The Best And Worst Star Trek Games
With theatres across the country delivering a brand new Star Trek experience to fans tonight, we take a look at some of the best and worst in Star Trek video games.
Just as J.J. Abrams’ new film seeks to refresh the aging franchise with a fresh look at an older story, Star Trek video game developers over the years have tried again and again to deliver a new experience to fans, expanding the universe beyond the television series and movies. Some stayed true to the source material and succeeded heartily, while others took risks with varied results.
Let’s bodly go and explore best and worst in Star Trek video games, starting with the very first.
The First
Star Trek Text Game (1971)
Star Trek has long been a staple of geek culture, so it makes perfect sense that one of the earliest television tie-in games be based on the classic science fiction series. Believed to have been created by Mike Mayfield in 1971 on a SDS Sigma 7, the simple, unlicensed text-based strategic combat simulator saw players entering text commands in order to navigate the USS Enterprise around a grid-based map, ridding the galaxy of the Klingon menace.
The Best
What determines a good Star Trek game? Is it space combat? Character interaction? Story? A combination of all three? Over the years there have been plenty of adequate Star Trek games, but three shine particularly brightly.
Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force (2000 – Raven Software)
From what is generally considered one of the two worst Star Trek television series comes one of the best video games in the franchise’s history, in the unlikely form of a first-person shooter. The game managed to strike a delicate balance between character interaction and intense shooter gameplay, with beautiful visuals (for the time) courtesy of the id Tech 3 engine. Elite Force used the first-person perspective to immerse players in the Trek universe, while multiplayer that rivaled that of Quake III kept the more competitive players contentedly killing each other in the background.
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (1992 – Interplay)
Star Trek PC games were generally ho-hum affairs until Interplay dished up this DOS classic in 1992. At its most basic, Star Trek is about space battles and character-driven adventure, so Interplay married the two in Star Trek: 25th Anniversary with amazing results. Like the show, the game was split up into several episodes, with flight sim-like ship combat woven together with adventure game segments to deliver what many fans consider to be the most authentic Star Trek game experience ever created. Even better, the CD version of the game featured the voices of the majority of the original show cast, making an excellent title even better.
Interplay followed up the 25th Anniversary game with Star Trek: Judgment Rites, continuing the story and making the ship combat sections options for those who preferred the adventure segments. Both games are still quite enjoyable today.
Star Trek: Bridge Commander (2002 – Totally Games0
Star Trek: Bridge Commander was a delightfully new take on the standard Star Trek space combat simulator. Rather than simply having players direct a ship’s actions, Bridge Commander has players step into the shoes of a new starship captain, delivering orders to the various Bridge officers as a “real” starship captain would. While the option to switch to an external view of the ship and handle things yourself was present, the game truly shined on the bridge, transforming countless swiveling computer chairs into luxurious captain’s seats in the minds of fans across North America and Europe.
The Worst
Star Trek: Shattered Universe (2004 – Starsphere Interactive)
There have been plenty of Star Trek titles one could consider bad, but there is one in particular that raises sucking to an entirely new level. Star Trek: Shattered Universe took one of the most intriguing themes running throughout the length of Star Trek history and pretty much crapped all over it. Ever since the Mirror, Mirror episode of the original series, fans have longed for a chance to explore the dark side of Trek to a fuller extent. Instead of giving them that chance, developer Starsphere Interactive delivered a crappy shooter with Star Trek trappings slapped on that even Sulu-fueled cut scenes couldn’t save. One of the biggest disappointments in the series since the opening theme to Star Trek: Enterprise.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Dominion Wars (2001 – Gizmo Games)
An intriguing mix of real-time strategy and space combat that followed the war between the United Federation of Planets and the invading Dominion Alliance in the last three seasons of Deep Space Nine, this PC release fell flat. Even once the numerous bugs caused by a rushed release were cleared up, regular crashing and just plain boring execution made Dominion Wars a Star Trek title that fans loved to hate.
So where does the new J.J. Abrams movie rank, when compared to the more interactive Star Trek experience that game developers have delivered to us over the years? Fans all over the world are finding out as we speak. Feel free to give us your thoughts on the new movie and the old games in our comment section below.
Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
@tim rogers: You and I had the exact same reaction then.
@xot: You had to go to the computer on the bridge and (IIRC) record to the Captain's Log.
@Tyrannical: That was the first video/computer game I ever played. That was 1977. I played on a terminal connected to a mainframe or mini, possibly a Honeywell Level 6. I was kid and it was too complex. I did much better with Hunt the Wumpus.
xot
Just saw the new Star Trek movie and I really liked it and I'm not even a fan of Star Trek, though I do love J.J. Abbrams' stuff, minus Mission Impossible 3, not even he could save that movie from Tom Cruise.
SagiMewtwo
@yoagner: I guess that's the same game as the SNES ST:TNG game. I tried to like it but I could never figure out how to save and/or continue my game so it was kind of pointless.
xot
@Weirdwolf wants a Glaubot!: Wat? You crazy. This DOS version does look crap, though, and the person playing is clearly lacking a clue. Ten minutes and he never made to the surface of a planet or engaged in battle. The Atari ST version is much nicer looking and sounding and is really the only way to play the game. Personally, I think it's a pretty interesting experimental adventure game. Making the interface itself a resource management task is also highly original. Not saying it was a success, but I'd hardly call it "awful awful".
xot
I played a version of the Star Trek Text game in the mid 80's on an Apple][. It was pretty fun and not unlike turn based strategy games we have now.
Tyrannical
I really enjoyed Star Trek Legacy. While I know that many people didn't really care for it I still feel it is one of the best ones. Of course the fact that I was able to play as ships from Stargate as well helped me to enjoy it even more.
Woden501
@Lebensengel: I remember that game! Damn those aliens and their nigh-invincible egg ships! *shakes an angry fist*
MechaTama31
@Billkwando bought his tickets for Hyde's US tour: Yeah, wow, how could they forget this one?
I clicked on this story thinking "Well, of course they're going to have that Genesis / SNES TNG game on there!"
And then I was like ". . . huh?"
Bridge Commander was damn well awesome, despite who published it, and that was back when Activision was cool, if they published it now, Bobby Douchebag would say its not exploitable enough.
No Star Trek: Armada or Armada 2? Those two games are two of the best space-RTSes of all time. Still stand up well today, at least in my opinion.
@[www.softpedia.com]
I'm still looking though. ;)
I know this will be ignored, but I still have, and will always have, Star Trek: Birth of the Federation on my computer. Great game.
@Billkwando bought his tickets for Hyde's US tour: I remember bits and pieces of that game. I was young when I played it and kept dying though lol. I was going to mention it but couldn't remember the title, may have to get a ROM of it or something :)
L1GHTN1N
the new Star Trek movie is really freakin awesome! The story, the effects, the characters...it was all incredibly well done and the comedy was done well too...it didn't seem too hokey like a lot of the original series did or like they could have made it had they tried to go more like the original route. I guess that's why this is a reboot instead of a remake. Kudos to Abrams, the cast, and ESPECIALLY the effects teams!
@ryangreen02: I feel the same way except I was 5? when I played it on floppy. I still have it around here somewhere, might have to spend this weekend looking for it.
I could never get very far in it though, we lost the manual so I couldn't figure out where to go to get to the next planet. It should have taken 5 minutes minus any time for space battles, but it ended up taken about a hour to figure it out (we didn't use walkthroughs or any such, as we had dial-up internet I believe).
Still a great game. I spent a lot of time just shooting the various people like Dr.McCoy and Spcok and laughing at the reactions, or figuring out how to get my teammates killed.
L1GHTN1N
@Vedli: *made me think
My kingdom for an edit button
@Sega arcade game from 1982 which was pretty damn popular.
Doctor_Memory
@DrunkRaba: I don't want to generalize about the entire series, but maybe that's just a ST thing. I mean, Picard was like that too.
@Komrade Kayce: Off the top of my head I remember that episode with the Rock as perhaps bs, but I liked the stories for the most part.
Especially that one where they were trapped on a planet that was rotating too fast for its own good, and had everything on it speed up. Nevermind time slows down as you move faster, ST was never really logical.
@sstadnicki: no kidding! That thing was awesome, especially the sit-down version.
Pity there are so few of them left: the X-Y monitor that Sega used in all of their early games had this unfortunate tendency to, um, explode.
Doctor_Memory
Quick shout out to Deanej & co who created the the Star Trek mod for Civ 4. Absolutely my favourite mod for Civ 4 and one of my favourite (maybe even my numeber one favourite) Star Trek "games"
[forums.civfanatics.com]
@DarkLinkinfinite: I liked Legacy as well but it could of being so much better. I would of loved it if you could organise your enemies fleet in the skirmish mode so you could recreate classic battles or do what if battles.
The story enraged me though (warning massive amount of nerd rage incoming). There is no way in hell V'ger could of been the origin of the Borg. For one thing the Borg are older than the bloody satellite and were happily assimilating there way across the Delta quadrant while this particular Voyager probe (a fictional Voyager 6 if memory serves)was still being conceived of, let alone built. It made think if the writer knew anything of Star Trek Lore before writing it.
/end of nerd rage
@SpeedTurtle: You know that a game that I really want to try out. I found it Amazon once dirt cheap but wasn't really sure if it was any good. Though I don't think many of people have even heard of it
I have a cart called Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator for the Texas Instruments Ti-99, which was developed by Sega and pubbed by TI.
[www.videogamehouse.net]
Probably a bit obscure compared to the others listed here, but it's alright...
@DarkLinkinfinite: Legacy was a bitch to control, but a good game with an interesting storyline.
floppylobster
"One of the biggest disappointments in the series since the opening theme to Star Trek: Enterprise."
That doesn't sound like you have faith of the heart. Not at all. Faithless heathen.
@BStu: It is probably the only Star Trek game I remember playing, but it was a huge part of my early childhood. Not owning a game console and, to boot, having a Power Macintosh, games were hard to come by. But I did have a lot of great ones, and this was definitely one of them.
It had a foreign format for me (point-n-click adventure) but it was endlessly entertaining. And for a kid under 10, that is a tough thing to accomplish. Wonder if I can find that old game (and I hope I can borrow an external floppy drive from some dork that even cares about such old technology)!
A nice article for sure Mike, but there have been, I don't know, 8 bajillion Star Trek games. There are many more to add to both lists.
No mention of a Final Unity?
Not only was it a great game, but it was hands down more interesting than most of the series AND 100x better than all 4 TNG movies put together.
vicryixiv
Birth of The Federation (a kind of Master of Orion type game), despite having some bug issues, is still my favorite ST game followed by Star Fleet Command III and the Bridge Commander/Klingon Academy/Star Fleet Academy types.
What, no Star Fleet Command games in the good list?
Funnily enough no one's mentioning Armada or its sequel. Sadly the best Star Trek RTS is a fan-made project...
@Sutekh_Slain: In a word? Nothing.
I loved playing Bridge Commander years ago with my best friend over dialup... man those were the days.
Do you guys know about Star Trek Excalibur?
[stexcalibur.com]
It's running on an engine that Nano (the guy that made the NanoFX Mod for BC) made. It's looking fantastic.
Cody Lindinger
I have fond memories of 25th Anniversary and A Final Unity. I recall Starfleet Academy being pretty enjoyable, but most of it was over my 12 (I think) year-old head.
Bakeroo
Whoa, whoa, whoa ... Is this article claiming that the multiplayer for Elite Force was better than Quake 3? Really? At the time, Q3 was pretty much the epitome of mp.
Damn, I feel old now...
No love for the Sega arcade game??
sstadnicki
@Sutekh_Slain: I agree, Voyager was my favorite.
@reality.exe -console: Voyager was my favourite series as a kid, simply because it was the only one I could see on TV and I wasn't yet old enough to appreciate the other, better series.
So when Elite Force came out I soiled myself, and when the expansion came out with that "Virtual Voyager" thing, I ruined another pair of underwear.
Going back to play it nowadays, it's still a fantastic shooter, but the novelty has worn off now that I've come to learn how Voyager compares to the rest of the Star Trek universe.
QualityJeverage
@MrWhitmore: Fair warning, it's an ad site for Burger King.
But....the King has a klingon forehead, so you're probably gonna go anyway.
You guys should check out this site: www.whenkingonsattack.com
MrWhitmore
@Orian: She got them stuck in the Delta Quadrant to being with? That timed charges to destroy the Array and then scooting would have been the right thing to do for helping out yet also keeping the interests of the crew are met.
houser
Hey, what about ST: TNG - A Final Unity?
It was everything a fan wanted from a TNG game. Didn't hurt that it followed the ST: 25th Anniversary/Judgement Rites formula either.
Never really liked many Star Trek games, but those 3 were great action point-n-click adventures that did the material justice.
Stevil_T
On another note, Armada II was a very good RTS, plus it was very Mod-Friendly.
PowerFeed
I rank Voyager even with TNG as a tie for my third Favorite.
TOS is seconded
DS9 is my #1.
Enterprise can go to hell, it was such a shitty series im surprised it lasted 4 seasons.
PowerFeed
Best Star Trek games for me were Elite Force 1 & 2, followed by 25th Anniversery and Future's Past
The worst, interestingly, work on the same mechanic. Shattered Universe and Invasion.
"One of the biggest disappointments in the series since the opening theme to Star Trek: Enterprise."
LOL! Well said.
Thut
@DarkLinkinfinite: I loved Legacy as well, save for the horridly laggy online. But it was still fun.
@Billkwando bought his tickets for Hyde's US tour: I just remember that game being very hard. I need to play it again. See if older me can outsmart those sneaky Romulans.
@Sutekh_Slain:
Bullshit stories.
@Orian: She always always ALWAYS wanted peace at ALL costs, especially when it didn't make sense. Granted they were just in a scientific ship, but really, she didn't grow a backbone until the show was ending.
@cyruss: Fantastic game in all respects. The expansion pack actually sticks out most in my mind, wonderful idea that isn't done very often at all.
@Sutekh_Slain: Apologies for misdirecting the link.
As for Janeway she decided to explore every stupid little space anomaly any chance she got, even if it meant putting the crew in danger. Sisko, on the other hand, killed a Romulan Senator to bring them into the war with the Dominion and punched Q in the face.
How come no one mention Star Trek Armada and Star Trek birth of the federation. Those 2 games are awesome.... I spend so much time on their mod too.... And Imho, Dominion is not that bad. It still a fun game to play if you dun mind how buggy it was.... Still remember the old days...
Edmond Chan
There's also the Star Trek 25th anniversary and Star Trek Next Generation pinball machines. The latter is by far the superior but I have a soft spot for the former because it's one of the first games I played to any great extent. They both do a solid job of capturing the atmosphere of the show.
grahamwest
@solosith: What an excellent topic to be posting in then.
Spacehog85
@solosith: Should play Elite Force. It's actually one of the best in it's entire genre.
@OW-Holmes:R.O.A.C.H reject:
That has absolutely nothing to do with my question.
Orian
Wow, no one mentioned Star Trek: The Promethean Prophecy! It was an *awesome* Star Trek text adventure!
[www.mobygames.com]
MaxSteele
@PlayItBogart: Indeed. Loved that game, pretty good adaptation of the boardgame. Transporter bombs ftmfw...
@solosith: dido although I mostly enjoy the universe.
@lvl54spacemonkey: Ensigns....
I still play that game, strafing that Romulan Warbird in the second mission was great!!
Starfleet Command 3 was awesome. Eventually I had these incredible ships and would just go tear-assing through space conquering the quadrant for the Klingon Empire.
Qaplah!
@Orian: They painted themselves into a corner. If anything bad happened they couldn't get a new shuttle or repair the ship; it had to be solved with going back in time or it all being a dream.
The characters also were all wooden parodies of themselves. And near the end it was a lot of 7 of 9 episodes. I like her Borg implants as much as the next guy but it just got tiresome.
DS9 uber alles.
I enjoyed Starfleet Academy for snes.
lanion
What about Star Trek Invasion? It was pretty much Colony Wars but with Worf shouting at you.
lvl54spacemonkey
Bridge Commander is great (& I'll look into that mouse thing...check back in a few).
Elite Force was also excellent, and the PS2 version wasn't bad either.
Nobody mentions Star Trek: Echoes From The Past on Genesis. It had ship combat, a rotating bridge-view like ST:BC, and three quarter perspective away missions.
It was hard as hell, and you basically needed to draw a map, but it kicked so much ass.
It also had the Picard Factor, where you had 2 options for dialogue when you were interacting on the view screen. You'd be talking to a Romulan, and you'd have the "Hey, fuck you buddy!" option, and the "Well, let's be reasonable, you're in Federation space. Are you sure you didn't just take a wrong turn? If you go home, there'll be no hard feelings" option. You couldn't always talk your way out of a fight, but you could always talk your way into one.
It even had a database where you could look up facts about the ships, characters, and planets.
[en.wikipedia.org]
I really enjoyed "Star Trek: The Next Generation" for NES, GB & GG but other than that there really haven't been any Star Trek games that I've particularly enjoyed. I think the problem is developers almost always try to make them action oriented (space shooters, FPSs, RTSs, etc.). Star Trek really isn't about epic battles, it's about the human condition and cultural allegory set on a sci-fi backdrop. I think Star Trek as a video game would be better suited to something a little more slow paced & narrative driven, maybe something like Space Quest - except serious.
Man, my dad and I played soo many hours of the Star Trek text game on the old 286. Awesome. It was different every time and had so much going on. Although, I never remembered them needing to harvest dilithium crystals on alien planets on the show as often as you did in the game.
Oh, and Star Trek:TNG for Genesis sucked.
yoagner
I loved the ds/psp one.
Grumpz®: Internet Guardian Angel®
Any "Best of Star Trek" list missing Starfleet Command is null and void.
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary is the blueprint for adapting a TV show into a video game. Sadly, a blueprint few have followed. The smart use of episodic structure was obvious and yet brilliant. I played this game more than I watched the original series.
BStu
I've only played a handful of Star Trek games. I personally loved Legacy as it was something of a space shooter, but with capital ships instead of fighters. It also had a decent story with a Borg origin story that tied it into the first feature film as well as the voices of the captains in from each series.
I really wish they'd make a sequel where you reenact battles from the series such as the whole of Star Trek 2 where you'd have to persue Kahn, hide the Enterprise from his ship, chase him some more then finally kick his ass above the Genesis planet. Or fly the Enterprise E into the solar system and join the huge battle against the borg at the start of First Contact. Also, they should throw in some of the sim features from Bridge Commander. Maybe throw in viewscreen conversation trees that have you flinging taunts and threats back and forth, digging for information, or even just playing diplomacy with other ships.
I've also played Conquest which, while enjoyable, is really more of a bad fan fiction than a proper game and features the same gameplay that will be found in D-A-C mixed with some turn-based-strategy. It was an interesting idea, but I felt it was more suitable for an XBLA/PSN/WiiWare release than a full retail game (although it was only $30).
I also have Star Trek: Encounters. I haven't played that one much, but its basically the same thing as Conquest, except without the TBS stuff.
Star Trek: The Rebel Universe
An awful awful game.
+ Watch video
@SpeedTurtle:
Why was Janeway a problem? Sure, she was an ass at times... but Kirk was a terrible captain, Picard sat on his ass and Sisko was Bajoran Jesus as often as he was a captain.
Orian
Arrg! The best one is not here!
Star Trek: The Next Generation - A Final Unity, do you play it?!
Lebensengel
@ST19AG_WGreymon: turn you mouse around facing the other way :)
Fahey... Why no mention of Star Trek: The Next Generation: Echoes from the Past? That game is amazing.
i LOVED Elite Force 1, not just the singleplayer but the multiplayer "holomatch" was beyond excellent, i much MUCH preferred it to Q3A
spent hundreds of hours playing it, to this day i miss it, still remember the maps and the weapons... i'd love it if someone remade it, even just the holomatch with updated gfx, or even just like how they remade Quake with QuakeLive... EliteForceLive :)
<3 Elite Force
Oh man, I remember the Star Trek game for the Vectrex. First system I owned as a wee one, got the system and some games at like a garage sale, but I didn't have any of the screen covers or manuals, nice to know what all the out of place symbols meant.
@Sutekh_Slain: Janeway
I liked Voyager. What was wrong with it?
What about DS9: The Fallen? That game was by far my favorite. Had a ton of the original cast. Used the Unreal Engine to make a really great looking third person shooter. (with less emphasis on the shooter part.)
My brother is a BIG star trek fan and loved Star Trek: Bridge Commander. I remember playing it a few times and actually enjoyed the game, despite me not being a huge fan of star trek.
Sebnotic
Never played a star trek game before... probably never will.
I had Bridge Commander too didn't get too far because the non-inverted mouse got on my nerves, if anyone knows how to fix this that'd be nice.
ST19AG_WGreymon
Bridge Commander is by far my favorite Trek game. I've played through the story twice and fooled around in quick battle a lot. It's simply a fun game I go back to again and again (even more with mods).
Elite Force was pretty cool too. I've always dreamed what a combination of the two would be like: epic, titanic space battles with FPS style away missions ... oh, if only!
Gortexfogg
@L1GHTN1N: Definitely my favorite Star Trek game. I always enjoyed finding all the ways to screw-up.
Map: [www.methodshop.com]
@lanion: Hell yes.
@Valshier: Glas someone else remembers it too, loved that game! Random encounters with borg cubes were awesome!
Tubbygaijin
@yoagner: When you mentioned the 286 i thought you meant the PC version of the above "Star Trek Text Game".... not sure what that one's called but it was pretty cool and very difficult. I still remember the game over music... very poignant.
@Spacehog85:
Ha. They're typical Kotaku commenters. "I have no interest in this particular topic, nor do I have any relevant comment to make. Thus, I shall make a useless comment because I love to hear the sound of myself typing."
BobTable4Four
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Future's Past for SNES is my favorite Trek game of all time.
I am really looking forward to the MMO though.
No mention of EGA TREK? That's too bad. That's the game I played on the DOS machine I had...and in an emulator at work for awhile lol.
phimuskapsi
I liked Star Trek: Shattered Universe. Though, to hard to finish.
ez054098
@shiftomnimega: I think that was the draw of the game, as well as what makes it as good as some of the ones listed above. It emulated an episode of Star Trek so well; gave you the difficult decisions to make. I loved the end, when Picard is given the option to use the Unity Device.
Not to mention the music on the navigation menu (when you have the map of stars) is spine-chillingly good.
Lebensengel
@Lebensengel: I have very fond memories of it, but it can't be ranked up there with Bridge Commander and those other ones. A Final Unity was basically a point and click adventure. I suppose it simulates an episode of TNG the best though.
shiftomnimega
@Lebensengel: Agreed! Great story, great puzzles, great voice acting!
StrikerGold
What about Birth of the Federation? I played that game for years. Id still play it if it worked right on vista.
Luthair
my favorite part of Star Trek 25th Anniversary for the PC was forcing Spock to drink bottles of ammonia over and over again >:)
I also LOVED ST:TNG for SNES
Star Trek Elite Force 2 (it's just as good if not better than the first, without the expansion) and Star Trek Hidden Evil aren't on the [BEST] side of the list?
Vince Pavey
Ugh, they left out Star Trek: Generations video game (a fun FPS/quazo adventure game that had a nice level of interaction and imagination), and of course, Star Trek: The Next Generation - A Final Unity, classic game.
Disappointed by the lack of star trek for the Ti99/a and Atari 2600, easily the only good star trek games.
Anyone play Klingon Academy? I came on 6 discs and had an excellent story and real life acting sequences. The controls had a learning curve, but they were very rewarding once you got the hang of them and the game was very realistic for its time.
I also enjoyed the Armada series. Pretty generic RTS, but playing as the Borg was awesome.
Shazbot
@Gortexfogg: I agree Bridge Commander was great - was made by the same people who made X-Win/Tie Fighter for Lucasarts.
Shame we don't get those kinds of games anymore.
Jellocakes
@DarkLinkinfinite: The snes game, starfleet academy I think it was called. It allowed you to simulate some of the classic battles like the one you speak of from the wrath of khan, though the graphics don't quite hold up today it was awesome way back when.
Dancin_Fool
I remeber playing the a port of the Star Trek Arcade game on my Colecovision back in the day. I would always do the "Picard Manoeuvre" and warp right in front of a klingon and fire a photon torpedo.
I didn't always work out for the best.
xcalibar25
@interim is a biscuit:
Or what about Star Trek: Tactical Battles, the only Trek game (that I know of) to include Rumble support?
Purple Dave
You didn't even mention Starfleet Command.
Werrick
@BelgianBadger: Me too. Never really got into TOS, DS9, or Enterprise, and while I like TNG, Voyager just felt like a ship I'd want to hang out on.
Everard
@Luthair: Excellent game, actually quite expensive to get nowadays, not sure where my copy is though. :(
Mokon
@PlayItBogart: +10. Still the most engrossing Trek strategy game ever (I speak here of SFC 1, which had a much better set of specialized story missions per race and campaign than any of the sequels).
marlowespade
@SpeedTurtle: I enjoyed that game quite a lot, until my CD-ROM drive cracked the disc when I was about halfway through it :(
The Ghost of Lucky
How the heck could Kotaku miss Empire?? It not only was one of the first Trek games, it was also one of the best AND it featured a very large multiplayer battle (30 players at once, 15 on a side) in the 1970s... we're lucky to see 16 player 8v8 games now 30 years later!
[en.wikipedia.org])
qhue
Went out and saw the movie last night, and I really liked it. I am not a super Star Trek fan. My favorite is still Wrath of Khan. A good true test of how good the movie was is that my wife liked it. And she hates anything I have interest in.
Hands down winner is the full sit-down arcade cabinet for the 1982 color vector game, Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator
[www.klov.com]
You sat in the captain's frikkin chair. 'nuff said.
[www.klov.com]
kpallist
Though it had a troubled release, the original Star Trek: Armada was a great game.
Michael Salazar
@solosith: COTD!!!!
25th Anniversary - Judgement Rites - A Final Unity
= WIN!
Shell_Kracker
Bridge Commander + Kobayashi Maru Mod = BEST TREK GAME EVER.
AndrosZ
@xot:
I played the ST game and while it was prettier it was the away missions that killed the game for me. Most of the time it was just guess work, and if you made a wrong choice that whole area was completely cut off.
Yes it looked and sounded good, "now in standard orbit sir" while it was on a static screen but the ST was capable of so much more, carrier command for example.
@Valshier: I loved Birth of the Federation! The reviews were abysmal, but I thought the game was awesome. Worst part was when you got into the high turn numbers, it slowed down like a mother.
mcb650
No Star Trek Armada? Am I the only one who liked that game? Besides 25th anniversary, I'd say Armada is the only Star Trek game I'd every think to go back to...anyone else out there like that game?
I thoroughly enjoyed Academy for the PC. I really thought that was one of the best ship to ship combat games up to that point. I also recall spending much too much time on Star Trek TNG: Echoes from the Past. I always got lost in the Mine level. I also purchased Star Trek: Encounters, and was impressed with how horrible it was.
@Vedli:yeah, the true origin of the Borg has yet to be made entirely clear. I do believe that Rodenberry himself intended that the living machines that modified the Voyager satellite to fulfill its purpose were in fact the borg.
Still, one can certainly appreciate that it is an interesting origin and if only not for the time discrepancy would certainly work well as an origin as it sets up not only their origin, but their motivation for assimilation and conquest, as well as the queen.
There are records of the Borg going back to the 15th Century, 500 years before the Voyager 6 could've been launched, and Guinan and the Borg Queen both say that the borg are hundreds of thousands of years old. Still, its too tempting not to link V'ger and the Borg in some way and I believe that probably the best way would be as Rodenberry suggested, being that the Borg were in fact the ones that created V'ger, not the other way around.
I don't recall the specifics of the storylne entirely, so I wonder if establishing the backstory in that fashion would really have impacted the main story in Legacy that much.
@Doctor_Memory: Yeah, I loved the arcade, too! I've spent lots of quarters on that arcade. I especially loved the Spock voice: "Welcome aboard, captain." The digital Scotty voice was also cool: "Damage repaired, sir." Good times.
@Weirdwolf wants a Glaubot!: Can't argue with that. Carrier Command and Star Glider 2 were epic.
xot
@Sutekh_Slain: Nevermind time slows down as you move faster, ST was never really logical.
Actually now that I think about it, nvm. It does make sense. But then the people would have no mass....
That's it? This is your whole write up from the myriad games that have come and gone in the Trek universe?
Meiz
The Angry Video Game Nerd already did a review of some of the older Star Trek games on Vectrex, Atari, Colecovision & the NES. I definately prefer the Next Generation & Voyager stories, but none of the old games found to be very entertaining. Ironically this mockery of ST coming into theaters (with 16 year olds on the bridge?) would probably make a better video game.
AlucardsQuest