So as a heads up, i'm writing this having only had the CD version (so far) Elite Force is such a solid title, I really enjoyed the story, found it to be a nice unique story and really fits well in the Star Trek setting. Well rendered cutscenes and dialog from the original cast and crew really get the immersion going. Between missions you get to stroll around Voyager a little and explore places you've seen on the shows. The places you get taken to are quite diverse with a mix of old and new bits from the established lore. The multiplayer component is also excellent (it was also made available standalone free as holomatch). Highly moddable and lots of console commands worth digging into. Especially if you want to add in lots of bots bot_minplayers or play some of the other gamemodes which for some reason are not readily available like Assimilation mode. If you enjoy shooters it's worth picking up, if you enjoy trek it's worth picking up, enjoy both and it's a must have. If you want a little plot hook for your curiosity: (Spoiler of initial story premise this point on) Given the dangerous Voyager faces being so far from home. Tuvok aims to create the Hazard Team to undertake dangerous missions. This newly formed unit couldn't come at a better time as Voyager encounters a probe that disables and teleports them to a Starship graveyard.
To the random observer this would just seem to be another random top down shooter but raptor has it where it counts. The difficulty curve is just right as there is 4 areas in the game and each area is broken down into waves (levels) each one ending in a boss, some having multiple bosses. There is also difficulty levels ranging from the easy rookie mode to the hard as nails elite mode to provide plenty of challange. Also as far as i remember the save function in raptor was also unique for its time so you can just carry on where you left off which is just as well as the game is actually fairly long. The actual gameplay is pretty self explanitory as you fly your eurofighter / f-14 mashup across the map eventually reaching a boss or a base to destroy. Sounds simple but you can guarentee that the enemy wont make it that easy, especially on elite Another nice feature is the ability to upgrade your jet with new weapons, usually in a top down shooter you would expect you just pick up weapons as you go along which is half true as there are some weapon pickups in some levels but for the most part you buy your weapons from "Harold's Death Emporium" between levels with your money earned from destroying stuff. The graphics are quite refreshing, just look at the screenies and its fantastic especially since this was from the DOS era with some nice attention to detail like they bothered to put in a image of the plane banking when you go left or right, you can move quite freely around the screen and you'll need that especially on the harder difficulties to avoid all the projectiles. There also includes atleast 2 night levels and if you are bored with the enemy set (which is very varied and each with their own unique way of attack) there is even a cheat to replace all the enemies with farmyard animals (although i havnt tried it yet) In Short i think good gameplay, replayability and its good on the eyes too so i'd reccomend this even if shooters arn't quite your thing, you might still be surprised
Fans of the A-Team would recognise the phrase "I love it when a plan comes together" and this game is the personification of that. At the start of each mission you are given a handful of men each with their own unique abilities: Driver drives and mans gun-nests. Spy can dress up like an enemy officer. Diver can swim undetected, mans the rafts and has a silent harpoon gun. Sapper can lay traps and explosives (and cut wire fences if i remember) and the Green Beret with his abilities to move pretty much everywhere over the enviroment, kill with a knife and hide the bodies too. Each mission starts off with some background and a to-the-point briefing then your men are deployed your task is given the men and the task, do it by any means possible. THIS is the main appeal of the game Stealth fans would love this for the challenge of getting your men in and out, job done. Action fans would love it for having to keep your men alive when you will no doubt be detected at somepoint. Strategy fans would feel right at home monitoring the enemy movements planning the approach and execution. In no way does the game say there is a way to do something, you have a target you do whatever is neccesary to do the mission and bring the team back alive. If the reward of returning your men isnt enough for you (you will love each unique character eventually) then that feeling when a plan goes right will be more than redeeming of the trial and error used to get to that point. This game can be as easy or hard as you like as it all depends on your plan. I dont even know how many missions there are but they are so varied they never get old, even after picking up the game after years of not playing i remembered why i loved the game; a unique concept, good graphics, solid gameplay and not forgetting the voices (if you played the game and dont see why "RIGHT-O SIR!" "FINALLY some action!" is funny or class you havnt played it enough) If you want replay value thats there too, just think of how many ways u can complete a mission. Trust me this game isnt one for getting old and boring, there is always another way or a tactic to be discovered. Im seriously considering buying this even tho i already own a cd copy of behind enemy lines (not beyond the call of duty tho) So if youve heard of commandos youve probably already got it, if not you ARE missing a piece of gaming history. So come and give your brain a bit of a work out, have fun and learn a bit of history along the way! I think ive just decided to buy it again =)
