Very polished mod. Some of the changes border on heresy though: -You can opt out at the witch hut -Creature generators on the world map will tell you if they have any creatures left -Crypts, shipwrecks, etc telling you what you'll be facing -Autobattle option (it's eerily accurate most of the time!) But it can't be denied that these make the game more approachable while still providing plenty of challenge. The list of quality of life improvements, meanwhile, is endless: -Widescreen support(!) -Easier exchange of troops between heroes -Spell descriptions amended with formulae for damage calculation -Aforementioned autobattle option really helps speed up hotseat matches! - .... On top of all that, two new factions. Nice! Solid recommend from this Heroes veteran.
On its own this might have been a decent Star Trek product, but when compared to the original it just doesn't hold up: EF1 + A story was exactly what it needed to be: an interesting premise and an excuse to visit some iconic locations EF2 - A meandering affair which mostly takes you to brown planets or grey ruins EF1 + The complete cast reprising their roles, Jeri Ryan was even patched in post release! EF2 - This one just has Picard and Tuvok EF1 + You encountered Malon, Klingons, Borg, Species 8472, Klingons and even Imperials EF2 - You mostly fight blue eyed humans and space bugs (the Romulans show up far too late) Oh alright: EF1 - The facial animations are TERRIBLE EF2 + Very passable facial animations I'm sorry, but an engine upgrade and new setting will only get you so far. Don't be fooled by the first mission in the Borg Sphere, it's all downhill from there. Bland grey ruins followed by bland brown outdoor location followed by an overly bright Enterprise E. And what scientist worth her salt dresses like THAT?!
I have the original disc sitting in the cabinet behind me and I think this is a lovely addition to GOG. The game has its problems, especially in the technical department. But when it wasn't busy eating your saves or making you lose races or time trails by loading too slowly, it was a lot of fun. The game is essentially GTA in occupied Paris (and surroundings!). What makes it its own beast is the presentation; enter a occupied part and all color will seep out of your surrounds until you're left with, black, white and the red of the omnipresent Nazi banners. The music whilst driving also helps in setting the mood. Gameplay consists of you sneaking into fortified Nazi positions, eliminating key figures and structures as you go, driving to places and all sorts of side activities such as racing. Story-wise it's okay, your basic story about vengeance and redemption. It's amusing but nothing special. Personally I loved this game, especially the setting, the mood and the visuals. It doesn't do anything special and yes it's flawed, but I still loved it.
Back in the day I let this one pass me by and I'm not really sure why. Years later, my roommate asked me if it was any good and I couldn't really give him a decent answer. We ended up buying it together, second hand, and I immediately regretted not picking it up when it came out. This game is an unabashed love letter to the rock and metal genres. The game world oozes metal, the writing is hilarious and the voice cast clearly had fun while they brought their characters to life. My favorite moment is when Jack Black's character frees a couple of Headbangers and decides on a name for his new crew: "You shall now be name Ironheade! With an 'E' on the end, so people know we're not f*cking around." The soundtrack is also excellent and more daring than I would've given EA credit for otherwise. Cradle of Filth? Dimmu Borgir? I know, I know, some of you will find those bands way too mainstream and/or commercial, but I really hadn't expected to find those bands in an EA game, even if the subject is Metal. The actual game part is decent but not anything special. The world is pretty big and visually varied but offers little to do, aside from collectible scavenging and repetitive side-quests. The story-line missions will have you directing battles in a somewhat RTS-like fashion but it lacks depth and couldn't carry the game on its own. No, this game's strenghts are its awesome world and characters. If you're into metal I can guarantee that you'll love it, but be warned otherwise.
If you don't feel like reading; check out the Zero Punctuation on this, I agree with it completely. Disclaimer; I finished the Android version of this but as my issues are not control- or graphics related it applies to the PC version as well. The game definitely starts out strong as you guide Hope through the facility of Metamorphosis. Along the way you gather all sorts of emails, audio logs and even books. All of them revolve around the concept of control and surveillance by the state and it definitely intrigued me. Especially the Headmaster, voiced by Dwight Schultz, seems to walk the fine line between charismatic leader and evil dictator. The first three episodes had excellent cliff hanger endings and I was definitely hooked. But then the problems start. The 4th episode completely changes the tone of the game, as if the whole game world has suddenly gone insane. Meanwhile, random short quotes from scientists try to tell you what the deal is with the children inside Metamorphosis but they confuse more than that actually advance the story. The whole 4th episode was an ordeal for me but I told myself that 5th episode would make everything better. The 5th episode shifted back to what the game was before the 4th episode but by now the developers are in a hurry and want to finish the game. Or they just forgot where they were going with this, I don't know. I do know that all the optional audio logs are gone, the ones that you do find are all tied to what you are currently doing. To make matters worse, the writing is terrible. All characters have become caricatures of themselves. Zager, the freedom fighter, just wants to blow shit up, his girlfriend prefers a more thoughtful approach because she's a woman, Derringer really is just a loser and the Headmaster has long since gone batshit insane. The ending really doesn't make any sense nor does it provide any sense of closure. It just left me feeling that this could have been so much better. It really is a shame.
I got this on steam when it came out. Being a a fan of the books I thought it would be cool to try this type of game for once. As others have pointed out, your influence on the story is marginal. The plot is largely fixed, Forresters getting screwed over in every episode and you get to watch their misery unfold in slow motion. Some sequences, in which the game was not screwing over one of your characters were actually enjoyable, but they are few and far in between. The net result is that you do not care what happens to these people, as you're unable to help them anyway. The plot gets no points for originality either. Copy-paste the Starks, check "Include misery and betrayal" in the options list and execute. Then, rename to Forresters. One gets sent off to the wall against his will, rises through the ranks despite him being unlikeable and arrogant... Sound familiar? Worse still is that the last episode does not provide any sense of closure. Nothing is getting wrapped up here, it's all a set up for the inevitable next season. To provide an example; one of the characters is sent off to a remote location. Doing so would be absolutely vital to the survival of house Forrester. Well, he gets there, fights some dudes aaaand roll credits! Why was he sent there? Why was it so vital? Better buy the next season! Or better yet, do not. It could be that this is just not my type of game, but looking at the reviews I am not the only one who feels like this could a whole lot better. Just... Be warned.
Throughout the years I've played a lot of Star Trek games: -Starfleet Command -Elite Force -Armada -Birth of the Federation -Bridge Commander Each in their own way very true to the source material and all of them excellent. Up until now I've always considered Birth of the Federation the best 'true' Star Trek game. It had it all; the diplomacy, the space combat, the technobabble. But now I'm forced to reconsider. 25th Anniversary does what no other Star Trek game to date (well except Judgment Rites) has been able to do: perfectly capture the format of a Star Trek episode in a video game. The first mission is a perfect example of this; you fight a mock battle with another ship. Once the battle has concluded, Starfleet directs you to a planet whose inhabitants report demon attacks. You warp to the indicated system, tell Sulu to enter orbit, have Uhura hail the planets' representative who explains the situation to you. You beam down and eventually solve the mystery of the demon attacks. On to the next episode! There are 8 missions like this in the game. You'll board derelict ships, visit alien worlds and fight interstellar pirates. A few of the missions actually had me thinking: 'Wow, too bad they never made an episode like this.'. Especially the last one, Vengeance, of which this game has an extended version, is pretty good. Perhaps even more important; this game (the enhanced CD rom version as it turns out) has the whole cast voicing their respective roles. Of course there are some annoyances no amount of fandom on my part will mitigate. Some missions really didn't have to happen as far as I'm concerned (looking at you Mudd), a few puzzles are nigh unsolvable and the space combat is rather finicky. But this is what Star Trek is all about. It's not about the space combat, not about moral dilemmas, not about technobabble, not about firefights or melees. It's about all of that, in one package. 25th Anniversary gets that.
