Time for another look at a game that I got for Xmas. Star Trek: Legacy released back in December of 2006 which to some makes it an older game. You wouldn’t think the game is old at all by looking at the graphics. On my 52” Plasma TV the graphics are fantastic for a space fighter game and since it’s on the Xbox 360 it’s able to take advantage of the HD capabilities. I’m glad I got that out of the way: The game looks great and its age is, as 7 of 9 would say, irrelevant. On to the game itself!
If you want a more detailed rundown of the game feel free to check out the video that follows this entry. in Star Trek Legacy you basically take command of the famous ships in Star Trek history. You will be commanding the Enterprises from Scott Bakula to Patrick Stewart and all of the various captains and ships worth mentioning. Lucky for Legacy they actually got the actors to do the voices and it adds that special needed touch. From what I have experienced so far in the game each captain comes with their usual lore. When you play Captain Archer of the original Enterprise you would expect a lot of it to deal with Romulans and Vulcans and it does. Important to most, the game has polish.
Where this game truly shines is not from the stories which are familiar to anyone remotely interested in Star Trek nor from the looks of the game which are fantastic. It’s from the ‘experience’ of being in charge of these vessels and the surrounding gameplay. There is more to the game than simple point and click and more than lining up your phasers and opening fire. There are several elements to consider: Energy allocation, your fleet, repairs, strategic maneuvers, impulse speed, warp, the strategical map view, shields, phaser range and duration, photon torpedo accuracy, etc. Learning your ships’ strengths and weaknesses will allow for you to orchestrate a very affective fleet. Some people may feel overwhelmed when presented with so many options and if you really don’t want to bother with any of that the game is still very involved and interesting. It can be as complex or simple as you want, just know that the game is a lot more fun when you get in to it.
Star Trek: Legacy has three main modes common to many games: Campaign, Multiplayer, Skirmish. Campaign is where you will get the story and the feeling of living vicariously as the infamous captains. Multiplayer allows you to play a game with three others; I haven’t played online yet but I assume it’s to battle each other (there might be coop). And Skirmish mode is where a lot of the replayability comes in to play. You can simply pick the era and your ship and get right into the action.
Overall the game delivers beautifully on everything Star Trek. It’s exactly the gameplay I would expect a Star Trek MMO to offer. Given what we know about Star Trek Online I may simply pass on it all together for a less ‘massive’ but much more pure experience found in Legacy. Everything I’ve seen in the game so far makes me absolutely willing to recommend this to any Star Trek fan out there. If you’re looking for something Star Trek’ish to tide you over until STO definitely check out the video.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ9W6TWnSPk[/youtube]