Star Trek: Elite Force II - Gameplay

Gameplay

In Elite Force II, the main protagonist makes his way through linear and strictly defined levels, encountering various kinds of hostile creatures along the way. He is often accompanied by members of the Hazard Team who cooperate with him. These characters often help Munro enter areas or disable devices crucial for plot to evolve.

There are total of 15 weapons (including the tricorder) at player's disposal. All of them facilitate two modes of operation. The primary fire commonly releases a steady stream of shots (or energy bursts) inflicting low damage at a low ammo cost, while the secondary fire expends a larger amount of ammo to fire a much slower and more powerful blast. All energy-based weapons can be recharged using terminals while projectile-based weapons need to be supplied with appropriate ammo. Health is replenished by activating nanites in player's suit using health stations.

Although Elite Force II is a first-person shooter, solving puzzles is also required. During the waveform modulation the player is presented with random sine wave attributes of which must be exactly reproduced by using the tricorder. There are three options - amplitude, frequency and offset modulation - that accordingly alter the initial curve. On higher difficulty levels a factor of time is to be taken into account; if the protagonist doesn't complete the puzzle within the time limit, the waveform is generated again with different proportions. To help player a composite visualization is present.

Power routing is needed when certain devices too difficult for the tricorder to modulate must be turned on. The objective is to connect two nodes on the opposite sides of the grid by manipulating the pipes. There are two types of pipes to be found within the array:

• Red-crossed parts that cannot be manipulated. When the pipe is appended to a node, it causes a short circuit of the matrix and the player must restart from the beginning.
• White units can be rotated around the axis within their cells. When the white pipe is powered up, it changes its color to that of the node connected to. Similar gray pipes can connect to nodes but cannot be rotated.

On higher difficulty levels, the number of nodes to be connected rises and a time limit is introduced. If player fails to solve the puzzle within the time frame, the pipes are reset to their original positions.

In scripted situations, the main character may also choose a response from a predefined set which has an effect on the outcome of the discussion and possible repercussions. For instance if Munro offers a prisoner chance to escape, he ends up in prison himself. A preference regarding a love interest is also determined from the choice of dialogue options - the player can accept invitations from one of two female non-player characters.

Throughout the course of game, the player is given a possibility to collect golden starships (miniature models of USS Excelsior NCC-2000) to unlock additional content in a form of six additional playable levels. There are a total of 81 starships, 70 of which are required to unlock the six secret maps accessible via the main menu.