Customer Reviews

Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Dominion Wars

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

For me, the 'Star Trek' story has always been about the thrill and adventure woven into the lives of those characters who live and serve aboard 'Starships'. Just the concept of such machines as those portrayed in the series' leaves me literally quivering with excitement. In every new episode I look forward to the dedicated work of those special effects geniuses who bring starships to life. Whether they're jumping to warp, combating the enemy, or simply gliding through space, I can't help but be captivated by the sleek gracefullness of these magnificent creations. I believe this feeling of captivation is what 'Dominion Wars' was founded upon. The creators used the war with the Dominion as the perfect background to at last give the player that sense of true command which previous Star Trek games lacked.
I'm talking about being able to watch the ships under your control perform graphically beautiful maneuvers from literally any camera angle you prefer. Because of the completely interactive, 3D environment, the player comes to feel that they're truly there, right in the heart of the action. With so much control over the vessels, it's hard not to get excited when you manage to pull of something cool.

I remember at one point in the game, and this left me truly breathless (if you're not an avid Star Trek fan, this will sound geeky). I was engaged in a fierce battle with several Jem'Hadar fighters, my two Akira class starships were taking heavy damage while holding the line against the opposing strike cruisers. Meanwhile my Flagship, an Achilles class vessel (with shields severely damaged and venting plasma - which looks really cool graphically by the way) was frantically attempting to gain the edge on a circling Jem'Hadar War Cruiser. The USS Bastion (my faithful 'Steamrunner') was a flaming pile of wrekage spiraling towards a nearby planet. The long range sensors aboard my 'Achilles' were picking up Cardassian reinforcements moving in fast. Frantically, I checked the progress of my 'Defiant' class vessel, whose engines had been damaged and was at least 30 seconds away from the fight. Knowing I wouldn't be able to survive without the quantum torpedoes aboard the 'Defiant'. I re-routed all available power to the rear shields on each of my engaged vessels and high-tailed it back towards the Defiant so that I could make my last stand with all guns blazing. Unfortunately, one of my Akira's wasn't fast enough and was dispatched readily by the pursuing Strike Cruiser. Panicking, I re-group and wait for them to come to me. I figure I only have one chance: The Secret Maneuver! It doesn't always work, but I figured I had nothing to lose. As the blips on my sensors get closer, I form my remaining ships into a sort of 'V' and prepare to 'joust' with the enemy. As soon as the Jem'Hadar and Cardassian ships were within visual range, I brought my ships up to full impulse and charged the War Cruiser (their ultra omega death ship), targeting its shields with one concentrated alpha strike in an attempt to knock em' down, if just for a second. As my beleageured fleet charged, I swiveled the camera angle to the get the best shot of the action. The specially equppied long range phasers aboard my Achilles were the first to light up the scene, followed by multiple spreads of torpedoes and intermingled phaser bursts. Scanning the War Cruiser, I could see that I had almost done it, I just needed a little more. The quantum torpedoes aboard my defiant were the last to fire, and in a blaze of graphical magnificance, the shields aboard the War cruiser dropped. Instantly I beamed aboard all available boarding teams in an attempt to gain control of the vessel. I had equppied extra security personel for just this purpose, with upgraded weapons to provide that extra punch. While the battle raged on the War Cruiser, my fleet held against the Cardassian Tonga's just long enough for my boarding teams to gain control of the War Cruiser. I had 2 security dudes left after that fight, the image of the War Cruiser popped up in my ship bar, signifying control. After that, it was only a matter of beaming aboard a small command crew, and mopping up the competition with the heavy weapons aboard my newly aquired vessel.
Nacelles smoking, my fleet limped back to starbase for repairs. It was a close fight.

See, this is what I'm talking about. This is the kind of gaming action that every trekkie dreams of. The creators did a superb job of adding just the right amount of detail, without flooding the player with list upon list of complicated commands. The learning curve is about 2 hours, after that, you're ready to rock.

The graphics in this game are absolutely amazing, providing a level of detail and style that is breathtaking in all its glory. Nebulas, planets, and gas clouds offer a spectacular setting to fight your way through, while the ships just look gorgeous.

The story is based upon events from the Deep Space Nine series, so if you weren't into that show, you probably won't get as much out of the plot as the die hard trekkies. There are a lot of references to particular circumstances that only a portion of gamers will recognize. However, the basic plot line is laid out for those who know nothing of Star Trek. The Jem'Hadar, who abide in the Gamma quadrant are seeking to conquer the Alpha quadrant. Due to the vast distance between the two areas, they must use a wormhole to transport their fleet. This wormhole exits near and is monitored by the Space Station 'Deep Space Nine'. The baddies come through, despite resistance, team up with some Cardassian dudes and duke it out with the Federation. You will participate in many battles in two separate campaigns (good guys and bad guys)...Ya.

Of course, from what I've said so far, I would love to give this game 5 stars, and if it weren't for all those damnable bugs, I would. The game doesn't seem to be compatible with certain 3D cards, in certain combinations with different PC's. These combinations seem to vary with each copy of the game. So, if you're like me, living with a 500mHz Pentium 3 (that's pretty bad now a days), you could be hooped, even with a 3D card. The game doesn't actually even work on my computer anymore. When I upgraded my 3D card, the game looked nicer, but got really slow and choppy. How does that work? Then there's all those multi-player and sibgle player glitches that detract from the game. Patches are available, but still...
Anyway, if you have an Ultra Death Dream Machine Pentium 4 or something, you'll probably have nothing but good to say about this title.

In summary, Dominion Wars provides players with the type of action and visual prowess that demands attention, while keeping the player interested in the evolving story. Despite bugs, a great buy!

The Starship creator that comes with the game is also a blast, almost as fun as the game itself, with rotating 3D customizable models and such. Good fun was had by all!

This game is not perfect but it is loads of fun. The graphics are excellent and so is the gameplay. However, I will get to the point regarding the glitchy mouse control. Don't bother getting patches 1.05 or whatever some people here have been suggesting. My computer runs on Windows XP and I had the same problems when I first ran the program. The solution:

1. go to the Dominion Wars shortcut.
2. right click on the icon.
3. select properties.
4. select the "compatibility" tab.
5. in the "compatibility mode" box make sure the box is checked and choose Windows 98/ME.
6. hit OK.
7. "Punch it Chewie!"...oh wait, that's Star Wars.

That worked perfectly for me. Unfortunately I had to randomly try things since there is no longer support for DS9: DW. Oh well, such is life. Good luck and happy hunting.

Dominion Wars is a 3D tactical game that takes place during the two years of the Dominion War that we saw on DS9. You lead a six-ship task force, for either side -- The Federation/Klingons or the Dominion/Cardassians. You lead from your flagship, and each of the other ships in your fleet has its own captain, which you assign, based on attributes such as aggresiveness, command rating and such. However, the combat is all external -- you're looking at your ships, not out from inside them. You can zoom and move around using the mouse You also can customize to some extent the ships themselves. If you're going on a pure combat mission, throw in some extra guns and dump some speed capability, and even stuff like how many engineers or security officers you have on board. Though you only command one ship at a time, there are 24 different ships to choose from, so you can upgrade to better ships or faster ships or whatever between missions. How well you do on missions controls how much money you make, which determines how many upgrades you can get. Keep in mind though -- this isn't a micromanagement game but an action game. And the graphics are awesome.

Also, as an added bonus, in this game you can import captains from the Starship Creator 2 game.

I have already provided an earlier review of this game. Here is an addendum comparing Starfleet Command (SFC) vs Armada vs Dominion Wars (DW)- all of which I have played.

SFC

Pros
-larger variety in missions.
-you get to follow a starfleet career
-detailed control of ship systems
Cons
-too few ships per battle
-careers too short

Armada

pros
-good story animation sequences.
-fun to be able to play all sides as integrated part of the storyline.

cons
-terrible battle sequences- basically army troops posing as star trek ships so the ships fly in strange formations. The game is really Command and Conquer with star ship sprites.
-far too many campaigns and starts to get repetitive.
-2D sprites

DW
pros
-excellent big fleet battle sequences.
-beautiful graphics.
-high level control of ship systems.
cons
-Weak story animation sequences.
-Game gets repetitive.
-Problems running on some graphics cards.

Star Trek titles have been known to be suitable for Star Trek fans that spend countless money to have the latest titles from this franchise. I have been upset in the past with previous Star Trek games that do not push the envelope of gaming technology. My feelings have changed since the release of Dominion Wars.

I have been waiting for this title because I felt that this is a long awaitied title that takes the Star Trek franchise to new gaming hieghts. For an extrateristrial Real-Time Strategy game, it has branched out into a new genre within an already popular genre.

The game looks unbelievable, once you get it running. The game play and graphics are intoxicating as you Warp and blast your enemies away. I would recommend this game but with very little reservation. I am sure the developers at Gizmo will do what is neccessary to make this game more enjoyable and operationable. By the time this review is posted by ... and I click the save button (June 19, 2001), I am sure the bugs will be killed and I will look for a challenger online so I can make them think about coming after me!

After waiting so long I finally received my copy of Dominion Wars. I am writing this short review because many of our fleet members want my opinion the game. This "short" review will cover the Graphics, Interface, Concepts, and stability.

Graphics:

Think of this game as a movie with great special effects. Like everyone else, I like to go to the movies; however, I prefer to see films with great stories and lest special effects. Too many producers spend millions and millions of dollars on the special effects and spend only a few thousand dollars on story development. These types of movies usually have no depth and never wins an oscar. Such is case with Dominion Wars, the graphics are the best but the games itself lack depth. The graphics are very sharp and clear - all StarTrek games should have graphics like this.

Interface.

It is a pleasure to be able to rotate the camera at any point around the ships and to view all ships in detail. The interface to the game is not that bad - in fact, it's good. The interface is not as detailed as the standard set by StarFleet Command - you do not have control of all aspects of the ships, but it does provide a true feel of the LCARS system which is the Next Generation standard interface. Unlike Klingon Academy, you can not truly control your ships. At best, you can issue very "General" orders of when and where to attack. The Mini Map looks nice, but is hard to manage if your ships are not together. Is it also difficult to know the attack vector of the enemy ships; they sometimes come out of no where and start attacking - You would think doing a sensor sweep would help but that does not always work. This would not be a problem if the Dominion uses cloak ships, unfortunately that is not the case.

Concepts.

This is not Klingon Academy or Starfleet Command - it is not a star ship simulation game! It is a strategy game - That's the bottom line. You must spend more time planning your strategy before each mission in order to win. If you like Starfleet Command or Klingon Academy because of there great detail, stay away from this game you are not going to find that in Dominion Wars. If you like the ability to "Generally" control a fleet of ships like in a game called Startrek Armada, then you will like Dominion Wars. You will also like the ability to choose captains and special devices for each ship, if you can afford them.

Stability.

I began to like this game a lot...... then it began to crash on me; forcing me to reboot my computer. I then began to hate the game! I downloaded the latest patch so that game crashes a lot less. I would prefer for Gismo Games to release the game 5 months late and have a stable product than to release an unfinished product to the public! I have to literally save the game in the middle of the action so that the next time is crashes I would not have to do the mission over. Needless to say....this is a real pain.

In short, this could have been a great game but is it not because of the lack of thought, depth and stability. Game development companies really need to spend serious time with people who actually play these types of games so that they could get an idea of what the public is look for. Dominion War has proven that they do not have a clue. We have been disappointed with so many startrek titles. Only Klingon Academy and Star Fleet Command Version 1 did a good job a representing the Startrek universe.

I give it 2 stars.

HG-Admiral out

With only a few exceptions, the Star Trek License has been a breeding ground for mediocre to very poor video games. Dominion Wars is not one of these exceptions.

The bundling of Star Trek: Starship Creator Warp 2 is a nice addition but it doesn't make up for the games flaws. The only strength that Dominion Wars has is its graphics. The graphics in the game are definitely some of the best I have ever seen. The ship models and lighting effects are so good, I thought I was watching the show at some points. From there the game starts to go down hill. The sound is good at best. CD quality music but lack luster voice acting. The plot isn't to engaging, the title of the game tells you what the plot is even before you open the box. "Game play" is where the game really starts to falter. There is no real strategy to the game. It has basically two types of missions; destroy every enemy ship on the map or protect "this" from "that".

The game is unbelievable when compared to the TV show. In the last mission of the Federation/Klingon Alliance missions you have to assault and capture Cardassia Prime. You get a total of 8 warships and 5 troop transports. 6 Galaxy class (ships actually commanded by you), 1 Romulan Warbird, 1 Klingon Vor'cha, 2 Klingon Transports, and 3 Federation Tranports. Cardasia defense fleet: 12-15 Cardassian/Dominion/Breen ships, 10-12 weapons platforms, and 4 shield generators. Seems a bit one-sided doesn't it. And yet, you win.

The real problem with Dominion Wars is it's not a true 3D RTS. Had the game designers given us more ships and a true 3D environment to move around in, this game would have been one of, if not the best, Star Trek game out there. It may have been able to go toe to toe with Homeworld. Maybe that is why Simon & Schuster didn't do it. They were afraid of the comparison to Homeworld.

The game is actually rather good. the graphics are exellent and look like lower resolutions of the models on the show. However, they did mess up a few things and omitted some others which would have made the game better. "Starship Creator warp2" which came with my dominion wars and allegedly lets you import different designs of ships and captains was a complete debacle, the transfer of ships simply doesn't work. Within the game are 10 missions for each side which has the federation capaign extremely easy while the dominion campaign is on the other extreme. My first compaint is about the defiant which although looks good enough has inaccurate weapons (specifically quantum warheads) which are given to a different class ship, the steamrunner. Several patches are available but all the support for the game is gone. even the web site promoting it is no longer in service so don't go looking for support there. The akira ships are too weak without the 1.05 patch with enables the galaxy glass and akira to fire accurate #s of torpedoes for the ship. The game neglected to put in other federation ships such as the miranda or excelsior as well as intrepid and soveriegn class ships. except for the K'vortcha class vessel which seems to be a better bird of prey equiped like the defiant class but larger the klingons are almost completely ignored in this game and there should be a separate capaign for them as well as the Cardasians, (same deal)The klingons are too weak to use any of their ships and the cardasians are litterally droped mid campaign. The klingon bird of prey is useless against any ship and can't even inflict much shield damage on a freighter before being destroyed by a jem'hadar fighter. In contrast the dominion ships seem ept to crash into ships very easily (even when you don't want them to and so you are force to go at half speed).
Gamespy the alleged support for the multiplayer aspect of the game is also (my word for the day) a complete and udder DEBACLE!
Several times I've attempted to play it online and only worked when I decided to play online by myself, (to see if the import creator ships would work, they did not)Whats the point in that I could do that without being online.The game however was really good and with the 1.04 patch there is a shirmish game which I spend lots of time on.

I just bought this game today after reading wonderful reviews about on this web site! It looked really cool on the box. I was, of course warned about the bugs, but I decided to take that risk. I installed it perfectly, but when I tried to play it it crashed. The person on the phone said I had to have some graphics card made in the past 6 or 7 months, which I didn't. So I tried to download the driver that I need, which took 30 minutes and it still wont work and there is nothing wrong with th cd, I am sure, no scratches or anything. My computer should be able to easily run it. I can already tell that this game is loaded with bugs.And I am not just trying to be a gripe, I am a big Star Trek fan and am usually tollerant with this sort of stuff, but this just frustrates me to death.I gave it three stars because I know it is fun(if you can play it). So make sure you have directX 8.0 and a new computer!

Beautiful graphics (if you can get the game to run) and fun scenarios (if you don't have to repeatedly reload the game due to lock ups). Talk about frustration. Okay, I didn't spend last years salary on a computer but give me a break. System requirements should include 'state of the art computer with a separate room for the graphics card and RAM.'