Star Trek: Generations

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a game by Spectrum Holobyte, and Microforum
Genre: Action
Platforms: PC, Playstation, GameBoy
Editor Rating: 8/10, based on 8 reviews, 12 reviews are shown
User Rating: 7.1/10 - 7 votes
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See also: Star Trek Games

Speccy's last trek game was rather excellent, giving every-thing TNG fans the globe over ever wanted. A decent point-and-click adventure mixed with space combat strategy bits and all the official Trekness you could want: realistic characters, original voice-overs and sound effects and a very stable and accurate Trekkie universe. It was fab. Okay, the format wasn't exactly original, the combat wasn't what you'd call exceptional and it would have been kinda cool if you got to control Picard all the time (instead of messing around with all the four crew members at once) but it was still a fantastic game.

Star Trek: TNG - A Final Unity wasn't actually based on a specific movie plot, but took in a few things from some of the tv series. Star Trek: Generations (as you've probably deduced) on the other hand is based on the film. Now, personally I thought the film wasn't particularly good. In fact I thought it was probably the worst Star Trek film ever made. Thankfully, the game doesn't follow the plot of the film religiously, but expands on the general themes and ideas, taking in the characters, most of the scenarios and adding to them.

At the very beginning these are introduced by way of a pretty lengthy (though very nicely done) intro sequence that sets the scene. An El-Aurian, Soran (played by Malcolm McDowell) is desperately trying to return to a dimension called the Nexus (a kind of ethereal Heaven). To get there he must somehow guide the gateway to his location on a planet where he can hop on board and be transported to ecstasy. Because he's essentially an evil nutter (you wouldn't expect McDowell to play anything else now, would you?), Soran is quite prepared to do absolutely anything to guide the ribbon to receive him, which means that he'll happily hop about the solar system blowing up stars (using probes containing tri-lithium) with complete gay abandon until he's on his way, with absolutely no thought for the billions of people who'll die as a result of his intergalactic pyrotechnics. Your task, as Star Fleet goody-goody, is to stop him at all costs.

Not Next Gen Game Engine

Generations is very different from the first TNG game. For starters, the development team have dropped the tried and tested point-and-click style approach in favour of a first-person 3D perspective view that's just a bit akin to the classic System Shock. It's not Quake (all the characters are sprites), but it's still very impressive nevertheless because of the detailing and amount of different textures used throughout. Developer Simon Ffinch explains: "We decided to go with sprites because it allowed us to be more visually creative. Generations isn't about running around blasting things - it's not meant to be Quake. You can play it that way if you want to, but you won't get very far - that's not what Star Trek is all about. We wanted to create rich and diverse environments that the player could explore and interact with. If we'd looked at using polygons to do this, it would just be too big, or not detailed enough."

In fact detail is a bit of a buzz word at Spectrum. Not only have they recorded another zillion lines of dialogue for the new game, spoken by the original cast, but they've raided Paramount's files for anything and everything to do with Star Trek: TNG. The results should have Treksters shivering in anticipation.

We now know more about Star Trek than Paramount, enthuses Simon. We've had access to all of their stuff -all the blueprints of the space ships, detailed documents on all the worlds featured in the film, all the characters. Basically, it's as accurate and faithful to the TV show and the film as you can get. Players will be able to beam down onto a Romulan ship and everything they see will be just as it should be within the Star Trek: TNG universe. All the equipment you can pick up and use will be genuine - players will be able to completely immerse themselves in the Star Trek universe and see for themselves just what it's like.

FMV definitely not VFM

Although Generations uses clips from the film, the team have made the effort to keep the fmv to an absolute minimum in an attempt to keep the game pacey. In total, there's about 20 minutes, and that includes a rather lengthy intro piece to set the scene in case you haven't seen the movie (like duh?). They've even re-done some of the sequences and music used in the film themselves in an attempt to improve on them, but they've kept them short so they don't intrude.

Obviously, this is a very important licence and the temptation to use as much fmv as you can get away with is difficult to resist, so just how valuable is the licence and how important is fmv in games? Personally, remarks Simon, I couldn't even sit through the intro of Wing IV. fmv, when used like that, is a waste of time and money.

Generations was developed within a seven figure budget - not eight figure - we're not Origin. And you can quote me on that! chips in Marketing Manager Steve Haney.

We're not interested in making interactive movies here, reaffirms Simon. What we want to do is make the Star Trek universe accessible to the fans by re-creating the Trek universe in as much detail as possible. You can't do that with loads of fmv. Hopefully, we've used the licence as best we can. Paramount are certainly very happy with what we've done. Hopefully, all those people who enjoy Star Trek will be too.

Download Star Trek: Generations

PC

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
Playstation

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
Gameboy

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP

Game Reviews

Now all you Trekkies Cur Trekkers, if you will) can put yourself in the middle of the movie that brought two generations together. In Star Trek: Generations, you must stop the crazed Soren from destroying a solar system in order to return to the Nexus.

The gameplay includes first-person perspective levels as well as scenes that put you at the weapons control system of the Enterprise itself.

Another feature will be all the major cast members lending their voices to the game.

Based on the movie that brought two generations of Star Trekkers together, this game drops players into the captain's chair of the Enterprise and warps them into an outer-space adventure. Star Trek: Generations is a mix of first-person action sequences, ship-to-ship strategy battles in the stellar cartography room and original cinematics. It follows the events in the film closely and has you battling the evil Soran across several different worlds. The first-person and space-battle portions of the games are portrayed using 3-D texture-mapped graphics, and the film's music and sound effects are also used in the game. But what really adds aural authenticity to Star Trek: Generations is its use of the voices of the film's cast including William Shatner and Patrick Stewart along with several others.

  • MANUFACTURER - Spectrum Holobyte
  • THEME - ACTION
  • NUMBER OF PLAYERS - 1

Beam aboard Star Trek Generations for the latest round of Star Trek gaming. While some significant flaws crop up, Generations still delivers a fun but mellow puzzle/adventure experience.

Triple Play

Following the plot of the movie, Generations involves the mad scientist Soran, who's trying to return to a mysterious dimension. Playing as various crew members of the Enterprise, you must stop him or a heavily populated planet will be destroyed.

Generations' gameplay falls into three parts: The astrogation room, where you deduce the next logical place to take the Enterprise; a space combat sub-game; and first-person Away missions that resemble Quake but are more puzzle oriented, like System Shock. Most of the fun comes from the Away missions--astrogation and space combat don't really reel you in.

Phasers on Kill

Generations suffers from a few major problems. It lacks any sort of multiplayer capability, and the graphics are far below today's standards, using low-detail sprites rather than 3D objects. The controls are difficult during combat because you must aim the phaser while dodging enemy fire. The biggest problem, however, is that you can't save your game in the middle of a mission.

Despite these problems, Generations is enjoyable. The puzzles are well designed, and the game adheres to the spirit of the Star Trek universe, so run 'n' gun slaughtering gets you nowhere. The superb sound is straight from the movie.

Fans of the Star Trek universe and puzzle/adventure gamers should thoroughly enjoy Generations. Action fiends, however, should steer clear.

ProTips:

  • The Phaser's middle settings are the best default.
  • During space combat with several ships, focus your fire on one at a time.
  • Save your game before running scans in the astrogation room. Everything takes time there.

A star-studded treat for Trek fans, this intriguing action/advetrture game features the entire crew from the flick, including voices by William Shatner, Patrick Stewart, and Malcolm McDowell. Closely following the plot of the movie, gamers must pinpoint the location of Nexus and stop Soran from destroying a solar system. The game-play's split Into three parts; away missions, where you blast baddies and explore In a Doom-style perspective; space combat, where you guide the Enterprise through head-to-head battles with other ships; and stellar cartography, where you use that nifty holographic room seen In the movie to track the Nexus and Sam.

GameBoy takes Star Trek fans where no gamer has gone before with Star Trek: The Next Generation! As a cadet in charge of the USS Enterprise on a training mission, you must take orders from Capt. Jean-Luc Picard as to what your mission will be. At your disposal are the Enterprise's crew members: Lt. Worf, Lt. Commander, Lt Commander LaForge, Lt. O'Brien, and Cmmdr. Riker who will relay messages to you from Capt. Picard. You control everything on the starship: from the transporter to the weapons systems. There is also a password function allowing you to continue a training mission.

You have a limited amount of time to complete each mission. The success or failure of your mission depends on the time limit.

The NES isn't the only game system that will be used to explore new planets and seek out new life. Now the adventures of the Star Trek crew can go wherever you go.

The game play is split into two parts. The first is a side scrolling action game featuring the Enterprise. In these scenes you will face many dangers such as asteroids, space amoebas, and Klingon warships. To your advantage, you can adjust your shields, speed and phasers to give you the edge in certain areas. Once you have made it through a sector on the galactic map you will send a landing party to the planet surface.

The landing party will consist of 3 crew members who will look for the missing pieces to the super weapon known as the Proto-Matter Fusion disrupter. In these screen you go about the planet's surface analyzing resident life-forms and searching for the missing pieces. There are 12 pieces to locate on three different worlds.

Trekkers rejoice! Star Trek: The Next Generation is here, and it's on the ii=J Game Boy! Based on the upcoming movie, ST:G is a combination puzzle and action game, featuring the characters from Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation. The game opens up with Kirk & Co. on the Enterprise, under attack from renegade Tholians. Fight off the Tholians, and then respond to a distress call by a pair of refugee ships caught in a dangerous area of space. The Enterprise takes damage, and Scotty (you) must perform some delicate engineering repairs in order to save the ship. The setting soon switches to the future, and you must guide Data, Geordi, Worf, Riker, and Picard through their respective difficulties in the pursuit of the mysterious Dr. Soren. ST:G is part puzzle, part action, requiring you to guide the ship through danger and solve various puzzles along the way. Beam me up!

THE GOOD

This game has enough variety to keep you from getting bored.

THE BAD

It's too easy! Also, some of these puzzles aren't exactly original.

THE UGLY

Your thumbs, after chasing the Tholians in circles.

Star Trek: Generations by Microprose may take us boldly where no one has gone before, but it also takes us boldly down an inevitable path of frustration. The year is 2371 and you, along with all the popular Next Generation crew, are on the USS Enterprise 1701-D. The game centers around the Nexus, an elusive ribbon of energy, and the lovable but slightly mad Dr. Tolian Soran.

There's nothing particularly stellar about the graphics or sound, although I can't say they were terribly poor in quality, just uninspiring. The controls were confusing and a little too complicated for an action game, where you need to not only think fast, but hit the right key fast as well.

But without a doubt, most of my frustration with Generations centered around its saving options. When I’m playing a difficult game, I generally like to save every few minutes to ensure that I will eventually be able to crawl to the end. Unfortunately, that option wasn’t available during the away missions in this game—one has to complete an entire mission before saving. After starting the game over a number of times to complete Commander Riker’s mission, I became not only frustrated but also disillusioned that I could ever become a good Starfleet officer.

While I enjoyed the thought of "being on" the USS Enterprise, in my opinion this is a game that only a true Trekkie could love.

Captain's Log 9303.16. Starfleet Academy has announced plans to use the Holodeck as a training tool for future officers. A Starfleet communique informs me that Starfleet Cadets must take part in simulated missions, which will provide them with the opportunity to command the Starship Enterprise 1701-D. The missions will be devised to challenge and hone each Cadet's leadership skills.

I am told that the missions will include time<ritical rescues, supply deliveries, and battle scenarios. Cadets will fly progressively challenging missions. This training is designed to ensure that each Cadet develops into a worthy Starfleet Officer, with the ability to interpret and apply the Federation's Prime Directive, even in times of crisis.

You're In Charge

In this game, you take the Captain's Chair and lead the Enterprise through a combina-tion of action, vehicle simulation, and role-play scenarios. You get your orders from none other than Captain Jean Luc Picard of the Starship Enterprise. To graduate from the Academy, you must successfully guide the Enterprise through up to 20 extremely challenging simulations on the Holodeck.

Picard might ask you to guide the Enterprise to a particular planet, take the ship into orbit, and deliver emergency supplies to the planet's surface. In another scenario, a hostile intruder might invade the Enterprise. Your challenge would be to locate the intruder and transport it off the ship.

Make It So

Whatever the scenario, you command the mission from the bridge of the Enterprise. When the ship is traveling in space or taking part in a com bat situation, you have a clear first-person view of the bridge's tiny view-screen. As each scenario develops, the Cadet can issue commands or request status information from any of the five officers -Riker, Worf, LaForge, O'Brien, or Data (no word on what happened to the Enterprise's female officers, Troi and Crusher, or its sage advisor, Cuinan).

Each officer has a specific area of expertise, and can provide you with information or carry out orders. When you contact an officer, you get a one-on-one consultation, complete with a great digitized, animated picture of the officer. During Battle sequences (the game's action segments), you're in the Captain's chair, known among Trekkers as "the Con." From there you can order Phasers and Photon Torpedos to be fired, and watch the battle on the view-screen.

Unfortunately, TNC's sounds aren't as next generation as its graphics. Although the familiar Star Trek theme is there, the Game Boy's limitations prevent the music from generating anything more than a touch of nostalgia in eager Cadets.

The controls are as straightforward as the Game Boy's two buttons demand. Consulting with an officer and initiating different actions is a simple matter of selecting menu options and reading the on-screen data. It takes a few light years of practice, though, to remember which button to hit when.

Boldly Go Where No Game Boy Has Gone Before

Each mission can be completed in several ways, and contains random elements to ensure long-lasting game play. The missions are very tough, so only truly qualified Cadets and those interested in sim-style games will graduate from the Starfleet Academy. Luckily, a password feature lets you restart the Holodeck from your last mission. The action quotient, however, probably isn't high enough for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle wannabees or non-Trekkers.

Trekkers should note that the game is true to Star Trek lore, with appearances by Car-dassians, Vulcans, and Romu-lans. Those familiar with The Next Generation will feel right at home in this miniature Game Boy galaxy.

The Next Generation

As the Star Trek: The Next Generation TV show blasts off into its seventh successful season and the crew prepares to make its motion picture debut in Star Trek VII, you can experience 24th-Century action first-hand in this cart. Starfleet Academy Cadets throughout the universe will want to set their course for a Game Boy and check out Star Trek: The Next Generation. It's available in a solar system near you.

ProTips:

  • Time is of the essence when traveling between planets. Be sure to set your Warp Speed to eight or nine.
  • Locate intruders aboard the Enterprise quickly. Capture them between Force Fields and use the Transporter to beam them off the ship.
  • It's tough to maneuver the ship and fire simultaneously. It's easier to lock on and fire Photon Torpedos than it Is to firePhasers.
  • It's vital to maintain the ship's power. The Warp and Impulse Engines will generate power, but the Shields and Phasers will consume It. Leant to maximize power usage, especially in combat situations where engine damage might occur. You may need to have LaForge reallocate power.
  • As you guide the Enterprise toward a planet and attempt to enter orbit, the best route is through the rectangular images provided by the computer.

After 25 years of interstellar Star Trekking, including voyages through time, space, TV, movies, conventions, and endless merchandise, there's only one place the U.S.S. Enterprise has never gone before: the Game Boy. That is, until now.

A Countdown to Doomsday

Ultra's Star Trek takes us back to the glory days of Captain James T. Kirk, Science Officer Spock, Dr. "Bones" McCoy, and the original cast of America's best-loved sci-fi space opera. In their first handheld episode, a Death Star-impersonating Doomsday Machine is turning mighty planets into gravel in the blink of an eye.

A Proto-Matter Fusion Disruptor was specially crafted by the Federation to stop it, but the ever-vigilant and ever-paranoid Klingons stole the Disruptor and scattered the twelve pieces across the quadrant. In order to preserve galaxy-wide peace, Kirk and crew must reassemble the Disruptor and halt the Doomsday's approach to Federation space.

Warp Speed Ahead

The Disrupter's components are spread out over three planets, so Kirk locks in the coordinates and it's Warp Factor Nine on the double. You take the helm of the Enterprise during side-view, shoot-em-up scenes reminiscent of Gradius and Defender. You out-maneuver, out-run, or simply out-gun spaced-out foes such as Tho-lian Drones, Klingon War Ships, Romulan Birds of Prey, Asteroid Belts, and Space Amoebas over a stretch of space. Several such encounters must be completed be fore you enter planetary orbit Strategy elements include adjustable Enterprise attributes (Shield strength, Phaser power, and Speed) and a course-plotting map.

Solo Landing Party

Upon arrival at a planet, Kirk "beams down" to the surface and sets out on foot to round up four pieces of the Dis-ruptor. This section's overhead search-and-destroy-and-search-some-more, just like the NES cart. Most environments are anything but hospitable, with hostile natives, Klingon booby traps, poisonous planWe, and other hazards making the Cap's life rough going. Sensor readings guide Kirk to each piece, and his Hand Phaser can be adjusted to a Stun or Kill setting. Senior officers occasionally beep him on the communicator with helpful clues and information. Four lives and passwords are provided.

Star Trek in Summary

Star Trek's graphics are basic black-and-white fare and while the theme song is rendered fairly well, ditto for the rest of the music and sounds. The Game Boy mission can't claim to capture the TV show perfectly on the small screen, but its double-challenge gameplay (Space Racin' and Planet Crawlin') demands all sci-fi fans' attention. For loyal Trekkies and first-time star hoppers alike, Star Trek is the logical choice.

ProTips:

  • When your sensor reading displays arrows in all directions, blast the closest rock with your Phaser and you'll find a Disniptor piece.
  • Step only on the black tiles in the Planet Three puzzle room to open the door.
  • Set your Phaser on full power to put most planet inhabitants out of commission.
  • Don't get sucked in by the moonsized asteroids' gravitational pull.
  • Enter shimmering star clusters to warp ahead in the play field.
  • Touch a lone shooting star for an extra Photon Torpedo.
  • In general, set the Enterprise's Speed and Shield strengths high and make Phasers weak.

Star Trek: Generations boldly goes where no gamer wants to go: into a handheld galaxy of frustrating, repetitive combat scenarios.

Not The Next Generation

The story line seems loosely based on the movie: A cosmic phenomenon has trapped a strange ship in a nexus, drawing both Kirk and Picard into a rescue mission.

The game beyins immediately with what else? - combat. You have no photon torpedoes available, just phasers. You must take out several Tholian ships that are attacking for some unknown reason. It's an exercise in frustration, not skill. Blah!

In addition to ship-to-ship combat, there are also Away Team, analysis (puzzle), and is that most players may never even see any of these other areas. The initial combat sequence is so difficult, it may drive players to an early logoff! The control is just mediocre - it's not even the intuitive flight-command style that everyone knows.

The graphics and sounds barely get the job done. After the good initial theme song, the game music becomes loopy. Likewise, the pix could have been better; the enemy ships look like big boxes.

Absolute's Log

ST: Generations isn't a disaster if you give it a chance, but it could've used better game balance and a difficulty-select option. Proceed with caution, young starwalkers.

  • PROTIP: Wait a few seconds for your phasers to recharge before you fire again. Attacking with low power inflicts low damage.

Snapshots and Media

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