Star Trek: Tactical Assault ![[B000GI7LNU]](http://www.mikeyp.com/css/external.gif)
for the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS is an underrated game. However, it isn't for everyone:
So with that all out of the way, I found the game to be a lot of fun, smartly challenging, and fictionally authentic to classic Trek. A D.C. Fontana storyline takes you through various missions where you battle it out with other starships. The Star Fleet Battle rules apply: keep your strongest shields facing the enemy, attack enemies where their shields are weakest, rotate between phaser banks, use as much ship speed as possible, fire photon torpedoes at close range, and above all, apply emergency power when you have it, because dammit Scotty, we need more power!
A light RPG system is included, where you can apply "crew upgrades" to your ship's staff. These let you recharge shields faster, fire weapons faster, etc. It feels a bit forced to have this system apply to crew members instead of the ship itself, but from a gameplay point of view, it works just the same.
There are a couple of annoyances with the game. One is that it is far too easy to accidentally smash your ship against an off-screen asteroid. As you replay missions, you learn where the asteroids are located, but it still feels unfair. Another annoyance is with the AI allies. I was once in a battle where I handily whipped all but one of the enemy ships, only to lose the battle because my AI partner lost a one-on-one battle with the last ship before I could join the fight.
But overall, if you love Trek and war games, Star Trek: Tactical Assault is worth a purchase. It definitely makes me anxious to pick up its big brother, Star Trek: Legacy for the Xbox360 , when it comes out later this month.
