Gaming Bullets

• An interview with Joshua Morris, of 'Starfleet Command' developer Taldren, has been posted at HomeLan. "We humbly feel that our three titles - the Starfleet Command franchise - are strong games unto themselves, and being set in the Star Trek universe are that much more compelling," he told the site. "I am proud of Starfleet Command and it has sold well enough for us to be where we are today - and that is a significant accomplishment considering the risk-adverse marketplace and the fresh gameplay of a real-time naval starship game." Read the full interview here.

• A review of 'Starfleet Command: Orion Pirates' has been posted at CG Online. "Once again where Starfleet Command succeeds is in the strategic combat and the balance that hinges on ship's energy usage," wrote reviewer Andrew S. Bub. "Adapted from the classic Starfleet Battles board game, the ship to ship combat is unparalleled in depth or complexity. These hardcore gaming roots lead to what remains the game's biggest fault, however—the missions and single-player Dynaverse II are soulless and completely lacking the personality that is integral to the Star Trek setting. In that way Orion Pirates is a missed opportunity to spice up the game with a real story-based campaign." In the full review, the game is awarded 3 out of 5 stars.

• 'Orion Pirates' has also been reviewed by GamePower. Here's a quote from the review:

  Since the basic engine powering Orion Pirates is no different from Starfleet Command II, some of that game's problems remain. The campaign is still a simple series of missions set in a disjointed strategic shell with a nightmare interface. Some of the missions pit you against impossible odds. However, there's still a compelling sense of plugging away at missions to earn enough to upgrade your ship and play with new weapons. The graphics still look great, even if the cartels all have similar-looking ships and interfaces.

  In the complete analysis, the game is awarded 3.5/4.

• Aaron Stanton at Games First has posted his review of the 'Elite Force' Expansion Pack. Awarding the game 3/5, he wrote that "when it comes down to it, the expansion pack does do what it promises, it expands the original limits of the game. Since the game was already good, it would have been easy for Raven to simply throw in some new levels and call it done, but they staid true to their dedication to quality. The Elite Force expansion contains a bucket full of unique additions that affect not only the levels you’re playing on, but also the very foundation of how parts of the game plays." Take a look at the complete review here.

• Gameraiders.com has posted a review of the recently released 'Dominion Wars.' Here's a quote from the analysis:

  Dominion Wars has its fun moments, but the overall experience is a little disappointing (not to mention frustrating, due to the game's many bugs). The nice visuals along with some great combat sequences prove to be quite entertaining at times, but they aren't quite enough to compensate for the game's shortcomings. The game's also over before you have much of a chance to get into the story, due to the campaigns being so short.

  The game is awarded a score of 75% in the full review.

• A new screenshot of the week has been posted at the official 'Bridge Commander' site.

  Thanks to Blue's News for most of these!

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