Star Trek: Away Team

Rating:
Summary: Could Have Been Better
Review: Away Team could have been much better. It didn't seem to stand out from all the other simulator type games out there. I was expecting more, but I was a little dissapointed.

The graphics are mediorcre and the sound and instruction a little confusing as you play. A little predictable too. I guess I was a little disappointed based on all the other simulator type games I have already.

You be the judge.

Rating:
Summary: Stay Away Team
Review: Firstly, in common with Activision's previous Star Trek title, Elite Force, this is far too short for a full price game. The plot's none too poor, and has some pleasant twists that suprise, but the gameplay is repetitive and limited, so that by the end it has ceased to be a joy and more like a test of stamina. Of major concern is the lack of an equiping screen and though you do get to choose the team that goes out, each mission's requirements pretty much pick the squad for you anyway. Couple this with the fact that you have to micro-manage your team's every move (they won't even shoot back when shot at, just cry out) and there's no multiplayer option except co-operative over a LAN, means that this is one isometric squad-based shooter to be avoided. If you like this style of game you could do worse than buying Fallout Tactics instead, or save yourself [the money] and pick up a copy of Abomination - The Nemesis Project.

Rating:
Summary: Desperados in the ST universe
Review: I was leery about buying this game because it had gotten so many mediocre reviews from the general public, but I bought it anyway in 2002 because I found it at a reasonable price on Amazon. I must admit that my Trek-addiction really paid off here, as I found the game to be a pleasure.

For those of you who have played the squad-based Cowboy game Desperados; you will find that Away Team is very similar in progressing through the missions. Stealth is the better part of valor here and it makes for a very exciting game as you try to flank your enemies, evade detection and coordinate attacks at just the right times.

You play as the captain of the USS Incursion, a Federation vessel that uses holographic imaging to change shape. As such, the plot of the game is to go behind enemy lines and win covert battles as you try to figure out the ultimate solution behind the plot. You send down away teams of 4 crewmen (each with thier own special characteristics) on clandestine missions.

On the positive side, I found the all the "sneaking around" in the game to be very "realistic" (or I should say "consistent") with the way that events play themselves out in the Star Trek universe. Vulcans can do mind-melds, phasers can be set to kill or stun (but they do set off alarms sometimes) and most importantly, you only get a few shots before the Borg "adapt". This makes the game very intense; especially at those times when you evade being detected by a gnat's hair. Also, the storyline is thoughtful and makes you want to finish each mission to see what happens next.

On the negative side, I do agree with some of the reviewers on at least 2 points. First, the game is very linear (as opposed to more open-ended squad-based games like Fallout BOS) and you will have to save often as many of the "appropriate" ways of winning missions can only be discovered by trial and error. Second, I agree that the characters are not as well developed as they could have been.

But, in general, the game is a great buy if you are a PC gamer and a Trek fan.

Rating:
Summary: The curse is broken
Review: It seems that the Elite Force has broken the ST curse. This is a very good game. It is commandos in the ST universe. You are in command of the crew of the USS Incursion, a defiant variant prototype. You have 22 men each with different abilities. In most cases you select four of them for the missions.

The gameplay is very similar to commandos.The maps are well designed. In addition to large outdoor maps you can get in the buildings. The places where you play are really very well done. For example the inside of the Borg Cube, or the Qu'nos or the Romulus. You fight klingons, romulans, rogues starfleet personne and the Borg.

The story is very well designed. You can feel yourself really like a member of starfleet.

After all this is a very good game. Not a cheap commandos imitation. If you like this kind of game you wont be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Mission Impossible meets Star Trek
Review: It's an exciting, strategic game with a large number of ways to complete the missions. Kill the Romulan with a phaser blast? (Not easy, they shoot back!) Waste a grenade on him? Try to sneak around him? Can I sneak a Vulcan behind him for a neck pinch?

So why only 4 stars? Because after you play the 17 (18?) missions, it's game over. The missions aren't really playable "over and over again", and without a mission creator for the Internet community, this game will probably be deleted from your hard drive after its initial play. Contrast that to some excellent, replayable games, "UT, Quake 3, RollerCoaster Tycoon....."

Again, a very good game, and worth the time, but it's gonna be a short time.

Rating:
Summary: Away Team - Good but Could Have Been Better
Review: Star Trek Away Team, published by Activision, was an interesting premise gone awry. Personally, I like tactical games where stealth and planning are essential to mission completion. Heck, I just like building bases, preparing for an all-out assault and then blitzing my enemies as I throwing everything at 'em - which is why I like Blizzard's StarCraft and Activision's Star Trek Armada.

To be honest, I'm not much of a fan of squad-based game play but I am a big Star Trek nut so I thought, this might be cool. Unfortunately, this game did little to change my original opinion. Set in the time of The Next Generation, sometime after the Dominion War, Away Team focuses on the exploits of Captain Marcus Reflian, commander of a small experimental starship, the USS Incursion, and his group of highly skilled, individually selected crewmembers and their goal to uncover a nefarious plot that threatens every major power in the quadrant, including the seemingly invincible Borg. Players must endure a linear progress through 17 missions. The locales of each mission change, bringing you to Starfleet Academy, aboard Federation starships, Q'onos, and Romulus. Even though the scenery changes game play does not. While in single player mode, you command on average, 4 Federation crewmembers you chose for each mission. Just after the mission briefing you must assemble your away team from the 17 crewmember choices. Each mission has specific skill requirement that must be met in order to meet the primary objective, such as the need for a medical officer (or someone with medical training) and/or a crewmember that is experienced in using the sniper rifle. Only after the skill requirements are met can you play the mission. You must choose your away team from each of the five Starfleet personnel divisions: Command, Engineering, Medical, Security, and Science. This does not mean you cannot "double-up" with your personnel. You can have two command officers, a science officer, and a security officer, for example, on your away team, if the skill requirements for that mission are met as you assemble your team. Each character has different skills and inventory items that will enable you to complete your missions.

Game play is reminiscent of chess, as you, with your third person perspective, must maneuver your four man away team, step by step, through your scenario world. There are tactical elements involved such as using the sniper rifle to take out a sentry from a distance or you can sneak up on an opponent and rendered him dead or unconscious by phaser, hypospray, or even the Vulcan nerve pinch. However, this brings up two flaws to the game. Firstly, since subterfuge is vital to most missions, players must maneuver their away team to avoid detection by automated security posts or guards. This can make missions very long. In some cases I took over two and a half hours to complete one mission. Secondly, because you can move team members either one at a time or en masse, managing your team and their reactions can be difficult, as the Artificial Intelligence engine of this game is seemingly limited. For example, if one or any member of your team is attacked there will be no reaction unless you command that character, so you're sitting cursing at your team member as they let a Borg attempt to assimilate them. While in other cases you click on a spot where you want your team to walk to - to avoid enemies and they walk right into them, forcing you to start your mission over, as you were supposed to remain undetected for the course of the mission.

Fan's of first person shooters were probably overjoyed when Star Trek: Elite Force came out and might hope that Away Team would bring more of that action to life, but unfortunately it does not. I hate to sound blasphemous against the Holy Franchise, but save your money for Dominion Wars.

The Pros: · Interesting storyline · Voiceovers by Brent Spiner and Michael Dorn · Decent graphics

The Cons: · Linear mission progression · Action repetitive · Mission time can be extensive · Only two exciting cut scenes - the opening and closing · Poor AI

Rating:
Summary: Away Team - Good but Could Have Been Better
Review: Star Trek Away Team, published by Activision, was an interesting premise gone awry. Personally, I like tactical games where stealth and planning are essential to mission completion. Heck, I just like building bases, preparing for an all-out assault and then blitzing my enemies as I throwing everything at 'em - which is why I like Blizzard's StarCraft and Activision's Star Trek Armada.

To be honest, I'm not much of a fan of squad-based game play but I am a big Star Trek nut so I thought, this might be cool. Unfortunately, this game did little to change my original opinion. Set in the time of The Next Generation, sometime after the Dominion War, Away Team focuses on the exploits of Captain Marcus Reflian, commander of a small experimental starship, the USS Incursion, and his group of highly skilled, individually selected crewmembers and their goal to uncover a nefarious plot that threatens every major power in the quadrant, including the seemingly invincible Borg. Players must endure a linear progress through 17 missions. The locales of each mission change, bringing you to Starfleet Academy, aboard Federation starships, Q'onos, and Romulus. Even though the scenery changes game play does not. While in single player mode, you command on average, 4 Federation crewmembers you chose for each mission. Just after the mission briefing you must assemble your away team from the 17 crewmember choices. Each mission has specific skill requirement that must be met in order to meet the primary objective, such as the need for a medical officer (or someone with medical training) and/or a crewmember that is experienced in using the sniper rifle. Only after the skill requirements are met can you play the mission. You must choose your away team from each of the five Starfleet personnel divisions: Command, Engineering, Medical, Security, and Science. This does not mean you cannot "double-up" with your personnel. You can have two command officers, a science officer, and a security officer, for example, on your away team, if the skill requirements for that mission are met as you assemble your team. Each character has different skills and inventory items that will enable you to complete your missions.

Game play is reminiscent of chess, as you, with your third person perspective, must maneuver your four man away team, step by step, through your scenario world. There are tactical elements involved such as using the sniper rifle to take out a sentry from a distance or you can sneak up on an opponent and rendered him dead or unconscious by phaser, hypospray, or even the Vulcan nerve pinch. However, this brings up two flaws to the game. Firstly, since subterfuge is vital to most missions, players must maneuver their away team to avoid detection by automated security posts or guards. This can make missions very long. In some cases I took over two and a half hours to complete one mission. Secondly, because you can move team members either one at a time or en masse, managing your team and their reactions can be difficult, as the Artificial Intelligence engine of this game is seemingly limited. For example, if one or any member of your team is attacked there will be no reaction unless you command that character, so you're sitting cursing at your team member as they let a Borg attempt to assimilate them. While in other cases you click on a spot where you want your team to walk to - to avoid enemies and they walk right into them, forcing you to start your mission over, as you were supposed to remain undetected for the course of the mission.

Fan's of first person shooters were probably overjoyed when Star Trek: Elite Force came out and might hope that Away Team would bring more of that action to life, but unfortunately it does not. I hate to sound blasphemous against the Holy Franchise, but save your money for Dominion Wars.

The Pros: ·Interesting storyline ·Voiceovers by Brent Spiner and Michael Dorn ·Decent graphics

The Cons: ·Linear mission progression ·Action repetitive ·Mission time can be extensive ·Only two exciting cut scenes - the opening and closing ·Poor AI

Rating:
Summary: Easy to play and Excellent Story
Review: Star Trek games keep getting better and Away Team is good entry in the growing library of quality titles.

You are in control of 4 (sometimes up to 6) crewmembers on an away team. Before each mission, you are given an excellent briefing and then you are allowed to choose the members who are best suited to the mission. Once your selection is made, you beam down and begin the mission.

Each mission contains a briefing before and during the mission. The controls are very easy to master and memorize. While the main screen doesn't contain a "fog of war," there is still a lot of strategy involved in completing the missions.

The graphics are nice but not earth shattering. The sounds, used on my SoundBlaster Live! are excellent, using both front and rear channels.

On a whole, this game is fun but quite short. When played on the easy level, you an complete all of the missions in one night (if you had the time.)

While this isn't a major title (like Elite Force and The Fallen,) it is a quality Trek title and worth the purchase.

Rating:
Summary: Very Good and Challeging Game.
Review: The entire game focuses on the idea of stealth. You cant just go running with phasers firing at random. The away team is an ELITE away team who use lastest starfleet technology to enter into missions with the maxmium stealth. You can use phaser, phaser rifles, sniper rifle, grenades and plenty of special tools to do a stealth operation. This is not a shot'em up game, its a stealth game. You cant just go into a mission and shot the enemy because in some missions, that will cuz a mission failed. In one level, you cant even be seen by any guards. So buy this game and think of ways not to be seen by guards and sneak around corners. There is no beginners level to this game, however first 3 are easy enough to get your stealth up. Buy the game and prepare for stealth operations.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Interface But Becomes Boring Later
Review: The first time I heard about this game was from a demo, and I thought just from the two missions the demo gives that this was an excellent game, so I bought it. I didn't know the Star Trek plot, but you don't really need to know the plot in this game. Star Trek: Away Team had the most beautiful interface I've seen, the buttons and menus seemed to have had a lot of work to look great. Unfortunately, what the game has in graphics it lacks in time you'd play it. The missions themselves are challenging and unique, but after a few hours the games starts to get boring. Also the game needs more movies to add; there are only two: the opening and closing. If I could, I would rate this game 3.5 stars. I wouldn't recommend this game to strategy game lovers. This is a strategy/action game, and that means you can go through the entire game and not play it again, because once you beat it, you'll feel no reason to try it again. Get this game if you're not a big-time computer game player, like me.