Page 48 - OSG Presents Classic Gamer Magazine #5

ASSIMILATE THIS!"
" "ASSIMILATE THIS!"

here’s a vast ocean of difference
T between the original (authorized)
Star Trek game and the latest game to
bear the name of that most hallowed and
self-important of sci-fi franchises. But, to
give credit to both Sega and Activision,
both games are a hoot.
The games also say something about
the property on which they are based. In
the various Star Wars games, resource
management is barely a factor to be reck-
oned with; how does one measure the
Force anyway? There are many Star N NOW
OW
HEN
T THEN Wars games in which one can happily
blast away without so much as a twinge Star Trek: Invasion (Activision, 2000)
of fear that the ammo’s about to run dry.
Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simu- Star Trek, on the other hand, is a different Platform: PlayStation
lator (Sega, 1983) animal. This is a show with an ardent
Platforms: coin-op, Atari 2600, Atari faction of fans who collect blueprints, Is this even the same game? Well,
5200, Vectrex technical manuals, and obsess over how yes…sort of. A heads-up display still
this fictional stuff works. (A little hint: it keeps you apprised of your engine and
Actually, to say that Sega originated doesn’t.) I mean, I consider myself a bit weapons levels, but this game – set in
the Star Trek game would be a disservice of a Trekkie, but I weep to think what the Next Generation/Deep Space Nine
to years worth of work by budding pro- these wanna-be warp physicists could be era – really revs up the 3-D element of
grammers. These programmers infringed doing for society if they would apply that the game. No longer are you piloting a
on Paramount’s copyrights back in the same brainpower to real-life problems. stately, city-sized ship such as the Enter-
days when the studio conveniently looked Not all of the show’s fans are like that, but prise. In this game, you’re just one of a
the other way, happy to have anyone re- that segment of the Trekkie population number of hotshot fighter pilots giving the
member Star Trek, as opposed to the frequently scares me. And it’s no acci- Federation’s new Valkyrie fighters their
studio’s spree of web site shutdowns in dent that games based on Star Trek fo- baptism of fire. Whereas the original
the 1990s. Sega’s vector arcade game cus on keeping your ship in good health. Trek game pitted you against Klingons,
combined the resource management ele- Now, bearing in mind that this is perhaps your instructor/commander in Invasion is
ments of the age-old Star Trek computer a little more realistic than chalking it all up none other than Worf, with occasional
game with some elements of a first- to the Force, there’s a part of me that visits from Captain Picard. A new Borg
person shooter…make that only a few would dearly love to blast my way invasion fleet is zipping toward Earth at
elements. The coin-op drew heavily upon through Star Trek: Invasion’s fast-action warp nine-point-eight-five-bajillion, and
the look of the “Kobayashi Maru” simula- battles without worrying about the shields apparently your little squad o’ fighters is
tor depicted in the second Trek flick, and the photon torpedoes. That said, the all that stands between the human race
which – for the time – was really cool. latter-day Trek game wins my classic and assimilation. In addition to the Borg,
(Actually, now that I think about it, it still gaming seal of approval: yes, there are you’re pestered by Romulans, Cardas-
is.) The object of the game is simple: cut scenes, but you can abort them, and sians, and some brand new enemies
defend Federation starbases and wipe most of the briefings from Worf, threats along the way. While the resource man-
out those pesky Klingons, all while from aliens, and so forth occur during the agement angle of Strategic Operations
closely monitoring your phaser, shield, game, rather than Simulator is still there, it doesn’t play as
and warp engine slowing it important a role in this game as simply
energy levels. down. There opening a can of intergalactic whoop-ass
Sound easy? It is a clearly defined on the invading forces. Whereas SOS
wasn’t! Later levels had storyline, but unlike so many kept things strictly on a two-dimensional
whole fleets of Klingons occupying other modern games, the playing field – never would you have to
the same sector of space as the Enter- player is not a slave to that deal with enemy ships firing at you from
prise, making it rather difficult to survive. storyline. I like that – I like it a lot. Inva- above or below – Invasion is a killer simu-
The home versions – among the first sion is a worthy successor. lation of real 3-D space combat, with
home video games ever produced by banks, rolls, strafing runs, and all kinds of
Sega – lacked the graphic and audio flair close calls…if you can master the con-
of the coin-op, but retained most of the trols. It’s actually quite a lot of fun, but
game play elements. the controls can be a little aggravating at
Grade: A+ times – enough to make me pine for the
one-joystick-and-an-action-button days of
the 2600 version.
Grade: B
Classic Gamer Magazine December 2000 48