Of course once everything is up and running Armada 2 offers a very engrossing fleet strategy experience that runs the gamut of human emotion.  In this particular case I wish I were Vulcan.  Yes it got to the point where crashes made me cry, but they were only to the desktop not complete lockups.  The shear amount of in depth gameplay options, and the absorbing storyline almost make it all worthwhile.  In fact if I played video games for a living, which I don’t, I wouldn’t mind figuring out which driver to install.  If this were the case my frustration in troubleshooting the software would merely evolve into something called patience building.  Patience a virtue to be sure that I am sorely lacking at the moment.

In my opinion Armada 2 offers a mixed bag in almost every category.  We start out with Captain Picard that lovable Frenchman who confirms yet another threat by the big bad Borg.  The first time the federation encountered them (thanks to Q) the race instilled a sense of impending doom in all of us.  It didn’t seem like they could be stopped.  This was a wonderful episode in fact.  To be out done only by The Best Of Both Worlds and Locutus.  Enough is enough with the Borg.  How many times must they be defeated?

Armada 2 can be played from the standard aerial view as the first.  The ships in your fleet can move up and down now, and the view can be toggled back and forth between a vertical and aerial perspective.  This strategic view was missing from the first one, and is a great new feature probably inspired by Cataclysm.  Cataclysm being an excellent game executed this infinite realm of space flawlessly.  While this change in perspective is a delightful advantage during battle, it becomes rather awkward to manipulate the map, and to keep track of and give orders to your ships.

There are more stations and facilities to be built.  More battle vessels to be created with each one having specialized weapons unique to that class of ship.  This adds so much depth to battle situations.  It also adds more icons and keystrokes to the control panel, and takes up more space in your head.  The learning curve for Armada 2 is a steep one.  No it is not as hard as Cataclysm.  Beginners to the RTS should not be turned off by this though some will.  There are long detailed tutorials that will teach and guide even the most intimidated player to success.  It will take some time to figure it all out to the point where gameplay becomes seamless though.

The control panel on the bottom of the screen is incredibly useful, and easily manipulated once you understand the lay out.  It is also just too big.  It clouds too much of the map and becomes a hindrance.  While the enemy AI offers a challenge at times I found it to be too easy overall.  The weaker vessels can be destroyed too quickly.  However this allows for a massive micromanaging of your fleet and supplies.  You can build up to ten fleets with each one supporting up to sixteen ships.  Each fleet can be assigned a hot key, which makes battle an absolute blast with a ridiculous amount of ships on the screen at one time.

Just when all these battle cruisers start going at it, and the pure eye candy of an exploding station rips through space an ugly graphic glitch rears its nasty presence.  It looks kind of like a Terminator 2 liquid metal melt off.  Ships sort of just melt into one another on screen.  I could play through this believe it or not, but then they started to disappear.  My Galaxy Class starship started to shake, and fly around in circles.  That’s when I started to pull my hair out.  The good the bad and the ugly.  Yes Armada 2 is good, but when it gets bad it’s plain ugly.  You gotta love it.  I hear rumors of a patch due out between January and February.

Install: Easy
A visually stunning slide show of all kinds of vessels from many different species with that tranquil Trek music we all know and (secretly) love.

Gameplay: 8.5
Control, and so many detailed options provide an in depth time sucking experience. 

Graphics: 8
At times beautiful.  Each species has there own unique visual style and feel.  This game appears like it was lifted right from the Star Trek universe.  There are cool damage models and large explosions that will delight.

Sound: 8
The music is typical Trek, and typically fitting.  Patrick Stewart is still able to get the job done.  I don’t care how many times I hear him say “Engage”.

Difficulty: 7
The AI is rather easy at times seeming to opt for skirmishes rather than a full on frontal attack.  Sometimes ships disappear.  Sometimes they shake and fly in circles.  Search out and destroy mission’s get tedious.

Concept: 8
Deep space nine.  No.  Voyager.  No.  The next generation.  Oh yeah!

Multiplayer: 8
Head on over to the Activision forums and join up with a clan today.

Overall: 8
New species including 8472, the Cardassians and Romulans not to mention more ship classes with new weapons of mass destruction make this a must for any fan of the Trek universe.  All RTS gamers will appreciate the level of detail, but some may find themselves building patience first.