Star Trek: Legacy 360 opinions

[jcalder8]

Has anyone played this and what do you think of it?

[GM80]

Got it on release day, when it finally came out. Disclaimer: I'm a more than casual Trek fan, and generally enjoy slower strategy or "brain" games.

The gameplay works really well with the 360 controller; you can throw out the complaints of poor controls from reviews of the PC version. There are a LOT of submenus to navigate, done by holding a button (such as B) and using the D-pad to scroll through the options or the L thumbstick to select from a radial menu.

The single player missions are a little cheesy, although about on par with the latest fare from the show (Enterprise). I played a few and got bored. They may liven up a little bit later on. Skirmish mode, especially over Live, is where the game really begins to shine.

The ships feel massive as you slowly maneuver them through space. An enemy ship must be within a phaser or torpedo firing arc for you to get a shot off. There aren't any on-screen indicators of these arcs, that I could see, which leads to some trial-and-error flying followed by memorizing the arcs of your favorite ships.

Most of the online battles become quite lengthy, as players will warp damaged ships away to safety. If they get out of sensor range from their opponents, they can usually repair much of the damage before returning to the battle, meaning the match practically starts over.

The only thing I really don't like is the lack of collision damage. Chasing a small ship, such as the Defiant, through an asteroid field would be much more intense if your ship didn't simply bounce off the asteroids. There is also no incentive to avoid other ships when flying in close to avoid a firing arc, nor is there any gravitational effect or danger from planets.

The graphics are pleasant in 720p, although not awe inspiring. I guess the ship models probably are the most detailed in any Trek game to date. Everything seemed a touch too bright for my tastes, so I turned down the in-game Brightness control a notch or two.

Basically, it's pretty much what I was expecting but not the AAA killer title some were hyping it up to be. If Bethesda can make some significant improvements with a Live update, it could be even better. I like it.

[scorch56]

Pretty much what GM80 said. I was over at my best friend's house the other night and he'd just bought it and was all over showing it to me. Whenever he does that, that soon after buying a game it means he can't play it and want's to see it with someone who can .. no brag.. just fact.

The graphics are the purtiest I've seen for a ST game.. but that's to be expected. Once I got used to the controls though.. I found it much more fun playing than I also expected from reviews. Kinda' reminded me of Mechwarrior (PC) in space.. what with issuing orders to your lancemates.. er.. I mean fleet. Only thing I had a hard time trying to do was actually telling your fleet to just simply "follow me". In the 2nd mission I had to warp to a science station and defend it. Frickin' companion ship wouldn't follow me and by the time I got there.. he was too far away for me to reissue an order. Bastard finally showed up after 90% of the fight was over.. some 20 minutes later. Must've followed me on impulse.

So I guess that means the AI is brain dead.. but what's new.

My prediction is that my friend will shelve it though (next to Chromehounds). I envy him.. and his money.

[xmagxus]

lots of flaws, control takes getting used to, Ally AI is crappy and really requires to you alternate control on the fly a lot, auto pilot navigation can cause you to overshoot objective points, and the game is extremely easy.

All that aside it is a very enjoyable game in spite of its flaws and the multiplayer is a blast (though only getting one spawn point does make it sorta sucky when going against a borg player.