Star Trek: Bridge Commander

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Star Trek: Bridge Commander puts you in the captain's chair of your very own Galaxy-class starship. Many games have made this claim, but this time, seriously, you're in the chair. Look to your left, and there's your navigator. Look over your shoulder, and there's your science officer. Instead of flying your titanic starship like an X-wing fighter, you direct the movement of your Federation vessel through commands to your capable crew. Some may question why sitting in a space-age La-Z-Boy is such a big deal, but these poor folks just don't realize that La-Z-Boy can move at warp factor 10.

The default view has you in the big chair. Everything is '80s-era beige, confirming that this is indeed the Next Generation. In front of you is the famous view screen. Your engineer, science officer, first officer, tactical officer, and navigator/communications officer are where you'd expect to find them. As events unfold, you can click on these officers and an orders menu opens up. This way you can quickly order your com officer to hail that ship, or the science officer to scan a nearby target. During combat you can order your tactical officer to target certain enemy subsystems (like the warp drive), or you can take control and do your own targeting and firing if you want. Your engineer can be ordered to prioritize repairs or boost power to the weapons. This lets you play like a real captain in that you're hearing reports, giving orders, and taking as much personal control as you like. You can even take a walk about the ship with the keyboard in the optional (and breathtaking) third-person view.

It's very clever how all this works and thankfully the artificial intelligence is more than up to the task. The story here is very deep and very Star Trek, and so are the music, sound effects, and voice acting. Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner (Captain Picard and Commander Data, respectively) are even on hand to give advice during two different points in the story. The missions are very linear and you can only save between them, but there are plenty of branching points that let you handle things your way. Though the main plot doesn't encourage a replay once you finish it, you can extend your enjoyment of the game through full multiplayer options and a handy Instant Action simulator that lets you set up any battle you like.

The graphics are stunning, except when it comes to the people. The stiff character graphics look like something out of 1997's Jedi Knight, rather than real people, and the lip-synching is awful. But you won't be watching people talk nearly as much as you'll be watching Klingon vessels trading punches with massive Romulan warbirds, as the Cardassians and Ferengi skulk nearby and your crew looks to you for your orders. Never has an episode of Trek come to life quite this well. If you winced when Riker piloted the Enterprise with that pop-up Thrustmaster joystick in Star Trek: Insurrection, you love the smell of spark-spewing bridge consoles in the morning, and you've ever wanted to listen to a crewman's so-crazy-it-just-might-work suggestion and reply "Make it so," then this game is for you. --Bob Andrews

Pros:

• Perfectly re-creates Star Trek adventure and combat
• Unique control system works perfectly

Cons:

• Bad lip-synching
• Can only save between missions

Star Trek: Bridge Commander is the first space simulation set in the Next Generation universe and puts you in command of your own Starfleet starship and crew. While you're on duty in a remote area of space, a nearby sun suddenly erupts, releasing a deadly blast that damages your ship, kills your captain, and threatens colonists close by. You must take control of your ship and lead your crew to solve the mystery.

Your mission is to discover the cause of the devastating explosion and prevent it from happening again. During the race you will battle the Cardassians, ally with the Klingons, investigate the Romulans, and reveal a secret plot that threatens the Federation itself. Challenges grow as you and your crew race to find the cause through more than 30 different missions. These include many of Star Trek's fundamental elements: defense, combat, diplomacy, exploration, rescue, and scientific discovery. You will be able to command both Galaxy- and Sovereign-class ships much like the U.S.S. Enterprise-D and U.S.S. Enterprise-E.