Star Trek is one of the biggest franchises on the planet, and has been since its debut all the way back in 1966. Predating the likes of Alien, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and even the series’ biggest competition, Star Wars, Star Trek was the very definition of groundbreaking, and influenced almost any piece of Sci-Fi media that has come since. As with all popular, long-running properties, there are bound to be some video game adaptations.
The Star Trek franchise currently has over 100 tie-in video games. While franchises like Star Wars give it a run for its money, having over 100 titles under Star Trek’s belt is impressive, along with the wide breadth of experiences on offer. Fans have been able to enjoy first-person shooters, strategy games, management sims, and more, all set in the beloved Star Trek universe.
A Brief History Of Star Trek Video Games
The first Star Trek game was released all the way back in 1971. Simply Star Trek, this text-based adventure lets players control the USS Enterprise through a series of written prompts. This may interest you : Direct and Level available on Amazon Prime Video. It’s a pretty basic game by today’s standards, but its turn-based battles and wealth of branching choices make it quite fun to revisit today.
In later years, Star Trek games came in quickly, but none of them got much attention, except for Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator, an arcade game that uses vector graphics. This game is the first action-oriented Star Trek game, seeing players take direct control of the Enterprise as they blast waves of oncoming Klingon Birds of Prey.
One of the most popular early Star Trek titles is 1992’s Star Trek: 25th Anniversary, which offers some truly impressive visuals and engaging gameplay. Split into two distinct game sections, Star Trek: 25th Anniversary sees players control Captain Kirk as he commands the Enterprise through a bridge view, or on the surface of a planet through a third-person perspective. The ability to control each member of the crew was a great inclusion, and would go on to become a staple of future Star Trek games.
In 1998, Activision made a deal with Viacom to secure the rights to Star Trek. In the following years, some of the most beloved Star Trek video games would be produced. Star Trek: Armada was released in 2000, and achieved the series’ biggest real-time strategy title to date. In the same year, Raven Software released Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force, a game that is still considered the best first-person shooter in the franchise. And to top things off in 2002, Totally Games and Activision released Star Trek: Bridge Commander, the first game that put the player in the captain’s seat of their own starship, able to control all of their bridge crew in a variety of Star valid. Trek scenarios.
However, Activision’s deal with Viacom would expire in 2003, leaving the license on shaky ground for a few years. Although a few solid Star Trek titles were released in the following years, such as the impressive portable strategy game Star Trek: Tactical Assault, the license was not used as often as before. In 2010, however, Star Trek Online was released, bringing the franchise into the realm of modern MMOs. The new Star Trek reboot film series also brought a new wave of excitement to the franchise, and Bandai Namco capitalized on that with 2013’s Star Trek, a co-op third-person shooter that had some disappointing flaws.
In recent years, the Star Trek license has barely been used for video games, aside from the constant onslaught of deck-building mobile games. The last major Star Trek video game release was 2017’s Star Trek: Bridge Crew, a VR title heavily inspired by Bridge Commander. Currently, there is only one Star Trek game on the horizon: Star Trek: Resurgence, a narrative adventure game that focuses on making difficult choices. Hopefully it can live up to its name and breathe new life into Star Trek video games.
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