Over the past couple of years I've made a habit of picking up outdated games (particularly FPS) that I missed out on at the time, given that they are usually cheap (<£10) and perform very well in high settings. My latest acquisition is ST:EF2.
I've gotta say that I didn't especially like the early levels fighting against the borg, there's not much character or life to the enemy and the way they get immune to different weapons as you use them is a bit of a chore. That's one of the things which really put me off in the dark and cramped confines of the first Elite Force 1 level. I'm glad I percivered with EF2, however, as in places this is a pretty good game.
Combat can be rewarding when accompanied by teammates, and in some places the enemies make good use of terrain for cover (probably more to do with scripting/positioning than genuine AI). However there is a tendancy for enemies to stand still or blindly rush into your fire. At least there's a bunch of bosses which are always satisfying to defeat. Overall combat is passable, but certainly can't compete with modern games such as FC and FEAR. Graphically, too, it's showing it's age like most BC (Before Crytek) titles. At least it gives a smooth high framerate in 1600x1200 with everything on max, and the representation of Picard is very good.
The tricorder is pretty cool in that it has various modes of usage, helping to provide a change of pace in certain places, whether it be a little power-routing subgame or a frantic rush to seal of gas vents. The weapons are also reasonably varied.
I'm not overly familar with Star Trek fiction, but Ritual seem to have done a reasonable job as far as the storyline is concerned. Unlike quite a few FPS, there's nearly always a clear premise as to why you are undertaking each mission and this helps matters considerably. There's almost the potential for some RPG-esque sections outside of combat missions too, but it never quite lives up to the potential - why create an expansive "safehouse" environment and then make it so linear? It's hard not to find myself wishing there could have been more opportunity for building relationships with other crew members (not just the ladies), maybe with some possible effects on gameplay like acquiring different equipment for missions, or learning more info about enemy weaknesses, something like that. You do some weapons training with the Klingon, but that's all forced on you anyway.
Total gametime was something like 7.5-8 hours I think, equating to maybe 10hours of actual real time when reloading savegames etc is taken into account. Nothing spectacular overall, but it kept me playing through to the end.
Now all that remains is to choose my next FPS, I haven't played any of the Thief series, as the stealth element is rather offputting (I didn't really enjoy Splinter Cell 1+2). I did enjoy NOLF2 however which had more of a balance between stealth and combat.
I've gotta say that I didn't especially like the early levels fighting against the borg, there's not much character or life to the enemy and the way they get immune to different weapons as you use them is a bit of a chore. That's one of the things which really put me off in the dark and cramped confines of the first Elite Force 1 level. I'm glad I percivered with EF2, however, as in places this is a pretty good game.
Combat can be rewarding when accompanied by teammates, and in some places the enemies make good use of terrain for cover (probably more to do with scripting/positioning than genuine AI). However there is a tendancy for enemies to stand still or blindly rush into your fire. At least there's a bunch of bosses which are always satisfying to defeat. Overall combat is passable, but certainly can't compete with modern games such as FC and FEAR. Graphically, too, it's showing it's age like most BC (Before Crytek) titles. At least it gives a smooth high framerate in 1600x1200 with everything on max, and the representation of Picard is very good.
The tricorder is pretty cool in that it has various modes of usage, helping to provide a change of pace in certain places, whether it be a little power-routing subgame or a frantic rush to seal of gas vents. The weapons are also reasonably varied.
I'm not overly familar with Star Trek fiction, but Ritual seem to have done a reasonable job as far as the storyline is concerned. Unlike quite a few FPS, there's nearly always a clear premise as to why you are undertaking each mission and this helps matters considerably. There's almost the potential for some RPG-esque sections outside of combat missions too, but it never quite lives up to the potential - why create an expansive "safehouse" environment and then make it so linear? It's hard not to find myself wishing there could have been more opportunity for building relationships with other crew members (not just the ladies), maybe with some possible effects on gameplay like acquiring different equipment for missions, or learning more info about enemy weaknesses, something like that. You do some weapons training with the Klingon, but that's all forced on you anyway.
Total gametime was something like 7.5-8 hours I think, equating to maybe 10hours of actual real time when reloading savegames etc is taken into account. Nothing spectacular overall, but it kept me playing through to the end.
Now all that remains is to choose my next FPS, I haven't played any of the Thief series, as the stealth element is rather offputting (I didn't really enjoy Splinter Cell 1+2). I did enjoy NOLF2 however which had more of a balance between stealth and combat.
