Subtitled "An Unofficial Guide to The Final Frontier", Mat Bradley-Tschirgi has delivered, via White Owl Books, a curated guide to the interactive worlds of Star Trek in a 150-page hardback that continues the publisher's fine efforts in video game-themed tomes. Come join me as a Voyager on a mission of Discovery to the Strange New Worlds of Trek, as the series remained a source of enjoyment as computers and consoles moved from the previous to The Next Generation. Fitting Deep Space 9 in there was but a futile Enterprise...
When it comes to Star Trek, the sheer magnitude (and varying degrees of quality, licensed and unlicensed titles alike) of games would have made a single volume impossible. And much like the TV shows and films, such a compendium would have highlighted that, when it's at the top of it's game, Trek can match the best that a particular medium can offer, and at its worst, can be a pile of sh...
It isn't heresy for me to say that of something I have enjoyed for the past forty plus years. TOS episodes that enthralled me as a child in the 80's today look cheap, contain woeful dialogue and, lord love a duck, the acting! Oh. The. Acting! That isn't to say there aren't some belters in there, just that as a weekly sci-fi show in the mid-late 60's, Star Trek was far from the cultural beacon it later became. A recent re-watch of TOS was indeed a timely reminder of that and other points: the 1960's were a different time - they did things differently there, but more importantly, even "bad" Trek is still preferable to no Trek*, and so it is with Star Trek games.
The book is divided into several sections, beginning as it should with The Original Series. Much like the TV show, many of the games here have not aged well at all, but that doesn't mean they're not worth playing. Indeed, for that very reason, you should give them a go if you can. EGA Trek, in particular, sounds like an absolute blast!
The Next Gen crew get some really good coverage, as do Deep Space 9 and Voyager. What I really like about the period these shows cover is that technology had moved on, to the point that you could have full motion video (not the panacea it promised to be for video games) as well as more interactive gaming mechanics - I still have a soft spot for Elite Force on the PS2.
In news to me, there are more feature film related games than I realised, and I'd totally forgotten about the Generations tie in. Crossovers receive a smaller section, and the final grouping takes on the Paramount+ era and beyond.
Each entry is clear and concise, and the author has a knowledge and love of the topic that shines through on the pages. Whether a game is good or not is beside the point, because it's their inclusion here that matters. The concepts were considered viable at the time the games were made and, on the whole, you'll not waste your time checking many of these titles out - even the unreleased Star Trek V: The Final Frontier on the NES. Screenshots are vivid and punchy, and there is something timeless about EGA/VGA graphics compared to the full motion video stills.
It's not just about the games though, as there are short interviews with individuals connected to Trek gaming dotted throughout. These add detail and context to many of the featured games and to be honest I would have liked to have seen more of these. That, gentle reader, is my only tribble, I mean, quibble, about this fine book.
For Trek fans and gamers alike, this is an excellent study on the subject of Star Trek gaming and begs the question of a second volume covering some of the more obscure (and maybe the un-licensed) releases. As it stands, this is another great addition to the White Owl collection and is thoroughly recommended.
You can pick up a copy direct from the publisher here, as well as from the usual physical and online bookstores. You can also follow the author on Twitter/X - @MatWBT
* "Bad" is a subjective term. I don't want to get into a long and involved discussion here, but if you consider the renaissance of Trek over that last few years, I'd rather have had several seasons of Discovery and Picard than not. Sure, they varied in quality alot, but that is true of any entertainment medium. All I would suggest is that before hating on a show because it's not your idea of what the show is, give it a chance. You might just end up enjoying it.
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