Star Trek: Armada
Encyclopedia
Star Trek: Armada is a real-time strategy
game published in 2000 by Activision
. The game's look and feel is based primarily on Star Trek: The Next Generation
, and features a few of its main characters and ships. Playable factions include the United Federation of Planets
, the Klingon Empire
, the Romulan Star Empire and the Borg. The game received mixed to positive reviews and was noted for being one of the better Star Trek games to be made. A sequel, Star Trek: Armada II
, was released on November 16, 2001.
In a cross-promotion with the Star Trek Customizable Card Game
, an initial run of Armada boxes contained an exclusive playable card, the U.S.S. Jupiter.
, the Federation turns to rebuilding. However, a Federation timeship, the USS Premonition, suddenly appears, under attack by the Borg. Captain Jean-Luc Picard
, commanding the USS Enterprise-E
, comes to its aid. The Premonitions captain, Thaddeus Demming, warns Picard of an upcoming Borg invasion.
Elsewhere, the Klingon Empire finds itself in the midst of a civil war, led by Commander Worf
's old enemy, Toral. With the help of Chancellor Martok, Toral is defeated. He retreats to the Neutral Zone, revealing that he was getting assistance from the Romulan Star Empire.
At this time, the Romulans come across a stable Omega Particle. The particle, discovered first by a Ferengi mining guild, is about to be sold to the Cardassians; the Tal Shiar sends Admiral Sela to secure it before that happens. Despite some Borg interference, Sela delivers the Omega Particle to a fortified Romulan base.
The Borg, wanting to secure the particle at all costs, assimilate a Dominion
cloning facility and use it to clone Locutus, the former title of Jean-Luc Picard when he was assimilated. With Locutus leading their armada, they take the Omega Particle from the Romulans. Once the Omega Particle was secure, Locutus decides to attack Earth. He is successful, but the Enterprise is able to escape through a temporal vortex created by the Premonition.
Going back in time, the Enterprise is able to forge an alliance among the Romulans and the Klingons. Together, they are able to repel the invasion of Earth, and take the fight to the very heart of the Borg collective, where the limitless power of the Omega Particle is fueling their war machine. Using a captured trans-warp gate, the alliance strikes at the Borg staging grounds, destroying the Omega Particle. However, Locutus travels back in time before he can be defeated.
Back in time, Locutus, in a Borg Sphere, tries to kill Picard shortly after the Farpoint mission. However, Locutus is thwarted by the USS Premonition which, unaffected by the changes to the timeline, pursues Locutus back in time and destroys his ship. When a battle-weary Premonition returns to the "present" and witnesses that all has returned to normal, Captain Deming sends the ship and crew home to a brighter future. Picard ends with a positive note as a new Federation-Klingon-Romulan alliance forms.
game in which players select a faction from the Star Trek universe and build fleets of starships to conduct battle. Four playable factions are featured in the game: the Federation, the Klingons, the Romulans, and the Borg. A handful of ships from other Star Trek races make cameo appearances. Not including construction, mining, and campaign-only ships, each faction fields six different classes of starship ranging from scout to capital ship. Each class of ship possesses a unique tactical ability.
The game features a continuous campaign divided into five parts: one for each of the playable races and a fifth part in which the player fights against the Borg while controlling an alliance of the other three races. The game's multiplayer mode allows for skirmish battles with the computer or other players. Individual games are played out on a representative scale that is roughly equivalent to a planetary system
. The player may encounter a variety of celestial bodies such as planetoids, asteroids, and nebulae, each having an effect on gameplay.
Two primary resources are used in the game: crew and dilithium
. Crew is automatically generated over time via starbases. Dilithium is mined from moons by resource gatherers.
IGN gave Armada a 6.0 out of 10, criticizing a formulaic approach that failed to distinguish the game from other RTS titles. They also considered the single-player game to be boring. Both GameSpot and IGN noted several bugs causing video and sound problems, as well as alt-tabbing causing the game to crash.
Armada's sales made it the second best selling Star Trek game's behind Interplay's Star Trek: 25th Anniversary
. Activision helped this by releasing simple modding tools on their site for people to create game maps and simple ships for the game.
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
game published in 2000 by Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
. The game's look and feel is based primarily on Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
, and features a few of its main characters and ships. Playable factions include the United Federation of Planets
United Federation of Planets
The United Federation of Planets, also known as "The Federation" is a fictional interplanetary federal republic depicted in the Star Trek television series and motion pictures...
, the Klingon Empire
Klingon
Klingons are a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe.Klingons are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series and eight feature films...
, the Romulan Star Empire and the Borg. The game received mixed to positive reviews and was noted for being one of the better Star Trek games to be made. A sequel, Star Trek: Armada II
Star Trek: Armada II
Star Trek: Armada II is a real time strategy computer game published by Activision in 2001, based upon the Star Trek universe. The game was developed by Mad Doc Software. It is the sequel to Star Trek: Armada. Star Trek: Armada II was released by Activision a year after they acquired the full...
, was released on November 16, 2001.
In a cross-promotion with the Star Trek Customizable Card Game
Star Trek Customizable Card Game
The Star Trek Customizable Card Game is a collectible card game based on the Star Trek universe. The name is commonly abbreviated as STCCG or ST:CCG. It was first introduced in 1994 by Decipher, Inc., under the name Star Trek: The Next Generation Customizable Card Game...
, an initial run of Armada boxes contained an exclusive playable card, the U.S.S. Jupiter.
Plot
Following the Dominion WarDominion War
The Dominion War is an extended plot concept developed in a number of story arcs of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, an American science-fiction television series produced by Paramount Pictures...
, the Federation turns to rebuilding. However, a Federation timeship, the USS Premonition, suddenly appears, under attack by the Borg. Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Jean-Luc Picard
Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a Star Trek character portrayed by Patrick Stewart. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis...
, commanding the USS Enterprise-E
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E)
The USS Enterprise is a Sovereign-class starship in the Star Trek franchise. It serves as the primary setting of the films Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis...
, comes to its aid. The Premonitions captain, Thaddeus Demming, warns Picard of an upcoming Borg invasion.
Elsewhere, the Klingon Empire finds itself in the midst of a civil war, led by Commander Worf
Worf
Worf, played by Michael Dorn, is a main character in Star Trek: The Next Generation and in seasons four to seven of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He also appears in the films based on The Next Generation. Worf is the first Klingon main character to appear in Star Trek, and has appeared in more Star...
's old enemy, Toral. With the help of Chancellor Martok, Toral is defeated. He retreats to the Neutral Zone, revealing that he was getting assistance from the Romulan Star Empire.
At this time, the Romulans come across a stable Omega Particle. The particle, discovered first by a Ferengi mining guild, is about to be sold to the Cardassians; the Tal Shiar sends Admiral Sela to secure it before that happens. Despite some Borg interference, Sela delivers the Omega Particle to a fortified Romulan base.
The Borg, wanting to secure the particle at all costs, assimilate a Dominion
Dominion (Star Trek)
In the Star Trek universe, the Dominion is a ruthless and militaristic Gamma Quadrant state consisting of many different races. The Dominion wages war on the United Federation of Planets and its allies in the late 24th century, acting as an antagonist in the TV show Star Trek: Deep Space...
cloning facility and use it to clone Locutus, the former title of Jean-Luc Picard when he was assimilated. With Locutus leading their armada, they take the Omega Particle from the Romulans. Once the Omega Particle was secure, Locutus decides to attack Earth. He is successful, but the Enterprise is able to escape through a temporal vortex created by the Premonition.
Going back in time, the Enterprise is able to forge an alliance among the Romulans and the Klingons. Together, they are able to repel the invasion of Earth, and take the fight to the very heart of the Borg collective, where the limitless power of the Omega Particle is fueling their war machine. Using a captured trans-warp gate, the alliance strikes at the Borg staging grounds, destroying the Omega Particle. However, Locutus travels back in time before he can be defeated.
Back in time, Locutus, in a Borg Sphere, tries to kill Picard shortly after the Farpoint mission. However, Locutus is thwarted by the USS Premonition which, unaffected by the changes to the timeline, pursues Locutus back in time and destroys his ship. When a battle-weary Premonition returns to the "present" and witnesses that all has returned to normal, Captain Deming sends the ship and crew home to a brighter future. Picard ends with a positive note as a new Federation-Klingon-Romulan alliance forms.
Gameplay
Armada is a real-time strategyReal-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
game in which players select a faction from the Star Trek universe and build fleets of starships to conduct battle. Four playable factions are featured in the game: the Federation, the Klingons, the Romulans, and the Borg. A handful of ships from other Star Trek races make cameo appearances. Not including construction, mining, and campaign-only ships, each faction fields six different classes of starship ranging from scout to capital ship. Each class of ship possesses a unique tactical ability.
The game features a continuous campaign divided into five parts: one for each of the playable races and a fifth part in which the player fights against the Borg while controlling an alliance of the other three races. The game's multiplayer mode allows for skirmish battles with the computer or other players. Individual games are played out on a representative scale that is roughly equivalent to a planetary system
Planetary system
A planetary system consists of the various non-stellar objects orbiting a star such as planets, dwarf planets , asteroids, meteoroids, comets, and cosmic dust...
. The player may encounter a variety of celestial bodies such as planetoids, asteroids, and nebulae, each having an effect on gameplay.
Two primary resources are used in the game: crew and dilithium
Dilithium (Star Trek)
In the Star Trek universe, dilithium is a fictional chemical element, although dilithium is also the scientific name for a molecule composed of two lithium atoms....
. Crew is automatically generated over time via starbases. Dilithium is mined from moons by resource gatherers.
Reception
Armada was noted as one of the few good Star Trek games to be made, garnering a 7.9 out of 10 from GameSpot. GameSpot praised the game for its graphics, which accurately replicated the ships from The Next Generation. GameSpot also noted the slight twists in resource and unit mechanics, but concluded that the game was more or less a standard RTS.IGN gave Armada a 6.0 out of 10, criticizing a formulaic approach that failed to distinguish the game from other RTS titles. They also considered the single-player game to be boring. Both GameSpot and IGN noted several bugs causing video and sound problems, as well as alt-tabbing causing the game to crash.
Armada's sales made it the second best selling Star Trek game's behind Interplay's Star Trek: 25th Anniversary
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (computer game)
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary is a computer game by Interplay, based upon the Star Trek universe. The game chronicles various missions of James T. Kirk and his crew of the USS Enterprise...
. Activision helped this by releasing simple modding tools on their site for people to create game maps and simple ships for the game.