Can a 20 year old Star Trek game contain the secrets to a fantastic Action Adventure game for anyone? Well I think so, and in this episode I\’ll attempt to make my case!

Why I think Star Trek the 25th Anniversary has the key ingredients to a great game!

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Intro:

Instead of a game in which you simply rehash events that have been modified into a playable format, Star Trek: 25th Anniversary presents you with all new scenarios that run in the same vein as the original television series.

Graphics
Although the game graphics are clearly unspectacular by today\’s standard, they serve their purpose well. They were able to bring scenes to life that the TV shows budget, would never have allowed for.

Not afraid to have a more advanced look.

Fans got to see well known locations re-imagined, or in one mission, all beat up!

Voices
The digitized voices are available only on the Enhanced CD-ROM version. Playing the CD-ROM version is like acting out as an episode of Star Trek.

The Floppy disk version of the game was too limited on space for the voices.

Voice overs, multiple choice, often funny

**A real challenge*
NO hand holding, you have to look up facts, use tools in the scene. Find them your self.

First scene is a battle, no tutorial. Later in the game there are rather clever things you have to pick up on, to solve locks and puzzles. (This was pre-Google too).

Many missions had a sub-game wherein the player would figure out how to get the redshirt killed, although this would diminish their rating at the end of the mission.

The use of your crew is a key game play element. Turning them from token tagalongs, to full fledged helpers. And they act/help in the way you expect for their character.

Adorable copy protection
As a holdover from the Floppy Disk version, the CD-ROM version retains the copy protection in the form of a star chart inside the instruction manual. This chart must be used in order to choose the correct destination star system for each mission. This is a simple but effective copy protection scheme that fits well into the context of the game, unlike the traditional but tiresome \”find the fifth word on the third page\” routine.

Copy protection via the manual / sector map

The game contains a copy-protection system that asks the player to consult the game\’s manual to find out what star system to warp to on the navigation map. Warping to the wrong system sends the player into either Klingon or Romulan neutral zones, and initiates an extremely difficult battle that often ends in the destruction of the Enterprise.

The lost 4th Season

When the writers wrote this game, they viewed it as the never aired 4th season. And wanted it to feature stories and characters that would have been in that season.

Combined with the voice overs, this gives the game a nearly episodic feel to it. And sucks in the player.

This game manages to cross blur the lines between game and dramatic entertainment. Much how TOR does for me now.

Final Notes:

• One of DeForest Kelley\’s last roles
• When a closeup of Harry Mudd is displayed on Enterprise\’s viewscreen, his facial features are obscured by shadows. This is because Paramount required that when likenesses of real actors or actresses were used in the game, the approval of the actor or actress in question was needed. However, Roger C. Carmel, who played Mudd originally, had passed away by the time the game was made. This problem was only noted near the end of development, and negotiating a solution with Paramount would have delayed the release. Therefore the decision was made not to actually show Mudd\’s face clearly.

Abandonware

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Links:

• Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (PC) – Memory Alpha, the Star Trek Wiki
• DOSBox, an x86 emulator with DOS