Elite Force is an FPS that tells the tale of the newly-formed Hazard Team on board the Voyager. They're the ones that will go where no man has...oh wait, they already used that one. Basically, they are an elite team sent to handle situations that are too sticky for regular away teams.

Your player, Ensign Munro, is the newly assigned leader of the hazard team, and after a brief tutorial, you find yourself getting into the thick of action fairly soon. The Voyager is still floating around the Delta Quadrant, trying to find its way home, and running into a host of hostile beings. Without giving too much of the plot away, you have to take on the creepy Borg, and ultimately, an alien race that even the Borg fear.

This was the first time we got to see the Quake 3 engine utilised as a third-party engine, and it does the job. Voyager is reeking with atmosphere, albeit the sanitary Trekkie sort of atmosphere. In the Borg Cube is where the engines really shines, brilliantly portraying the claustrophobic, metal-filled environment. The alien lairs aren't as good, not quite getting enough of the organic feel happening. Player models are decent, and the effects are sharp and catchy.

You're frequently working with other members of the hazard team, though you cannot directly control their actions - they pretty much just follow you around and shoot at the bad guys. Here's one weak point of the game - excessive linearity. Your team members can take an infinite number of hits, and will not be worse for it, unless it is scripted that one of them gets wounded or killed. This sort of detracts from the experience.

The weapon loadout stays true to Federation regulations, with your phaser and compression rifle as standard fare, and the occasional pilfered weapons from Romulans and other aliens. The only problem here is that combat is a bit of a downer. For one thing, it's so DAMN EASY that you could play it on 'Difficult' with your eyes closed. And the enemy AI is hardly anything to write home about. Shoot at you or charge your way like an enraged bull is about the span of their strategic options. There are a couple of stealth missions in the middle of it all, which aren't too badly handled.

At the end of the day, combat plays a secondary role to the Voyager experience as a whole. But I'm not complaining too much, as they've done a good job with that. Characters from the show are present and convincing, being voiced by the original actors - Tuvok, Janeway, Neelix and Seven of Nine. The story is certainly believable in the Star Trek universe, and it's worth seeing through to the end. More reason to play it - the sequel is even better.

Developer: Raven Software

Publisher: Activision

Platforms: PC, PS2, Mac.