Star Trek and STO, A History of the Game
Of all hit comic books, television shows and movies there is none more suited
for adaptation as a video game than the Star Trek series. With its well developed characters,
a very realistic sci-fi setting and millions and billions of starry eyed fans it's no wonder
that copies just seem to disappear off the shelves the second any Start Trek games hits the
market.
The first Star Trek Episode was aired in the year 1966 and
stayed right on top of the charts for more than three years. By the time the last episode of
the original Star Trek was aired in 1969, this futuristic concept screamed of being developed
for a more interactive medium - namely video games. However, since video games did not exist
yet, it would have to wait for another 30-40 years until Star Trek fans could participate
directly in the revolution.
The first Star Trek Game was created by an unknown team of coders in
1975. For those who were fond of combat aspect of Star Trek, the game proved to be really
addictive and was surprisingly quite advanced for the time it was made. The basic plot of
game was short and to the point. For reasons not mention the peace treaty between the Klingon
Empire and the Federation has collapsed, and you as the commander of the USS Enterprise, have
to use all your resources, to destroy the Klingon Armada, which they have sent to into the
Federation territory. It hardly needs to be mentioned that the interface was wholly text
based you had to type in your instructions and the results of your decisions were typed back
to you.
Once personal computers became common place, a number of games were Star Trek
based games were created. But gamers got their first real dose of the Star Trek Series with
the release of Star Trek: 25th Anniversary. Developed by Interplay the game was a graphical
adventure that set really high standards for all future Star Trek games. Like each Star Trek
Episode is a self contained drama, the game too had a number of mini-missions, which the
player was supposed to complete. After the end of each mission the player got an evaluation
report that analyzed his overall performance.
Another great game was Star Trek: Klingon, which was hailed by the
critics as the "ultimate interactive adventure". In the game the player takes up the Persona
of Pok, a young Klingonian who has to avenge the death of his father. Its one of the most
interesting Star Trek games you will ever come across.
Another Star Trek Game which followed a similar plot structure was Star Trek:
Borg. In this game you play the role of a Starfleet recruit, who is sent back in time by Q,
to save the life of his father who was killed by Borg. A fast passed adventure game, Star
Trek: Borg is all about making split second decisions.
The other interesting Star Trek titles that you should definitely play are Star
Trek: Armada and Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force. Both of them have been created by Raven
Software, so you can be sure that you won't be disappointed.
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