to reroute power from engines to weapons or shields you cant seem to do it anymore.

   SF3 is a dumbed down version of sf2. If they had dont nothing more than added ships and graphics to sf2 I would have kept this game. They have done much worse they have made this game so non-strategic that I dont think it can be considered a simulation game anymore. It is more like an arcade shooter where the whole purpose is to circle around and try to keep shooting through the downed shield.

   A big disappointment if you like and think the sfc games should be hardcore with some serious strategy potential. If you are seeking just an arcade fix it is a great game but then if you want an arcade game you would be better off playing something on the console.

   cfletch Wednesday, 6 November 2002, 17:09:26

9. cfletch, wait a minute. how could you have bought the game, when only the demo is available, and the game itself hasn't been released yet???

   Guest Tuesday, 12 November 2002, 22:34:33

10. What ships can you get?

    Mikey Wednesday, 13 November 2002, 05:43:18

11. Can you create your own ship or can you buy stuff to customize the one that you've got.

    e.g can you buy phaser arrays or torpedoes for your starship.

    Mikey Wednesday, 13 November 2002, 06:16:59

12. This is a awsome game, I have it. It is deffinitly worth the money.

    Ryan Monday, 18 November 2002, 11:57:47

13. Put some paragraphs in the review and it may be easier to read

    Glen Monday, 18 November 2002, 20:17:17

14. I cant wait for this game to come out. It looks like a really good game i think one of the best ever. The 3D modles look like theuy came out of ST Bridge Commander.

    Sean Friday, 22 November 2002, 16:32:46

16. Ive had teh game for 2 weeks now and it is " ok " on single player , some inbetween prime mission scenarios are repetive and boaring " SCAN " Distress Call " etc all the same. BUT the worst part of the game is the multiplayer onlie aspect , i have not got it working after trying numerous ways to make it work !. But overall id say its an average game let down by bad multiplayer support , lets hope they get a patch out soon and solve this problem. A good one for ST fans , a below average for the rest ... 7/10

    James Moore Saturday, 18 January 2003, 08:23:26

17. its so good

    joshua large Sunday, 19 January 2003, 02:27:26

18. A note on the models...they are in an AutoCad export format, '.mod's. They are not so easy to edit, but simplistic to create, all you need to do is copy the needed .dll files into the autodesk\shared foulder of the program Autocad.

    Sir Yamato Saturday, 25 January 2003, 20:57:9

19. yeah its great, does anyone know where to download it from???

    Captain sisko Friday, 7 February 2003, 04:43:43

20. SCF3 is different to the other 1's but is still a gud game

    J Tuesday, 7 October 2003, 06:16:20

21. I hope someone canhelp me with my problem.

    I am currently taking over the romulan territory and I cannot take over the spaces with planets in them. I tried distroying the planets, taking over the planet, but when I go back to the map its still romulan. Can someone please tell me what i'm doing wrong.

    Thanx

    Goku Saturday, 3 January 2004, 15:45:8

22. hi iam a fan of starfleet 3 however can not get t to play with windows xp it says i have a direct x issue

    doug Saturday, 8 May 2004, 03:10:54

23. Like doug above when i try to play SFC3 the game sez I need Direct x 8.1

    How do I get this? I was able to play the game befor.

    So whats the deal? How do I get Direct x 8.1

    csx Wednesday, 28 July 2004, 22:22:55

24. The borg usemilation is out date: "But, ive coem for, "Karin Gist" when this is said it will sound like ,a tv script, but it is not, it seems as if, her, name is, very limited, no pull, but, that, "Jill Marie Jones" it has pull, but, she is the 1, and "I' say this, to all people ove earth, "Thu Time Is Now" "Nos IS Thu Time" "Is Thu Time Now" whys ure, and your contact, word is, htis, and youw ill only understand this, andf the, win is blwoing donw in to your heart, so, long ago they were boarded ubord, tading ships ove slavery time, rite her,, rite now, (Time Apple Never Kick) yes never kick at me are this, becaue, "I' love you with all my, "Agapa" lamp eye ove faith, and knowing, "Patrick Stewart" he will do the rite thign and make sure she sees this, memorandom ove this, last words ove, test this, and know that it is, and that day will not be A, (Science fair) but their are Science fairs, 1 2 3 144000, that, very self same day it will be, 2 you favce 2 face here, we are, "Joelen Blalocck, nock nock.

    Kebish Titan Saturday, 9 October 2004, 10:48:22