Just as I have found with most Star Trek games as of late,
Star Trek New Worlds really does not have much to do with Star Trek. I mean it uses the name and themes, but true Star Trek fans will be left puzzled as to how this fits in with the Star Trek universe (wait till you play
Star Trek Voyager: Elite Forces). I guess the best way to put it is
New Worlds is to
Star Trek as
Force Command is to
Star Wars (only this is implemented much, much better). Basically, you have a small group of colonists and you have to explore the outer rims of space. You can play as the Federation, the Klingons, or the Romulans. Each race offers over a dozen story driven missions. Of course, you can also hook up and play with one or two other people via LAN or modem.
Well, have you ever played . (deep breath) . War Craft, Starcraft, Age of Empires, Homeworld, Force Command, Dune 2000, Command and Conquer, Dark Reign, Total Annihilation, - the list goes on and on. If you haven't gotten it yet, this is a RTS that plays like any other RTS. Actually, being that it is 3D, it would be more accurate to say that it plays like any other 3D RTS. But all RTS's are basically the same - manage resources, build and upgrade buildings, train troops, destroy the enemy. Unfortunately, it uses that rotating, revolving camera, so staying oriented is difficult.
The game plays fine. The interface is menu driven. Each unit is unique with different levels of competence based on experience. The game seems to focus more on small tactical divisions as opposed to large armies. This makes for slow and potentially boring game play. Each campaign starts out boring, gets really good, and then gets boring again. Playing multiplayer is always good, but the games tend to run long. Overall, I would have to say that the game is okay at best. It is fun, I just don't think it's $50 fun.
