Star Trek fans, rejoice! While the new 3D real-time strategy game Star Trek: Armada has a few glaring bugs and some notable AI problems, the overall experience is well-crafted and enjoyable thanks to a fully rendered 3D engine and scripted events that provide arcade-like action.

Considering that most Star Trek games are about as enjoyable as a date with a Ferengi, the fact that Armada is a big hit is important not only for Paramount Pictures, but also for newly selected publisher Activision. What makes Armada unique is not how it innovates in the RTS genre, but how it feels like you are really part of the Star Trek: The Next Generation universe.

Four campaigns are included: Federation, Klingon, Romulan and Borg. You can complete each campaign in any order, although only the Federation campaign starts off in what is essentially a training mode. Most missions include all the basics of RTS: mine dilithium, build starbases, create ships, seek and destroy, repeat. One notable innovation is crew management. Ships without a full crew compliment will not be as agile or powerful; essentially, this becomes another "human" resource you must manage.

Armada is the most fun when the mission scripting kicks in. In some ways, the combat sequences are similar to the Interplay title Starfleet Command, which focuses entirely on ship control (shields, weapons, repairs, etc.). While Armada can't touch the sheer depth of Starfleet, it does give you some special weapons and strategic elements. For example, the Borg can use transporting to take command of nearly-destroyed vessels, and some races can use cloaking.

In one particularly hairy mission, you'll steer a Klingon warship around an asteroid belt while Romulans try to knock you into deep space. Original RTS games like Warcraft and Command and Conquer had some of these scripted sequences, but they never approached the arcade-like quality in Aramda. One downside to an otherwise excellent game is the fact that Armada shipped with several glaring bugs and AI problems. In the Federation campaign, one mission actually kept starting over until I re-started the whole campaign. Pathfinding is not as good as some recent RTS games: units frequently get stuck behind an asteroid belt or swirl around in circles waiting for the next command. A patch easily solved the bugs, but the pathfinding is still annoying.

Gameplay = 8

Gameplay follows the traditional RTS dogmas. Build your stations as fast as you can so you can advance through the tech tree and build better ships. Add extra resource gathering ships so you don't have to worry about running out of cash. Then, build up the largest army you can afford and mount your attack.

For the most part, Armada never varies from this basic model. Scripted missions are more fun, and the basic build/destroy missions are not too innovative. Still, the game is immersive because you're in familiar territory. This is especially true with the Borg: you will get sucked into the game not because the actual gameplay is new, but because it's just cool to build Borg cubes and wreak havoc on Federation outposts.

Graphics = 8

Armada takes place in a 2D environment with 3D ships and structures. Total Annihilation pioneered 3D combat in the RTS genre, where instead of watching tiny 2D units move like cardboard cutouts, the full 3D unit rendering looks more realistic. In Armada, the ships are even more convincing. You can zoom in on your Federation starships and watch them careen around distant moons while blasting the Borg. There's even a hotkey that allows you to view combat in full screen mode.

Sound = 5

All of the sounds will be familiar to you, from the Klingon grunts to the Borg threats of domination. Blasts from Federation ships sound exactly like the sound effects from the TV shows. In some ways, the sounds are getting sort of old - like listening to the swoosh of light sabers in all the Star Wars games.

Difficulty = 6

Armada is not a difficult game, but some missions - even those that are early in the campaigns, are quite challenging. I was able to play through nearly half of the Borg campaign without much effort, mostly because I used the Borg take-over ability as often as possible. By amassing a huge fleet, finding the extra moons for mining dilithium, and using special weapons, you can almost always complete a mission on the first try through. This means you won't have to play the save/reload game as often. In fact, most of the difficulty comes in learning the special weapons for the current campaign.

Concept = 7

The tried and true RTS concept is still going strong. Obviously, the new wave of 3/4 perspective games (Dark Reign II, Ground Control, and Force Commander) might replace the traditional overhead game. It's interesting, though, that Westwood has decided to keep using the traditional view for future C&C games. Armada never innovates on this concept, but does milk it to the greatest advantage.

Multiplayer = 7

Special weapons for the various races keep multiplayer games interesting. In C&C games there was always one miracle tactic like a tank rush. If anything, the Borg ship takeover is probably the best strategy, but cloaking can be a good defensive tactic against it.

Overall = 8

Armada is an excellent RTS game that's to play. 3D graphics help immerse you into the Star Trek universe, and scripted missions give everything an arcade feel. Never too innovative, the game still ranks as one of the better offerings in the RTS genre.

Installation = No problems.

Buy the Game?

Once you get tired of the latest C&C games and add-ons, Armada should make a pleasant diversion.