I couldn't find out much about it online, but after seeing it on offer in town today I picked up a copy of Tactical Assault. First impressions from the box artwork were "mobile Starfleet Command" and on playing it, it does indeed seem to be a reduced version of SFC for the DS. But, the game is much more stable and surprisingly the ships are of better detail and quality even on the small screens than the full SFC managed. The game opens with a typical cutscene movie but with a brand new voice over created especially for the game by William Shatner. The game has two main campaigns, Federation (leading up to the Khitomer Accords) and a Klingon one set prior to TNG. The Klingon one has to be unlocked by completing the Federation one so I don't know much else at this point. The Federation campaign is simply enough, a progression of simple(ish) missions set around a crew created for the game, each with their own quirks and assigned systems in game that they are "in charge" of. As the game goes on you can teach them skills, but in three areas if need be, so you have the ability to really customise your crew as you see fit over the course of the game. Gameplay on the DS is optional, you can use the stylus or buttons at any point, whatever is most convenient. The controls are simple, and the ships move much faster than SFC and the weapon reloads are significantly faster, the Photons nearly always hit. There are only three control "sections", all on the touchscreen looking, sounding and acting very much like an actual TMP era LCARS panel which is cool in itself. All easy to use and well rendered, meaning the game can be played quickly and easily. Missions only take a few minutes with the action taking place in the top screen, in game "hails" give them their storyline and consist of contacting starbases, installations and the odd planet, as well as other ships encountered. Unlike SFC the ships can go to Warp similar to Bridge Commander to jump to different systems, or more than likely based on Starfleet Academy as are the "choose response" option on hails. More like SFC is the upgrade system for the crew and ships, which can only be unlocked by completing missions. There is also a Skirmish mode for quick battles and a "Starship Library" to view the classes of ship. So its definitely surpassed by original expectations, and worth picking up if you have either a DS or PSP.
I liked the look of the Orion and Gorn ships and the graphics overall when I was shown some screenshots of this game. Can you tell me if there is a major graphics difference between the PSP and DS versions? I'm a ship nut, so the graphic presentation is of some importance.
Well as I stated in the title of the thread I only have the DS version, the game being on one screen on the PSP version I could see as being a problem. The ships have a newish appearance for the DS, I just meant they seem smoother than the original PC version of SFC which had them far too blocky and sharp. So don't expect perfect recreations, games rarely do that anyway. The alien ships are only encountered in combat, so you don't see them that close up.
Not on PS2, but they do have it for PSP.. When I worked at Gamestop, I was saving up for that game.. unfortunately I had to sell my DS before I got enough money... NEVER WORK AT GAMESTOP BTW. Anyways, if the game turns out to be as awesome as I'd hoped, let me know, it might be worth getting another DS.. even if I have to sell my soul..
I don't have either version, but the PSP is a much more powerful system then the DS, it's very similar specs wise to a PS2, while the DS is similar to the N64. The PSP version would be the one with the nicer graphics.
Once you get further in, you unlock the ships for use in Skirmish and Multiplayer mode, so you can pilot them.
PSP graphics are horrible, actually, they look like PS1.. N64 graphics were more smooth than PS1 graphics when the systems were rivals, and DS graphics are more smooth than PSP graphics today. Also, DS has next to no load times because it uses cartridges.. PSP uses crappy UMDs that break easily and take forever to load.
The DS has a resolution of 1024x1024 split between the two screens, the smoothness of the images actually surprised me at first. And yes the DS responds instantly with only one loading screen when beginning a mission that lasts about 2 seconds at most, the PSP uses an optical media disc so controls and loading would take longer. Also the DS games are a combination cartridge/flash drive so it can contain megabytes of save game data near instantly, I don't know if the PSP memory is volatile or non-volatile.
Yeah depending on DS backlighting the battery lasts as least 8 hours on max, and if its on sort of low or normal level its usually up to 15-19 hours. The PSP has 6 hours of battery life no matter what, thats...just laughable.
I actually can't make up my mind based on what you guys said, but since the DS version seems to offer a more innovative control scheme, maybe I will check that one out. Just wanted to say that I appreciate the tips.
Yup, the DS has a long battery life so you can play it as long as you need to, the save game is on Flash memory so it saves and loads instantly and doesn't need power to keep the savegame. It loads faster and plays faster than the PSP, the controls can be buttons, stylus or both, no need to switch options, just press a button or tap the screen. The controls are located on the bottom touch screen and clearly marked. Just tabs with "Warp" "Hail" etc all labeled. A schematic of your ship showing its firing arcs, shields, speed and hull integrity etc that you can glance at at any time. The game plays a lot faster than Starfleet Command but you still need to wait a few seconds for Phasers or Torpedoes to reload. Enemies are still tough and at first you might need a few tries to get past some of them. The main game basically plays on the top screen and is clear enough to see. The only problem I've noticed is judging distances to asteroids in the early missions, bumped into a few of them but you'll soon remember which shade denotes ones in your plane of play. If you're still not sure how to handle the ship in certain missions, the skirmish mode allows you to try out the ship in several playing fields, smaller and larger ships to get a hang of maneuvering and a selection of enemies to practice tactical scenarios with.
I had Tactical Assault for PSP. And I have to say I liked it. Although my little ship against a yamato class dreadnought wasn't fair.
Recently finished the Klingon campaign for TA on the PSP. It's not bad, and I have to try the online multiplayer option one day, but I do wish that the Gorn and Orion ships were a bit different. I like Gorn ships to have plasmas, not photons, and the Orions would have been cool with optional heavy weapon mounts - and both factions would do with borrowing one or other of the extra options the 'big three' get. I'd give the Gorn ships the Feds' shield recharge and the Orions cloaks, personally. Oh, and for those interested, TA is available for the PSP on the PlayStation Store!
I just bought Tactical Assault for $8 the PSP today, and it's terrific. The graphics look smooth, the Shatner voice over was a neat surprise, and I enjoy the gameplay. Just to make a note, my PSP's battery life is around 8 hours. I've watched 4 movies in a row, surfed the internet and listened to a few albums worth of music before I had to recharge it, which took about an hour and it was ready to go again. As for memory, I have a 2 GB SD card, which lets me save a crapload of games, as well as music, onboard movies, RAM games and wallpapers for my PSP. It takes a blink of an eye to save or load a game on my PSP, and I love the vibrant colors and large screen. I like the DS too, so I'd like it if you guys could curb the PSP vs DS junk. Not everything is a competition. Again, as for ST:TA, it's a lot of fun, and it's got a great feel for the Starfleet Command games, which I enjoyed on my pc. I think they did a fine job of capturing that for the handheld systems, and I hope against hope someone comes out with a new version of Klingon Academy. I miss that game. J.