Customer Reviews

Star Trek: Armada 2 (Jewel Case)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I just bought Star Trek: Armada 2. It definitely looks like Activision took notes from all the complaints in Star Trek: Armada (1) and fixed the problems. Now you can have up to 16 ships in each fleet. There are 3 single play campaigns including Star Fleet, Klingon, and the Borg. All the Next Generation, DS9, and Voyager ships are in this game. The tutorials are great and let you play as Species 8472, Romulans, and Cardassians. The idea in the tutorial is that you can learn how the enemy works so you can beat them.

The graphics are great! The ships have special weapons which require recharging (similar to magic in Warcraft). When starships explode in the game, it is really cool. The introduction has pretty good animation and a voiceover by Patrick Stewart.

The only possible thing that I could ask for more is to include the Dominion. This is what Homeworld: Catalysm should have been.

This sequel to one of the more popular of the Star Trek PC games has a a whole new look and feel for the gameplay experience. Imagine this game as Star Trek Armada 1 bred with Homeworld Cataclysm. This game has much more to offer than it's predecessor. This game has an entirely new 3D view similar to that of Homeworld and the same overhead view found in Star Trek Armada 1. The graphics have been retouched and more beautifully sculpted in the computer and the action sequences can now be viewed in a wide variety of views and a new zooming feature for the feel of detail in every ship in your armada. Activision has added new ship classes as well to 6 different races (Federation, Klingon, Borg, Cardassian, Romulan, and Species 8472. Although you can only play all 6 in multiplayer mode and only 3 of the races can be played in single player mode; newer strategic abilities have been added to this game. Much like Homeworld, your ships can now be grouped into 3D formations such as 16 of your ships into X Formation or Wall Formation. Ships can now run on both impulse and warp speeds during gameplay. The ship classes for each race has numbered over 20 each. An example of the classes include Federation ships: Venture, Defiant, Akira, Sabre, Steamrunner, Intrepid, Iwo-Jima, Aegian, Colony, Cargo, Galaxy, Sovereign, Nebula, etc. Ships each have the existing special weapons of the first game and also new additions of special weapons. There are several new starbases such as ship upgrade facilities where the player can upgrade the ship shields, life support, engines, sensors, and weapons. Planets can be colonized by colony ships and also trade centers can be built so that you could mine and trade dilithium, latinum, metal from planets, and crew. The storyline is well written and takes place just shortly before Voyager returns home to Earth from the Delta Quadrant. Overall, Star Trek Armada 2 is a much improved game that deserves player attention. This is a game for all Star Trek fans and a definite must buy!
Gameplay = 9/10
Graphics = 9/10
Sound = 8/10
Value = 9/10

I was surprised to receive a copy of Activision's Star Trek: Armada II for Christmas. The mid-morning of the 26th, I turned on the computer and loaded up this bad boy. After a complete installation of 1.3 gigabytes (that's including the need for an extra 100 megabytes of hard drive space for a Windows swap file), I sat back and let Patrick Stewart's voiceover carry me through the opening movie.

Armada II picks up six months after the events of the first game ends. Although the Borg were beaten back by the combined Federation, Klingon, and Romulan fleets, they have returned with a deadly new planetary assault vessel capable of assimilating an entire world. To prevent the Borg from gaining a foothold in the Alpha Quadrant, the Federation is launching the first-ever assault against the Borg in the Delta Quadrant. (In one of the battles you capture a new kind of transwarp portal that allows Starfleet to travel to the Delta Quadrant.) With Starfleet off in the Delta Quadrant, the Klingons are left playing peacekeeper in the Alpha. But the Klingons are having problems of their own - the Cardassians. In the mix for good measure are the Romulans and Species 8472. Got all this so far? Ok. That's just the story. Armada II as a game is a whole other story.

Visually, Armada II carries over the best elements of its predecessor. The graphics are great for an RTS - the colors rich and vibrant; the ship and station textures distinct. With the new 3-D perspective (which you can toggle between that and 2-D) and the new tactical feature of fleet formations, Armada II has gained much ground over the original. Game play has changed significantly also. The new structures, ships, and enemies make Armada II more challenging. Combine this with the new economic component, players gain a more tangible, realistic perspective to the managerial tasks of interstellar combat. The need to colonize worlds for crew reinforcements; building orbital mining facilities to extract metal to build your fleet, and the need to harvest both dilithium and latinum to purchase or trade with other players or non-player characters is a unique consideration missing from other Star Trek games, while not taking away from your combat objective. Now for the bad news: Armada II can be very frustrating to play.

Even without the economic considerations, new ships, technologies, and races, Armada II is still a difficult game to play... and at times even boring. I've just gotten through the first nine mission of the Federation campaign after many grueling hours of game play and a lot of saves. Yes, the objectives change from mission to mission, but to keep fighting the Borg successively is a bit draining. In the original Armada, your mission varied between fighting your enemy to locating a lost ship or outrunning an enemy fleet while still remaining within the original context of the story. So far it's just hunt and kill, which stays with the story but gets redundant after awhile. Couple this with some game restrictions like the 600-officer cap (which limits the number of ships and stations you can build) and the frustration mounts. I began the game employing the same tactics I used in the first Armada but I had to quickly discard that strategy. This might seem like a plus because the game wouldn't be like too much like the original because that would be predictable, right? Wrong. The AI in this game is less responsive when you need it to be and more aggressive when you don't want it to be. In addition, the older ship classes are not as resilient as in the first Armada, which means they can't hold up as long in a firefight as they used to. I used to send in my construction ships as a decoy to lure enemy forces away because they had stronger shields and a high crew compliment. Not anymore! Also, the construction time for ships and facilities is drastically shorter making combat that much longer. The faster a fleet can be built the more you have manage and the more the game becomes cumbersome. Don't think this is a problem? Try sending a fleet of Defiant-class ships against a Borg cube while trying to build your support stations and then we'll talk. Or did you think you'd have enough metal or dilithium or crew personnel to amass your defenses? Still unphased? Now try to go on the offensive. You'll score little damage against an enemy shipyard when it can build a dozen ships in under five minutes to defend itself. Although this creates a higher degree of difficulty and lends credence to the war-aspect that Armada II is centered around, it can turn a two-hour mission (real-time) into a three day event! I like a game that won't end in two hours but I don't like taking two weeks to complete one board - and I'm not even up to the Klingon campaign!

Gameplay aside, Armada II hangs from time to time during the cinematic cutscenes. The audio and visual sputter probably because of a RAM drop (a technology issue) and I'm running a full install with over a gig free of storage, 128MB of RAM, and a 40x CD-ROM drive on a PIII 733 processor (you computer geeks understand what I was saying). Other than load time and minor performance problems, Armada II, so far, is a worthy successor to the original. The story is enticing (the voiceover work by Patrick Stewart, Alice Krige, and J.G. Hertzler a plus), the combat challenging, and the game play generally fun. Although my review is mixed, I do like the game, but I still have a lot to go. I don't think anything will change my opinion, but if it does, you'll be the first to know. Right now, I recommend Armada II to any Star Trek gaming nut who enjoyed the first one and has been disappointed by almost every other Star Trek title published in the last two years.

Revised Star Fleet Recon Report,
post-patch (01-28-02)update:

Technical Stuff:
The game is nearly bug free, but if you are running XP and/or an ATI graphics card get the patch that will fix issuses with those two things, then buy two copies from Amazon! Have your drivers updated and have 2 Gigs of open space for the game/swap file and any Admiral's Logs and screen shots you save. There have been reports of the game freezing up during missions but not with everyone so it may be specific situations. Some have reported trouble playing on the internet but the reasons why vary. The game design is sound and it runs out of the box and better for some after the patch is applied.

Graphics, sound, and all that jazz:
Looks good, sounds effects great, music repetitive, interface a little large but it can be minimized in part or whole. TONS of options in MP and Instant Action, game can be edited beyond that in root directory (ODF's, AI, etc.) Reinstall function is nice for when you mess something up as it does not overwrite your mission progress or preferred settings.

Plot and missions: Takes place after Armada 1 and before Janeway's return from the Delta Quadrant. 30 missions, final battle is an apocalyptic confrontation between a combined Federation and Borg fleet vs. Species 8472 in Fluidic Space.

Trek Canon:
If you are looking for 'trek canon' this isn't it, Galors are stronger than Galaxies and Defiant-class vessels are not very strong. Cubes are not unstoppable, but Fusion Cubes are mighty tough.

Gameplay:
All six races are supposedly equal, although the Klingons seem a bit to strong. Each race's tech tree may seem daunting at first but you will gradually get use to it. Ship upgrades do wonders.
This game is about fleets, so don't fret if you lose one ship, just build more. The Officer cap limits the number of ships you build (settings are 300, 600, 800 and 999 officers). Species 8472 only needs piolets, no crew, but they only have so many of them (1/4 as many as the officers for any other race).
ALL races depend on resource gathering, you MUST gather what they need or you will lose. The ships build fast, you just need to get the stuff to build them, the game is won or lost on the economic front sometimes before the battle ever takes place. If you are using one of the four Alpha Quadrant races take advantage of the trading stations. The Borg, use the Recycler. Species has its own unique ways to economically dominate. Don't get soft playing on infinite resources all the time, that is for beginners and 'fooling-around'.

Notes:
The Sovereign-class ship for the Federation is just about worthless without the Corbomite Reflector, so keep building Galaxies. The Galor-class for the Cardassians is strong and has great firepower. The Keldon's special is frighteningly powerful. The Negh'Var is good. Borg Fusion Cubes are expensive but once you destroy 20+ ships in one battle with one you will not mind the resource burden. Standard Cubes are good. The frigates, science ships, marine ships, and artillery ships are worth building as they can save you warships if you use them right.
Specials are hard to utilize by hand so use the autonomy settings to compensate, the computer may waste them sometimes but it is either that or get destroyed before you get it fired off. Unless you want your ships wandering all over the place set the movement autonomy to medium or low.

'Artificial Intelligence',the Computer as an opponent:
The patch fixes this so the game's value is not all MP on the internet. The computer still falls for just about any trick you can pull on it. But it can manage resources and defend its base better than before the patch. The AI still needs a handicap to give you a run though and this is why it doesn't get five stars.

Conclusion:
The game is good, the patch is welcomed, but the AI is not as good as it could be. But then again this game can be modded so the AI may start trashing people after some tweaking.

Jason out.

Star Trek Armarda II is a must buy for all trek/stratergy game fans. Its like age of empires in space. With a few nice extras. The special weapons are good and the AI capability for your ships is a real help. with 3 races to command in campaigns (pitty they dropped the romulans) it creates hours of fun, its 3 difficulty setting make it good fun for all skill levels. And if you get bored with playing aginst the computer the game expands with the capability for internet gaming over the game spy network, which can put you up against as many as 8 other players leads to unlimited possibilites the campaigns are like training for multiplayer mode. In instant action or multiplayer mode the number of races you can command increases to 6 with the addition of romulan, cardassian and species 8472.

Overall this game is a great buy and will give you endless hours of fun!

I loved Star Trek Armada 2 it had everything that armada was missing the story line was perfect it kept u wanting to see more and keep playing for hours the graphics were awsome and the ability to upgrade ship systems brought the game up a level so new ships allows for a wide variety of different type of attack forces all though none of the new ships really had any special ability except for the transporter ship with the transporter attack other then that I loved it I suggest this for anyone look for action and constant managing a fleet for the unexpected

Its is one of the best Real Time Stategy (RTS) games out there, even if you're not a star trek fan. The graphics are good but the 3D view can get confusing. Unlike Age of Empires or Empire Earth, there are no ages, and there are only a few stations where you can build ships. There are also only 6 species, but each has there own unique ships. The campains take a while if you're not an experienced RTS gamer, but the instant action is also very exciting.
On the map, there are dilithium moons to mine, different planets to colonize, asteroid fields to block your way, and nebulas that can either heal, or desroy your ship.
Another difference from Age of Empires is that when your ship is damaged, it wont function as well, unlike when your knight is injured, he will continue to inflict the same amount of damage. There are different systems that can be damaged e.g. weapons, engines, crew.
If you decide to buy this game, I hope you have a good time with it, I shure did!

Armada 2 is a great game with tons of new weapons: photon torpedos, quantom torpedos and tons of new ships. You also colonize planets, and there are three new resources: metal, latinum, and spieces 8472 uses biomatter.

I think the game being 3-d is a disadvantage, because if you are used to Armada 1 you'll build all your turrets in a 2-d formation around your base and the computer then comes up underneath you.

The Borg are way too powerful because they can fuse 8 tactical cubes to create a tactical fusion cube which has 8 lasers, 8 quantum torpedoes, a ton of special energy, practically invincible shields and can asimalate 3 special weapons from other races. I think the best combo of special weapons is the shield disrupter, corbanite reflector, and weapons enhancer. Every ship in the Klingon fleet has a weapon. Personally I stay loyal to the federation which has lots of new ships including the Galaxy class star ship which can separate its saucer section and stardrive section, which I can not understand the point of doing. The nebula starship fires much faster than it did in Armada 1.

Don't buy this game if you want to play multiplayer games on a LAN.

I enjoyed the original Armada and couldn't wait for this one. I had multiplayer issues in the original and hoped that the new version would fix those. Boy was I mistaken! I went to Activision for assistance and was told that my network configuration was too complex! I meet or exceed all the system requirements for this game and the network protocols I have installed are the basic ones you have if you have a broadband interenet connection (especially if you use AOL). I tried the fix that Activision suggested (removing all but the barest protocols, thus temporarily disabling AOL) and still couldn't connect a multiplayer game!

As with other reviews I found the ships to be too weak in this rendition. I did enjoy having more races to play with and I enjoyed the multiple views feature during battles. I also enjoyed the resource management changes. I am a Star Trek fan and purchase most Star Trek based games. However, I would probably not buy another Activision produced Star Trek product. Given the poor level of customer and tech support provided by Activision I'm not sure they deserve a chance at a third strike.

Star Trek Armada II has added a ton of amazing features to online game-play. The story line focuses on 3 races instead of 4, so therefore more missions have been added. The ability to control 16 ships instead of 8 is awesome! The added feature of Borg Tactical Cubes is fantastic! The ability of The Borg to assimilate other species technology is really cool! Species 8472 is unique and fun to play with. The idea of planetary occupation goes along well with what should be the natural manner in which to gain crew. The sequel to the innovative and revolutionary Star Trek Armada isn't, however, nearly as good as the original. There are many added ships to each race, yet that's what made A1 so unique. Not every race had the same technologies such as bombers that were unique only to Feds and Roms. Now practically all races have this feature with the exception I believe of Species 8472. The Borg are too strong. Two Tactical Cubes can annihilate entire fleets of the other races. If people complained about Won then perhaps it was because we didn't know better. Online games on A2 are the worst to get in too. The patch for the game corrected a couple of mistakes but Won still seems more reliable. A majority of people who own A1 bought A2, yet they said they reverted to A1 only after a couple of months of game-play. Star Trek Armada is probably one of the best games ever produced by Activision. Just as original movies usually tend to be more popular than sequels, in most cases, A1 outdoes A2 in pure strategy terms. Limitations are the key factor. A2 was a good expansion, yet perhaps they forgot that in trying to pleas everyone they would in fact please only a few. Armada 2 is a great game. You should first try out Armada 1 to see what the real game is like!