Conquest Review (Wii)
My expectations going in to this game were mixed. It was cheaper than Legacy and way cheaper than Tactical Assault and I knew in advance there were no multiplayer or diplomacy options. However it did sound like it would incorporate some aspects of Birth Of The Federation (BOTF), by far the best and most addicting game of all time. In the end while I found myself wishing for more I was by no means disappointed.
At first I tried Skirmish Mode to get a feel for what I was getting into. It made me long for Encounters as it was very similar but with both advantages and drawbacks.
Selecting targets with the Wiimote is much easier than using a targeting slice but flying the ship with the nunchuk isn’t quite as good. No special power-ups a loss but a fleet of multiple ships a gain. Fewer ships to choose from but more races. Putting everything on a single plain of elevation and removing friendly fire are both wins in my opinion. Some might say it takes a strategic aspect away but I believe it just makes it more fun.
After Skirmish I was not particularly optimistic. Boy was I wrong. I admit I wish it had a random map feature to increase replayability but the more I play the more combinations I can think of within the allotted settings.
The strategic aspect on the galactic map is like a simplified version of BOTF. You can only build one non-military installation in each system for either credits or researching upgrades and special weapons - in a way this is a blessing as there aren’t so many details to manage like feeding your population.
Minor races are a mixed bag. I always like to see the Xindi and the Orions were a pleasant surprise but they’re really just window dressing. Whatever minor race you eliminate doesn’t really make any difference. It’s like buying property in Monopoly except it rarely costs anything. The Ferengi, Xindi, Orions, and Borg aren’t any harder to defeat than any other.
I was initially discouraged by the Admiral idea but it actually works out to make some pretty dynamic strategy. Personally I’m fond of the movement Admiral but that was how I enjoyed playing BOTF: quick, efficient expansion. I have yet to find an appreciation for the attack and defense admirals.
The genesis and system freeze special weapons are good, the virus emitter useless, the healing and system link breaking devices helpful in rare and specific situations. I have yet to put the wormhole generator to effective use.
Each race has it’s unique personality.
The Federation is well-balanced with a scientific edge and their ships can hang in a firefight a long time. The characters their Admirals are based on are not noteworthy although I do enjoy seeing Tucker Smallwood if not hearing him. The voice work gets old fast. If I hear “this is for Earth!” one more time…
The Klingons’ cheap Bird Of Prey can make them a little frustrating to play against, the lack of a movement Admiral makes them a slight challenge to play as. Martok makes an appearance.
The Romulans are the most frustrating to play as for a variety of reasons, they should have a cloaking edge but don’t. Their special weapons are largely useless except in some rare strategic situations. Given their weak ships, relative cost, and lack of movement admiral they take a long time to defeat the Klingons. Their admirals are familiar at least.
The Breen get the Funniest Race award for their Admiral Thot Rong (say it out loud…it never gets old). They are comparable to the Dominion except their ships cost more but they’re more centrally located.
The Cardassians with their 2 movement Admirals are quickly becoming my favorite. Their voice work is the worst in terms of writing - they perpetually give damage reports that don’t reflect reality. Dukat and Damar appear.
The Dominion adheres well to the impressive shipbuilding of the series. Weyoun as movement Admiral is sometimes all you need. The other admirals confuse me, one of the voices is a dead ringer for Keevan but he isn’t in the game. And don’t get me started on the female voice who makes a passable Vorta when there are no female Vortas in the game!
The upgrades can be a critical component but sometimes are useless. Repair rate for example. Some have a very limited application like Admiral cost. Hull strength upgrades are probably my favorite, shield and weapon upgrades a close second, mining efficiency can be helpful and turn rate rarely useful. The rest I could do without.
The game tends to lag during arcade battles with numerous ships and stations and/or graphically intense backgrounds. This is a blessing as the extra time helps you keep track of all the goings on. And games have lagged since Super Mario Bros.
A far more disturbing issue is the rare freezing of the Wii necessitating removing the power cord (only the eject button remains functional). Thus far it’s only happened to me 3 times; given that I’ve played over 20 full campaigns I suppose that’s not bad but it is jarring. That means it happens in about 12% of campaigns. Efforts to identify a potential cause have met with mixed results.
The first 2 times it happened I had been playing for nearly 4 hours and some thin cardboard was leaning up against the side of the Wii. The third time it happened is most distressing as I had only been playing for less than 15 minutes and the Wii was completely free of obstructions. All 3 times were during an arcade battle but I’ve heard of it happening at the pre-battle screen as well.
I have noticed a disc access occurring mid-battle which makes no sense to me, the environment should be loaded. Why access the disc needlessly during the most graphically intense part of gameplay?
Overall Conquest is a great amount of fun for a very reasonable price.
