That's probably the most compelling feature of the single-player game ¿ being able to get in the middle of a big fight and switch to a movie-like view. A nice option is to be able to switch from the top-down view to a more cinematic view. Cutscenes are a mix of engine-rendered scenes and some cut-rate CGI. The story is good Star Trek fare and does a nice job of propelling the player through the missions. If you find an unmanned ship, just beam some crew over there and you're good to go. You can actually take over ships this way. The game allows you to transport crew from one ship to another, including from friendly to hostile ships. As the ship loses crew and officers, it becomes less effective, finally spinning out of control if it isn't destroyed outright. Each ship needs a minimum number of each to function effectively, and as a ship takes damage it loses some of each. Dilithium is the familiar cousin of C&C's tiberium and Starcraft's crystals, but the other resources are a bit more interesting: crew and officers. Resources add a small new twist to the game. Besides the campaign, you can also play in skirmish mode against the computer or online with up to eight in a game.

The infamous Borg Cube has a Holding Beam as its special. The Romulan Shadow Class ship can use a Phase Cloak, for example, as one of its specials. Each race gets five main vessels, and you research a variety of special weapons for most of the ships. You play as the Federation, the Klingons, the Romulans, and the Borg. You get four campaigns, each with five missions, and then a bonus scenario at the end. Gameplay is straightforward real-time strategy stuff.

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