Star Trek - Tactical Assault (NDS) > Reviews > Star Trek goes dual screened

Author's product rating:   

Playability & Enjoyment	OK -
Addictiveness	Not exactly addictive but certainly playable
Graphics	Good
Difficulty & Complexity	A difficult game - needs a lot of patience
Value for money	Limited value

Advantages:	decent variety of ships, good gameplay and graphics
Disadvantages:	slow paced, doesn't utilise DS functionality

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Star trek games, much to the dismay of many fans have been typically poor, half hearted attempts. this is the first effort on DS and out-classes most other trek games, but that is not hard to do. However the game is pretty decent and fun to play.

First things first, appearance. The game opens with an impressive 3D cut scene whch shows the star ship enterprise (of the captain Kirk days) whizzing though space. then the title pops up and your ready to rumble.
As for the in game graphics, they're pretty good but would benefit from a bit of work. it is a decent effort at a 3D game and runs at a smooth frame rate. however the level of detail on the ships is dissapointing and extra features such as planets and astroids have a very pixellated look. The weapon fire is simplistic but works. phasers are simply a straight beam of light so much like what they should be. photon torpedos are red sparkly objects that fly towards the enemy. all-in-all everything is represented well but just lacks that bit of shine.

Next up game modes. There is a single player campaign in which you start of with the basic federation frigate. later you will get to use other more powerful ships, as well as unlock a second campaing which allows you to use klingon vessels. the missions are pretty simple, you are gien instructions where to go by your space station an warp to that location. after being told a bit of the story- which is a bit random as opposed to following one main story line- you'll end up in a fight with one or two enemy vessels. either you'll get to destroy it or it will retreat. Hailing them is also an option so peace can be made instead of war. after you report back to your station and that about sums up all you'll be doing. meanwhile you'll be upgrading crew members (which may as well not be there as they simply just upgrade your ship) and unlocking further ships and races.

There is also a skirmish mode that simply has you an up to three enemy ships pitted against eachother in a 'last ship standing' fight. it can be a free-for-all or you can have teams, an it is upto you whther they are balanced or not. Difficulty is determined by the ship classes. if it is on easy it will put ou against a ship weaker than the one you have picked, if on normal the ship will match yours, if on hard it will be better or there will be more of them. alternatively you can go on 'custom' and pick the ships yourself.

finally there is a multiplayer mode where two people will get to go head to head using the DS wireless functionality. unfortunately there is no online play, nor is there a download play option so both players will need to own the game.

The ships that are included are numerous, there differences not. there are five races, the Federation, Klingon, Romulan and the lesser known 'Gorn' and 'Orion'. Each have a selection of 5 ships which despite them looking different, are all practically the same. They're all split into the same classes. Each race has ; a frigate; a destroyer; a light cruiser; a heavy cruiser; and a dreadnought. Forunately they all have different weapons and the klingons and Romulans cloak. However, they are all of the same level and weapons are pretty much equally balanced. the differences are there but the ships pretty much play the same over each of the races.

Now for the game interface. The top screen is where all the action takes place in the not quite so glorious 3D, but it still is good to watch. On the bottom screen there are three pages of information, these are cycled through by pressing the correct tab on the touch screen or simply double tapping the R button to go onto the next one. The pages are: shields, weaponry and navigation. The shield page simply shows you the condition of the shields and has a button which lets you recharge. Recharging requires power which is displayed on the top screen as a bar which goes down as power is used. The shields are simply shown as a circle around you ship. The circle is split into a few segments so you can target specific areas of the ship. each segment starts green and goes yellow as it takes damage. it is critical when it goes red and then is destroyed with further damage, leaving your ship vulnerable. At this point the ship itself takes damage (all ships have their own health bar) and can mean weapons can take damage, rendering them useless.

The weapon page is important, it shows you a diagram of the ship and where the weapon banks are located. This is so you know which part of the ship must be facing the opponent to fire. it also shows you when they are capable of firing. After shooting each weapon has to recharge, at this time the weapons icon will be dull, then light back up when it is charged again. Recharge times vary depening on the weapon, phasers are the quickest, torpedos are the longest. Weapon accuracy, strength and recharge time are all upgradable in the campaign.
Weapons can also be charged to become more powerful by holding the R button while firing, this like shield recharge, uses power.

The final page, navigation, simply has the buttons for hailing the enemy an friendly ships, scanning the area and warping to another location. alternatively the buttons Y,X and Y while holding R can be used to perform these tasks respectively. Also it allows you to turn your ship by simply sliding the stylus left to right across the screen, however using the D-pad is far easier, especially when reaching other buttons.

all-in-all the game is pretty good, not the best but a lot better than most other star trek tiles. Speaking of the title, its been cleverly named. Tactics are a must as you have to maneuver to make sure you can fire the weapon from certain parts of your ship, know when to charge weapons and fire them (closer = more damage) and also preserve your own ship. Accompanied by atmospheric music the fights are pretty enjoyable and can be quite a challenge, although slow and frustrating at other times. The touch screen controls are also a bit cumbersome so best to stick to buttons with this one.

A good game for fans and non-fans alike, although I feel fans will get into it far more. Hope you enjoyed the review and even more so, i hope you enjoy the game should you choose to get it!