Even if that's the case, those compromises were worthwhile, since they make these Star Trek vessels feel like large naval ships instead of fighter planes.Īll space sims to date have been primarily focused on combat, and that tradition continues with Bridge Commander since the game is essentially a linear series of combat missions. While there are computer-controlled assists available to let you better intercept targets, it still seems as though the developers were so determined to prevent battles from devolving into turning chases that they artificially crippled your ability to track and circle enemies. As you'd expect given their immense size, ships change directions sluggishly, but generally movement also just doesn't seem to flow smoothly, and it's sometimes inordinately difficult to close range or effectively outmaneuver even slower vessels. Totally Games did make some gameplay compromises in order to permit Bridge Commander's battles to be so similar to those in the Star Trek movies and series. Now Playing: Star Trek Bridge Commander Video Review Combat perfectly resembles the battles depicted in the various TV series and in movies like Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.īy clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's In Bridge Commander, battles are slow-paced tactical contests in which success doesn't depend upon quickly lining up targets for your ship's forward guns. And although Totally Games helped to fashion many of those conventions through its work on the X-Wing games, it has avoided making the same mistakes made by the creators of those earlier Star Trek space sims. The Academy games inappropriately tried to pigeonhole the fast-paced dogfights of conventional space sims like X-Wing and Wing Commander into games based upon the Star Trek universe. The Star Trek universe minimizes the role of small fighter craft and focuses on large, durable starships, and yet vessels in previous Star Trek sims handled like fighters instead of like more-formidable craft. Previously released games such as Starfleet Academy and Klingon Academy just supplied ammunition to those who believed that the nature of combat in the Star Trek universe couldn't be translated into an interesting game. Bridge Commander combines tactical ship combat and adventure elements.īridge Commander isn't the first space sim set in the Star Trek universe, but it is undoubtedly the best one. Despite its short length and a few other problems, Star Trek Bridge Commander is an innovative, entertaining simulation that adapts its licensed subject material in a manner that should satisfy even the franchise's most zealous fans. While some gamers cynically believed that the slow-paced capital-ship battles of the Star Trek universe could never be effectively translated into an enjoyable space sim, Totally Games has convincingly disproved those beliefs in its latest effort. Given its history and expert handling of the Star Wars license, Totally Games was a natural choice to produce a space sim based on science fiction's other famous franchise, Star Trek. After releasing a trio of critically and commercially successful World War II combat flight sims, Totally Games abandoned realistic simulations and opted to produce the X-Wing and TIE Fighter Star Wars sims for LucasArts. For more than a decade, Larry Holland and the team of developers at Totally Games have consistently released acclaimed simulations.
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