Starfleet Command: Orion Pirates

Overall score:

Publisher: Interplay
Developer: Taldren

In a move somewhat unusual to the industry, Interplay has given us an entirely self-contained add-on for Starfleet Command: Volume II. If you haven't played the first one never fear! You won't need to get the original first in order to run Starfleet Command: Orion Pirates as this is an entirely self-contained and functional game and incorporates everything from it's predecessor as well as a series of extra features.

Unfortunately, some of those extra features include a share of troublesome and entirely inexplicable glitches. I say inexplicable because they are all present in features that Starfleet Command: Volume II had no problem with. It no longer remembers your personalized hot-key settings for example, so they must be re-entered every time the program runs (and you will doubtless forget it almost every time as I did, causing an ignominious defeat in your first battle as you realize that the "fire" key isn't where you thought it was!) The configuration menu that is installed in the start menu wouldn't change my graphics settings either, forcing me to play at an annoying low 800x600 until I wizened up and went in and used the configuration contained in the Taldren Folder. And perhaps the most annoying of all: the automatic update system for retrieving patches doesn't work (wouldn't that be the most important of all?) and annoys to no end.

However, in all fairness most of these can be gotten around without too much ingenuity and allow you to get into what you bought the game in the first place for: continuing a glory-filled career of outwitting other starship captains! Orion Pirates is primarily based around expanding the role of the Orion Pirate Cartels in the universe, bringing in some eight Pirate Clans that the player can join or combat. Admittedly, most are not as different from each other in performance and ship design philosophy as the eight Star Empires are, but there are a few with really interesting quirks—like the pseudo religious Beast Raiders who actually control the nasty space creatures that the other races routinely encounter and have to deal with.

Orion Pirates also brings a plethora of new starship designs and cool graphic models, mostly to take advantage of a pleasing number of new weapons systems. Some of these systems are entirely new in performance and function--like the ESG lance or the dreaded Romulan Mauler Device--but most are improvements on the already existing weapon systems like Heavy Disruptors and Phaser Xs. Don't misunderstand though; the improvements are all substantial enough to significantly change the way the weapons are employed. The Federation Heavy Photon Torpedo (my personal favorite) will handily thrash your own ship if you try to use them at the ranges normal torpedoes are most effective at, for example. And, as always, more types of weapons bring more variability among the different ships to make for richer and more complex strategies.

Also important to note: Orion Pirates single player seems to be quite a bit more difficult then its predecessor at the higher difficulty levels. The computer still is no match for a human players wit or creativity, but there is a lot more consideration to be taken when you first size up the battle than was previously necessary. Hey, sometimes running away is pretty a good idea--when your probe reports back that the Romulan Cruiser you thought was going to be a push over is toting a Mauler Device capable of blowing through not only your fore shields but the aft ones as well its time consider a little prestige penalty in order to save your ship. Thinking is still the watchword of this game, and to misquote Captain Kirk: "Only the dumb die young."

In terms of multi-player, there are a handful of new scenarios to try out. These include "Monster Mash" where one player controls a space monster against a fleet of other players, and a few new tournament configurations. Of course the new ships and weapons are all available in their destruction-reaping glory for matches and arguments over which race is now the best one, but really most of the multi-player remains very much the same. The Dynaverse II, I'm pleased to say, is much easier to access through Orion Pirates installation and should prove very interesting for multi-player-minded gamers.

So on the whole Starfleet Command: Orion Pirates brings to our computers more of what Starfleet Command Volume II did. Bottom line: if you liked the first you probably won't be disappointed with this one. And if you didn't play the first one this game is a fine place to start--just keep the difficulty on easy until you get the hang of things!

Written by David C. Carey on February 05th, 2002