It's life Jim...
The Star Trek universe is one which has been mined for video games almost as much as Star Wars and like that other sci-fi classic, it's seen its fair share of ups and downs. Fortunately, this game based on the movie of the same name is a solid, if unspectacular, addition to the lineup. The story here follows the movie quite closely but also adds in sub-plots and backstory that weren't seen in the film, making this of most interest to hardcore Trek fans. The story revolves around the concept that old-school Captain Kirk gets whisked through a time nexus so that he ends up meeting new-school Captain Picard and his crew. Together, they must defeat an evil scientist who is trying to destroy a number of planets so that he might reach a paradise-like dimension and live happily ever after. This is rendered into gameplay as a series of 12 missions which are connected by space combat, and which see the player controlling the various crew members exploring, fighting and solving puzzles on a variety of planets. For the most part, this is a pretty standard bit of sci-fi nonsense. It's given some appeal by the use of digitized recreations of the crew and by the use of their original actors' voices and which is probably one of the game's biggest attractions. The gameplay itself is solid, with some interesting missions to complete and a good mix of things to do. The visuals are nice enough, the planets and ships being well recreated but overall, it's a less than memorable experience thanks to things just not being as enjoyable as they could. Worth a look but don't expect the greatest Trek game ever.
