This game comes on two discs, so installation entails popping in the first disc, running the installer, and switching discs when prompted.

Star Trek Elite Force 2 is a game that plays more like a Star Trek movie than a first person shooter. You play as the leader of a hazard team, which is a special team put together for the sole purpose of taking on the most dangerous tasks. A major security breech? Call the hazard team. A covert mission on a hostile planet? Call the hazard team. A bunch of gross looking aliens that need to be destroyed before they kill millions of people? Call the hazard team. Obviously, you will be taking part in a lot of missions that nobody else on the ship wants to tackle.

The way the game plays is you get to watch some very well done movies describing your mission, the current status of affairs aboard the Enterprise, or other interesting tidbits. Then, in between the movies, you get to run around fighting aliens, or talking to the crew. The game is a first person shooter, so whenever you have control, it's the normal "hand in front of you with a weapon or tricorder" perspective. Nonetheless, I believe this is a great game for any fan of the Star Trek series, even if they don't normally enjoy first person shooters.

When I hear that a game is a first person shooter, one of the first things I think about is a spectacular graphics engine. Unfortunately, Star Trek Elite Force 2 is quite a bit behind in this area. The graphics are blocky, have hard edges (even with anti-aliasing turned on), and aren't as fluid as with most games in this genre. Luckily, graphics don't make the game (gameplay does), so this isn't a big point, but it's always nice to have a great visual experience.

Something that always seems to go hand in hand with the graphics is a game's audio effects. This is one area where Elite Force 2 really excels. As expected, there are the normal ambient sounds (bubbling lava, machinery running, the familiar starship background noises, etc.) and weapons sounds. But the most spectacular aspect of the audio is the voices. Picard is voiced by Patrick Stewart, Tuvock is voiced by Tim Russ, and everyone else sounds like their character should (for instance the Ferengi has a high pitched, whiny voice; the Klingons have deep, warrior like voices). Getting the actual actors to play their parts really makes the whole Star Trek experience come together.

Further enhancing the Star Trek theme is the available weapons. From the normal phasor, to a Romulan disruptor, to a handheld photon torpedo launcher, all the weapons are either from the Star Trek world, or could easily have come from it. Plus, as an added bonus, you are even thrown into hand to hand combat using a Klingon Batleth! Each weapon has it's strengths and weaknesses, so to learn how to use most of the weapons, you are able to go to the holodeck, and get a feel for them before using them in actual battle. Unlike the original Elite Force game, you only get to play in one holodeck program. I was disappointed at not being able to experience a handful of different environments.

As I mentioned before, this game plays more like a Star Trek movie than a shoot-em up. Because of this, the story line is very linear. You can sometimes make decisions on what to say, or who to visit, but these decisions don't seem to take the game in a different direction. However, I am fine with this, because of the movie-like atmosphere. I enjoy the feeling of being a part of the crew, as we explore the universe, and take down the bad guys. Plus, much of the in game action is figuring out puzzles to open doors or access secure areas. Most of the puzzles are fairly easy, but at least they make you use your brain, something most first person shooters don't do.

On top of the normal story line, there are some secret missions that can only be unlocked by finding the little starships hidden in secret places. If you don't bother with those, you can actually go through the game fairly fast. But if you want to find them all, you will spend a lot of time looking in some of the most obscure locations. Some of the starships are hidden extremely well, so you will be hunting for quite some time.

The final topic I'll mention is the artificial intelligence used in this game. For me, this was one of the most disappointing parts of the game. Enemies followed very simple patterns, making them easy to kill and avoid. Also, your teammates never seem to help out like they should. Often, you will be blasting an alien, and one of your hazard team members will run in front of you, getting shot in the process. Then they proceed to yell at you, claiming you shot them on purpose. The AI in this game definitely could have been much better than it is.

I did have one issue that made parts of the game unplayable. Your equipment includes a pair of night vision goggles, but when I tried to use them, they never worked properly. The customary green night vision would show for only a split second when I took off the goggles. The fix for this problem involves moving the Elite Force II folder. It cannot be in the /Applications folder (or any sub folders), or on the Desktop. The best best is to create a Games folder on the root of your hard drive, and put the Elite Force II folder in there.

This is a great game for anyone who considers them self a Trekkie (or Trekker). It's certainly worth picking up if you are a fan of the series, or even just a fan of first person shooters. Plus, the low system requirements (by today's standards) make it a perfect game for those with older systems. I would love to see more Star Trek games like this for Mac OS X.

Pros	Cons
Star Trek theme is upheld through every aspect of the game Character voices were done by the actual TV series actors You really feel like you are a part of the Star Trek franchise while playing The weapons are very cool, especially the Batleth Multiple types of missions to keep you on your toes Puzzles must be completed to progress There are secret items that lead to secret levels Many different Star Trek alien races take part in this game	Lackluster AI Less than state-of-the-art graphics Puzzles are fairly easy
8/10 stars