"Star Trek: Armada" from Activision is much more than your average shoot-em-up, it's a full-scale intergalactic war of epic proportions with hours of exciting potential. The game, available for PC, takes roughly 10 minutes to install and features detailed design schematics and a wonderful musical score playing during the installation.

The introduction shows off some of the game's explosive potential in a series of clips, filled with familiar faces. Key characters are voiced by the original actors in the game including Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), Commander Worf (Michael Dorn), Sela (Denise Crosby) and Chancellor Martok (J. G. Hertzler). Stewart does double duty in the game, as Picard comes face to face with... Locutus of Borg. Also appearing are the Son'a, the Jem Hadar and Worf's nemesis Toral, whose vendetta against the son of Mogh could spell doom for the Alpha Quadrant.

Players can choose to play either the Federation or three different races (Klingon, Romulan or Borg) each with a number of different scenarios that integrate to create the larger story. Game play is divided into these scenarios, wherein you control a variety of ships and must accomplish several objectives in order to more forward in the story.

Set after The Dominion War (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) and "Star Trek: Insurrection," the Federation scenario of "Star Trek: Armada" begins with the U.S.S. Enterprise with several smaller vessels patrolling in the Briar Patch and defending the Ba'ku planet from attacking Son'a. After dispatching the Son'a, the Enterprise encounters a Federation ship from the future under attack from several Borg vessels. The U.S.S. Premonition, it turns out, comes from a future where the Borg has, for all intents and purposes, taken over the Alpha Quadrant. The story unfolds from there, an exciting scenario for well-versed Star Trek fans.

Game play itself consists of players giving orders to ships and letting the action unfold. Not only do players control military vessels, but also construction vessels, starbases and drydocks for new ship construction. As the game progresses, players discover that they must not only strategize battles smartly, they have to construct ships and mine dilithium moons in order to survive.

As each scenario begins, ships are located in a small area, surrounded by a dense fog. Until you've explored an area, it's shrouded. When you pass through the fog lifts, but after you leave, it slowly clouds up again, because unless you've erected a sensor array, you have no way to tell if enemy ships have gone into hiding there since you passed through.

As with any kind of multi-front war, often there are several battles happening at once, which means you have to split your attention. This is a game requiring more thinking and long-term strategy, as opposed to the instant reflexes and hand-eye coordination needed for arcade-style games. However, don't let that fool you, during battle, you have to build and move your ships quickly, or else meet your doom.

The look of "Star Trek: Armada" is top-notch; the graphics are a dream for any Star Trek fan, and the game can be just as fun to watch as to play. The music and sound-effects are also spectacular, giving players a true cinematic experience. Also adding to this is the overall story, which brings together many of Star Trek's disparate elements for one cohesive, galactic event. The game is very much a Star Trek game, not just a video game with Star Trek ships.