Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (PC)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 2.5 stars OK
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 5.6 (2.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Chris Gregson
• Reviewed on: 09/24/1997
• Updated on: 04/12/2000
• Released on: 08/31/1997
• Originally published on GameSpot: Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (PC) Review

I'm not really sure why Interplay decided to start publicizing Starfleet Academy nearly three years before its eventual release, but one thing's for sure: When you start the hype machine that far in advance, the final product had better deliver all the goods as promised, and then some. Unfortunately for Trek fans and gamers whose appetites have been constantly whetted over the past months, Starfleet Academy just isn't up to the task.

In all fairness to the folks who worked on Starfleet Academy, part of the reason for the long incubation process was that the project was put on hold while the game's producer worked on other titles. But that doesn't change the fact that Starfleet Academy looks and plays no better than space combat games from two years ago - and when expectations are as high as they were for this game, that's not gonna cut it.

Starfleet Academy puts you in the Federation uniform of the sheepish David Forester, who's just arrived at Starfleet Academy's Command College in San Francisco. Forester is the commander of a group of cadets with a lot of potential - and a lot of emotional baggage. Two team members get into a squabble at the very first team meeting, and that's just the first of a series of problems involving each and every member of your crew. Add to this the appearance of a reactionary group at the Academy called the Vanguard, who believe all the Federation's problems with the Klingons and Romulans can be solved through brutal retaliation - and the fact that one of your team members sympathizes with this isolationist group - and you can see these aren't going to be carefree school days.

In addition to keeping your cadets on track, you'll also meet Star Trek luminaries such as Hikari Sulu, Pavel Chekhov, and of course the legendary James T. Kirk. All the scenes involving characters at the Academy are handled with full motion video, something of a letdown for those under the impression that the game would give you a chance to move about your quarters or throughout the Academy. And interaction is limited to selecting dialogue responses and then sitting back to see how well you chose.

The acting quality ranges from highly polished (Sulu, Chekhov, and Kirk) to competent (Forester and his fellow cadets) to downright uninspired (some of the enemies you face during simulator missions). There's actually a pretty decent little mystery that unfolds as you progress deeper into the game, but it's just not that compelling a game because the FMV format makes you feel as though you're watching a story rather than taking an active part in its solution.

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