login sign up feeds about

Star Trek: Bridge Commander

Beam me up, Scotty...

Captain's Log : Supplemental - The situation aboard this vessel has become critical. The Captain has succumbed to his injuries from the unexplained solar blast, leaving me in charge of the lives of 430 crewmen, as well as the local colonies that could potentially fall victim to the same fate. My first course of action as Captain will be to implement a plan that will bring this incident to a conclusion, and with as few casualties as possible.

• images (4)

  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • all 4 images

• game info

  • 

  • Publisher:

    Developer:

    Release Date:

  • more

• related stories

• pc

  • Tank Universal
  • Penumbra: Requiem
  • SBK08 Superbike World Championship
  • Plum Island
  • PT Boats: Knights of the Sea
  • more

From developer Totally Games and publisher Activision comes a Star Trek title worthy of its (licensed) name. It seems that the conundrum of representing space combat among Federation starships (which in prior titles has proved to be elusive) has been resolved not only effectively, but in a manner that is true to the series, graphically awe-inspiring, and delightfully fun to play. Players will be able to issue commands to their crew (and enjoy the visual splendor said commands produce) as a true Federation Captain would, and still have time to wave their fists in the air and yell, "KHAAANNN!"

Due to the fact that Federation ships are much larger than a tiny, one man dogfighter (ala Wing Commander), commanding one in past titles with a joystick during a dogfight felt... well, wrong. Any Captain worth the salt that Dr. McCoy's ex-girlfriend would suck out of them would tell you that a true Captain would make command decisions to his crew from his chair. The problem, understandably, in the past has always been how to do this in a video game and still make it fun to play?

Totally Games has delivered. Although at times Bridge Commander will feel more like an old-school point and click adventure than a tactical sim, the formula works extremely well. There is a high degree of scripting going on here, and the game is pretty much on rails in terms of story progression, but once you immerse yourself into the world Gene Roddenberry created, you'll hardly notice that you're being nudged in one direction or another.

The graphics outside the bridge will astound you, and represent Star Trek perfectly. The graphics inside the bridge are a bit flat and dull, but I can see where the tradeoff made sense. The ships are as beautiful and detailed as one seen on television, complete with deep, rich color and lighting effects. Performance on mid-range machines is still excellent, although would have to be not-as-detailed. There are a few points of view to choose from, including "from the chair" on the bridge and an "outside the ship" view. The view from inside the ship tends to be more like living through a combat-heavy episode of the television series, whereas the outside view, albeit prettier, tends to suck you out of the Star Trek universe in a way that will leave you feeling like you're just playing another space-combat sim.

The sound effects and music are lifted directly from the Star Trek world, so all of the phaser blasts, photon torpedos, explosions and such will sound familiar. The music is also comprised of such well-known scores, rounding out the package into one of complete Trek immersion.

Next

1. you need to put cheats in

   Softy Tuesday, 18 February 2003, 07:39:33

2. Hello i have the game star trek bridge commander i am having trouble in the section where you have to defend a ship from being destroyed inside a asteroid field can you help with some walk throughs i dont have a stategy book yet

   john patrick murray Saturday, 19 April 2003, 18:43:8

3. This game rocks man i love it and the mods for it are even better.

   Good game however i wish the creators of the game would release a second edition.

   EGN-Arcade.net Saturday, 16 August 2003, 22:08:6