Star Trek: Elite Force 2 and the Impact of 9/11
Star Trek: Elite Force 2 is a fun first‑person shooter that arrived on PC in June 2002. Though it was a commercial flop at launch, it later became a fan‑favorite Star Trek title, blending puzzles, action and dialogue. The game would have been very different if the September 11 attacks hadn’t occurred.
In a new interview with FRVR, Star Trek: Elite Force 2 lead scripter and level designer Benson Russell explained that the story and opening had to be rewritten because of the attacks.
“I remember we were making Elite Force 2 when 9/11 happened,” Russell told FRVR. “One of the original scenes was a shuttle flying into a building at Starfleet Academy. That was a no‑no for obvious reasons.”
Because the game arrived less than a year after the attacks, the planned attack scene was cut and the opening reworked entirely.
Despite those changes, Elite Force 2 remains a beloved Star Trek FPS powered by id Tech 3. Fans still talk about its low‑poly Picard moments, and the game features Patrick Stewart’s voice as Captain Picard.
Rockstar Games faced a similar challenge with Grand Theft Auto III. The 2001 title was set in a contemporary city, so the studio altered police cars to look generic and changed the US cover before launch. (The European release used the cover art originally planned.) That cover became iconic and set the template for future GTA covers, a style that even GTA 6 follows.
