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Star Trek: Legacy

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Star Trek: Legacy
Developer(s)Mad Doc Software
Publisher(s)Bethesda Softworks
Platform(s)Xbox 360, PC (Windows)
ReleasePC:

United States December 5, 2006
European Union December 22, 2006
Xbox 360:
United States December 14, 2006

European Union December 22, 2006
Genre(s)Arcade Strategy
Mode(s)Single player, Multiplayer

Star Trek: Legacy is a video game released by Mad Doc Software for Microsoft Windows based PC and Xbox 360. The game, a strategy/action game, was published by Bethesda Softworks. It was originally planned for release in the fall of 2006 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Star Trek.

In the game, players control a federation starship in combat against various races from the Star Trek universe. It was released for the PC on December 6, 2006 in North America, and was released on December 22, 2006 in Europe. The Xbox 360 version was released on December 15, 2006[1] in the US and December 22, 2006 in Europe.

Fan and critical response to the PC game was strongly negative[2] while reviews for the Xbox 360 version are slightly higher.

The PC version received an average vote of 4.8, and an average score of 58.0% on the GameRankings website.[3]

Setting

Single player

The three eras of Star Trek: Enterprise, The Original Series and The Next Generation make up the single-player campaign. In each era, the player utilizes a Federation ship from that era. The Federation goes up against the Romulans (ENT), Klingons (TOS), and the Borg Collective (TNG). The Next Generation era is inclusive of Deep Space Nine and Voyager material.

Storyline

File:Lexbox 13B.jpg
Ingame screenshot from the Xbox 360 version of Legacy

An article on Eurogamer, posted on August 7, 2006, revealed that Derek Chester has collaborated with original Star Trek writer D.C. Fontana on the scripts of Star Trek: Legacy and Star Trek: Tactical Assault.[4]

Fontana and Chester gave an interview on IGN, posted November 29, 2006, in which they reveal that the storyline incorporates the split between the Vulcan and Romulan races, known as the Sundering.[5]

As opposed to previous speculation, a storyline involving the Next Generation episode "Contagion" will not be relevant to the plot.

The eras that are covered in single player mode are:

Missions

Enterprise Era

  • 1: "Those in Need"
  • 2: "Breakwater"
  • 3: "Be My Shepherd"
  • 4: "Poisoned Well"
  • 5: "Stirring the Hive"

The Original Series

  • 1: "The Squeeze"
  • 2: "Behind Enemy Lines"
  • 3: "Firestorm"
  • 4: "At the Gates"
  • 5: "Omega"

The Next Generation

  • 1: "Revelations"
  • 2: "Ambush"
  • 3: "Anger and Mercy"
  • 4: "Generals"
  • 5: "Logical Conclusion"

Gameplay

PC

Combat for the game takes place in a semi-3D environment, unlike the full 3D of Star Trek: Bridge Commander or Star Trek: Klingon Academy. Players also have to ability to change from a 3D display to a top-down 2D tactical display where you can issue specific commands to ships within a task force. For example, a player is able to order a ship to warp to a specific point for defense of a station or ship.

In addition to the linear campaign there is a skirmish mode that is partially customizable; the player can choose his or her enemies, but not the ships they use.

Patches

To date, Bethesda has released two patches in an attempt to correct the serious defects that crippled the PC version of the game. The first patch repaired the multiplayer component that, for a majority of players and systems, did not work straight out of the box. However, this patch did not address other problems inherent in the game engine.

On the 15th of February 2007, Bethesda released a second patch, this patch performs some major repair work to the game engine, correcting numerous issues that caused access exception violations on most Windows PC system, as well as correcting memory leaks and graphic issues that had been bogging down the game. More repairs were attempted on the multiplayer component of the game as well, increasing the speed of which players can connect to or establish multiplayer servers as well as repairing numerous glitches and exemptions in information required to host and join a multiplayer game.[6]

However, serious work is still required as many issues which gamers had previously reported, still have not been addressed and numerous users still complain of the same access exception violations not being resolved with the latest patch.[7]

Xbox 360

Gameplay for the Xbox 360 is similar as that of the PC version, though no update was required for the game to play.

Response

PC version

General

Critical and fan response to the PC game was strongly negative,[2] with chief complaints focusing on a poorly implemented control system,[2][8] only one camera setting that cannot zoom in or out, an inability to save more than one campaign at a time and inability to save within a mission.

Additional complaints found in many reviews cite a buggy and slow multiplayer mode, the non-customizable skirmish mode, a universe without true 3D maneuvering capabilities, a lack of any way to change the control scheme, poor AI, and sub-par graphics.[8] These issues are focused on in turn below.

Additionally, a mission based on Star Trek II's fight of the Enterprise against Khan's ship--displayed at E3--was left out of the game, even though video of this mission appears within the game itself.

Graphics problems

Although graphics were touted as a major selling point of the game by Bethesda,[9] Action Trip noted that "as far as the next-generation graphics splendor goes, there isn't so much as a hint of it".[8] Glitches included mouse disappearing at random intervals during attempts to re-allocate energy, initiate repairs and choppy shadow images, 2D phaser effects, and damage model errors.

Customization issues

The player cannot choose captains or upgrade ships. This feature was advertised on the game's home page as late as a week before release, which claimed that "Customizable fleets, ships and captains: Victories earn Command Points, which are used to personalize your fleet, ships, and captains."[10]

Many gamers found the control problems especially galling, as there was considerable hype by the developers saying "Star Trek Legacy would be an epic game with easy to use controls." [11] Indeed, the game controls cannot even be reassigned to different keys on the keyboard. Nearly all reviews of the PC game have lambasted the controls: IGN called the game's controls "the first and most frequently occurring aggravation,"[12] while Action Trip said "one of the most annoying aspects of the PC version of Star Trek Legacy. [Is that] It suffers a great deal from unresponsive and unintuitive controls".[8] Gamespot noted that "What will make you pound your head in frustration are the controls, which are a nightmare to learn".[2] Players who are left-handed and use a left-handed mouse or use peripherals for disabled gamers have that much more difficulty or simply cannot play the game.

Game mechanics issues

Other issues involve strange gameplay features such as photon torpedoes being able to ignore shields and an inconsistent weapons locking system, which allow players to destroy ships with full shields up, as well as seemingly arbitrary time limits on cloaks and inabilities to repair damage or warp while cloaked. Players found the "magic torpedoes" especially bizarre: many times photon torpedoes will circle a target ship a number of times, then plunge into hull and destroy it through fully-charged shields.

Many PC players felt that the game had been ported from the Xbox 360 as an afterthought, resulting in the significant control problems with mapping the console control to a keyboard, and in the game having much less depth than was expected for a normal PC game. Indeed, the short manual for the PC game has several "tips" that are written for an Xbox 360 controller.

Physics

Legacy essentially ignores most of the laws of the physics to an unusual extent even for this type of space combat game; ships "stall" as they go too high as if they were aircraft, which restricts their manevuering to a 2D "pizza box."[12] This "pizza box" universe prevents ships from flipping ships over or going vertically for any length of time.

Additionally, the game lacked collision detection and had seemingly random reactions to ship collisions. Gamespot referred to the game's "bumper-car physics," saying that "If a starship runs into anything, such as another vessel, an asteroid, or even a ridiculously out-of-scale planet, it just rubs against it and then moves on".[2] IGN noted that "objects that collide simply repel each other, sometimes sending each other off in oblique directions, sometimes autopiloting to a new heading, and sometimes simply warping to a new facing altogether."[12] Indeed, although Bethesda's website claims that Legacy features "fully realized nebulas, wormholes, planets, and stars",[13] the "pint-size planets"[12] are almost the same size as the ships, and when ships collide with planets, they simply bounce off of them.[12] Action Trip said in its review that "Another mystifying fact about Star Trek Legacy.. is the painful lack of more solid collision detection.. Seeing the Enterprise bounce off a nearby planet like it was made of rubber...killed the ambiance".[8]

Players are unable to move their ship in any direction but forward (i.e. reverse is not possible) and motion was restricted to four preset speeds: All Stop, 25%, 50% and 100%.

Gameplay issues

Other major issues involving gameplay involved a poor subsystem targeting ability, as well as problems with torpedo lock that make it much harder to move the ships when torpedoes are being used. Many players felt that the game was inferior to previous Star Trek games such as Bridge Commander, Armada, and Klingon Academy, in terms of gameplay and use of the Star Trek license. AI for friendly ships is severely lacking, as the ships will not repair themselves no matter how much damage they take. Only after the player takes control of the ship can the ships repair themselves. Even so, the player must hold down the repair key, which sometimes causes players to lose their cursor. This necessitates a restart of the entire game. Mouse sensitivity was another problem; in the combat modes, even small touches would make major shifts in the camera, which would cause players to lose their view of an enemy ship. If mouse sensitivity was lowered, it became extremely difficult to use the strategic map.

Settings could also not be changed within a campaign. To change the settings the mission had to be exited, the settings changed at the main menu and the mission restarted. Settings cannot be saved in the game in any way and must be reset each time the game is started.

Professional reviews

The gaming website IGN.com also responded negatively to the game, giving it a "mediocre" 5.9/10 and saying "The PC version of Star Trek Legacy is among the most disappointing games of the year ... Star Trek Legacy simply cannot stand on its own as an entertaining or satisfying experience."[12] IGN also noted that "the AI is clueless"[12] Gamespot also called the game "mediocre", giving it a 5.8/10 and saying that "this starship combat game simply can't overcome bad controls, frustrating mission designs, and a mess of bugs".[2] Gamespy gave the game a rating of 2/5 saying "The missions and combat situations in Legacy are just boring when they're not tear-out-your-hair frustrating".[14]

Xbox 360 version

Responses to the Xbox 360 version have been more positive, with the Official Xbox 360 Magazine giving the game 8 out of 10 and saying Legacy is the "best space combat in ages." Game Informer gave the Xbox 360 version a 7.75 out of 10 saying Legacy is "...a great direction to take the Star Trek gaming franchise."

The discrepancy between the PC and Xbox 360 version reviews can be viewed as a result of the game having been originally developed for Xbox and then ported to PC. The Xbox 360 version also does not contain some of the control problems of the PC version, which had resulted from mapping the controller onto a keyboard, and also the major problems with game compatibility encountered with the PC version.

The reviews for the Xbox 360 version are much higher because of the easier gameplay. Game Chronicles gave the game a 9.1/10 (the highest rating for the game). "The command interface is incredibly intuitive, which totally surprised me. I was expecting some massively complicated command structure (like in Lord of the Rings), but it only takes one mission (the tutorial) to catch on".[15]

Gamespot gave the game a 7/10 "All five Star Trek series and captains tied together into one game; captures the grandeur and feel of star trek combat; iconic starships are modeled in good detail."[16]

The biggest difference between the two versions of the game is "The Xbox 360 controls are quite a bit more convenient than those on the PC. For one thing, the controls are actually all accurately documented in the manual and the game dialogues. The left stick controls the pitch and yaw of your ship and the right stick controls the camera. After just a few minutes of play, you'll find the whole arrangement very easy to manage."[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Star Trek: Legacy". Startrek.bethsoft.com. Bethesda Softworks. Retrieved 2006-12-21.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Gamespot Legacy review".
  3. ^ "Game Rankings".
  4. ^ "Bethesda reveals Trek talent". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2006-09-22.
  5. ^ "Star Trek: Legacy Interview". IGN. IGN. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
  6. ^ Star Trek Games - Bethesda Softworks
  7. ^ Star Trek Legacy Patch, Star Trek: Legacy Downloads, Star Trek: Legacy Patches
  8. ^ a b c d e "Action Trip Review".
  9. ^ "Archived game website".
  10. ^ "Archived game website".
  11. ^ Star Trek Games - Bethesda Softworks
  12. ^ a b c d e f g "IGN Legacy review".
  13. ^ "Legacy website".
  14. ^ GameSpy: Star Trek: Legacy Review
  15. ^ "Official Game chronicle review".
  16. ^ "Official Gamespot 360 review".
  17. ^ "IGN Xbox 360 review".

Game sites

Reviews, articles

Game community

  • [1] - The official site of Chris jones gaming, linking to the Ultimate Universe Mod forum and official site.
  • StarTrek-Legacy.com - An active community for the game
  • startrek-gamers.com - Legacy review, screenshots and downloads.
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