Overview
Despite the bad reviews, I’m convinced that if you like Star Trek or Sci-Fi in general – you should give this game a chance.Here’s my biased plea… argument…
First Impressions
This is pretty close to the look I gave this game while playing it….
Face Palm – the Reviews…
Yes, the reviews are very, very bad for this game – and with very valid reasons.
Taken as a whole, things look bleak for this game. Meta Critic gave a score of 43 which isn’t the worse rating in the world, but certainly isn’t compelling a feeling of being better than mediocre.
Riding on the boot tales of a major theatrical release, developer (Digital Extremes) took shortcuts and caved to the pressure of the ole set in stone release date. Was it ready? My goodness no. Here are some of my favorites negative reviews:
- IncGamers: “More irritating than Neelix: Star Trek is a buggy and broken cover-shooter with cover that doesn’t quite work and shooting that’s no fun.”
- Gameblog: “Rooted in good intentions, but poorly executed.”
- Level7: “Star Trek is a game with a lot of potential. None of which is being used. The game design is old, incomplete and riddled with bugs. The actors make a decent job and the co-op mode is alright but that is the only good things worth mentioning about this otherwise bland and forgettable tie-in to the movie.”
- Gamespot: “Its numerous bugs and linear missions make it frustrating to play, and the story never grabs you like a good sci-fi adventure should. Even the most devoted of Star Trek fans will be hard pressed to find something to like in Star Trek The Video Game: there are simply too many glaring problems.”
- Review scope: “Technical issues: The Video Game , Pros: Lens Flares Cons: Full of bugs and glitches , Dull shooting , Animations , Don’t play it at all, even if someone gives it to you for free. Avoid it”
- IGN: “Playing Star Trek: The Game felt like playing an unfinished version of a game that, even when finished, still wouldn’t be very good. There isn’t a scrap of imagination or originality in this whole thing, and it’s a flat-out waste of the source material, the sound effects, and the voice cast. Even if you’re a life-long Star Trek fan like I am, you don’t want to beam down anywhere near this thing.”
j/k – always Kirk
Technically…
Oh, they aren’t wrong.
Let’s separate the Star Trek portion of this game from the rest of it, and let’s say you’re not a fan of Star Trek – then ‘oh my’ stay away. There are countless problems, ranging from really stupid AI to ridiculously hard bosses, phasers the blow you up without firing a single shot, running around in circles, getting stuck on stairs and ladders – glitches abound. The game is a constant face palm.
BUT
I purchased this game in 2017 from Amazon, and was able to play it without much issues – so yes, the developers did come back and throw some band-aids on it, but even with that, I still noticed tons of issues.
Technically speaking, the game works, you can play it, but as a game in and of itself, it’s not that good of a cover shooter – there are many others out there that I’d recommend – again, if you’re not a Star Trek fan. Unless, that is if you’re a fan on repetitive decision making, bland combat, and ladder climbing.
If you’re a Star Trek fan
If you looked at my profile page, it’s easy to say I’m clearly a Star Trek fan, if you’re a fan, then here are my incredibly biased reasons why you should check it out:
Compared to games released today, or even when the game was initially released in 2013, the graphics aren’t stellar. However, check out these screenshots that I’ve spread through the review. They graphics aren’t too shabby. They are more than good enough to draw you into the game and story.
More notably, the game is designed with the new reboot movies in mind. No longer are we resigned to 1960 type animations, rather we have a chance to see the original Enterprise, Kirk and Spock with a new modern frame of mind.
The three new reboot movies to date are great, but this game adds additional time to explore the new bridge and ship, to hear the voices of the new actors, and to learn more about the Kelvin timeline.
Additionally, the game often reminds me of another reboot movie, a new one featuring the Gorn – specifically because of the way it blends theatrical cut scenes using those same lens flares, actors and ship in the same styling in the movies with the gameplay we’d expect from a PC game.
This is no Elite Force, however this game does offer a change in the types of games that Star Trek has been licensed so far.
As I’ve mentioned before, this is primarily a cover shooter, however during the game play, you’ll be challenged with a variety of different styles including:
- Cover shooter
- Straight FPS missions
- Stealth missions
- Free running / sky diving missions
- Portal like transporter missions
- Piloting the Enterprise herself in a space battle
- In addition to several mini hacking like puzzles throughout the game
Unfortunately, the best way to get into developer’s heads that we want more and better Star Trek games – even some remasters would be nice – is to support the current content and show that there is a valid and continuing interest
Wait for them to go on sale, and pounce.
Perhaps the strong reason to try this game out, has to be because of the Star Trek franchise itself.
The Original Series (TOS) recently celebrated it’s 50th anniversary, and The Next Generation (TNG) it’s 30th. Over 700 episodes and 13 movies, you could literally watch Star Trek 24×7 for an entire month without seeing any duplicates – that’s about 551 hours’ worth of entertainment.
The message of Star Trek in general is very humanistic, meaning belief in that we as humans can build the better future that Star Trek depicts. No matter how crazy the world may look today, pollution, politics, wars, etc. – Star Trek shows us a way forward – an inspiration of hope – where doing the right thing will be the norm in our society.
Should you buy it?
I’m not saying you should or shouldn’t – just don’t dismiss it off hand.
But I did… and I think you should to… 🙂
The game is no longer available for purchase on Steam, but it is still a valid downloadable game on Steam, just head over to Amazon to purchase. When writing this guide is $14.99, enter the code on Steam and you’re good to go.
Final thoughts
I know that this isn’t a traditional guide, but I couldn’t think of a better place to but this. Rating this as a Star Trek game from a Star Trek fan, then I can say – this game was cool. It was great to hear the real voice-acting from the movie actors, the bond between Kirk and Spock is ever present, and the Story was great.
Live long and prosper!
Whether you agree with it or not, if you like how this was presented please like this guide.
As always, feel free to send me a friend request if you’re a Star Trek fan – you’re always welcome – and check out my other guides.