Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (computer game)
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| Star Trek: 25th Anniversary | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Interplay |
| Publisher(s) | Interplay |
| Designer(s) | Bruce Schlickbernd, Jayesh J. Patel, Michael A. Stackpole, Elizabeth Danforth |
| Release date(s) | 1992 |
| Genre(s) | Adventure game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Platform(s) | DOS, Macintosh |
| Media | Floppies or CD |
| System requirements | PC: 386SX, 16 MHz CPU, 2 MB RAM Mac: 68040 or PowerPC CPU |
| Input | Mouse, Keyboard |
- For the console video game of the same name, see Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (video game).
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary is a computer game by Interplay, based upon the Star Trek universe. The game chronicles several various missions of James T. Kirk and his crew of the Enterprise.
[edit] Background and Gameplay
Computer games based on the Star Trek television series were not particularly good sellers. Star Trek: 25th Anniversary was the first critical and popular hit, and helped expand the Star Trek franchise throughout computer gaming. It was an odd combination of flight simulator and adventure game.
Space combat involved maneuvering the Enterprise and firing her weapons at enemy starships, not unlike most fighter-plane simulators. The chief variation was that the player could assign Scotty to repair the ships systems, concentrating on propping up the shields, restoring weapons to functioning status, or even fixing the scanners so the main screen wouldn't show static. There were only a few times you had to engage in combat, particularly during the end when you had to fight 3 enemy ships at once, quite tough since the enemy flag ship is already a match for yours.
The adventure side involved two innovations that differed from most adventure games of the time. The first was that instead of telling one long story, the game was broken down into several "episodes", reminiscent of an actual Star Trek television season (the game was set as "the lost fourth season"). The second was more in the nature of adventure games in general: for simplicity's sake, graphic adventures usually had the player only controlling one character. However, rarely did the television series have only one character "beam down" to a planet, and the designers stayed with that, putting as many as four player-controlled character on the screen at once, adding richness to player choices.
The adventure team consisted of the series' main characters, Captain James T. Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Dr. McCoy, with an occasional "red-shirted" security officer (not unlike the actual series) who would be the first to be killed should the player make a fatal misstep. Sulu, Scotty, Uhura, and Chekov would have to wait for new animations in the sequel, Star Trek: Judgment Rites, to appear on the away missions.
Getting the Enterprise destroyed or one of the continuing characters killed led to the game end, and the player would have to start again from their last saved game. This was mandated by Paramount, who had final approval rights to the game's contents. Harry Mudd makes a guest appearance in one episode.
Getting a "red shirt" killed could be accomplished in almost every episode and would not end the game, but would lower the mission score. At the end of each mission, players got a message from Star Fleet Command saying how well they had done (100% being a perfect mission, while less than 50% would be really botching it). It was even possible to complete missions but fail every objective, giving an unsatisfying ending. At the end of the game, there would be a final evaluation from Star Fleet command. A "Very High" score would result in your crew being granted shore leave, while a sufficiently low score would result in Kirk being demoted, removed from command of the Enterprise, or some other bad end.
The original cast of Star Trek provided the voices on the CD version, including William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, and Walter Koenig. The game itself was designed by Jayesh Patel, Bruce Schlickbernd, Michael A. Stackpole, and Elizabeth Danforth.
[edit] Game episodes
The Episodes are as follows:
- Demon World: Settlers belonging to a religious sect have reported being attacked by "Demons" near their mines. Kirk must discover the truth behind these "Demons".
- Hijacked: The USS Masada has not reported in. Upon investigation, The Enterprise discovers that the ship has been captured by Elasi Pirates and are holding the crew hostage. Kirk must discover a way to recover the ship and crew unharmed.
- Love's Labor Jeopardized: Romulans have crossed the Neutral zone and attacked the Federation Research Station Ark 7. Unfortunately, the attack has created a biohazard situation that Enterprise Crew must deal with, as well as the Romulans.
- Another Fine Mess.....: When responding to a distress call from a ship under attack by pirates, the Enterprise discovers none other than Harry Mudd is involved. He is traced to a derelict alien spacecraft. The Enterprise Crew must discover the connection between the derelict, the pirates and Harry Mudd.
- Feathered Serpent: A Klingon Battle Fleet is about to cross into federation space, in pursuit of a "War Criminal". The Enterprise must find this "War Criminal" to prevent a war.
- That Old Devil Moon: Strange power readings have been detected from a large asteroid approaching a pre-warp star system. The Enterprise discovers an ancient nuclear missile base that doesn't realize that the war ended 1000 years earlier, and must prevent it from destroying the native civilization a second time.
- Vengeance: The Enterprise, responding to a distress call from USS Republic, finds it nearly destroyed. Kirk must figure out what destroyed the ship and stop those responsible from striking again. Unlike the other missions, this mission is longer and more complex in the CD version of the game; the original version of this episode consists only of a brief away team segment followed by an extensive ship-to-ship combat sequence.
