Posted on: September 3, 2022
pzogel
Verified ownerGames: 424 Reviews: 63
Frustrating and boring
First things first: The version here on GOG works perfectly. You'll have to be content with non-widescreen resolutions and a tiny UI, but in terms of stability, I have no complaints. The same cannot be said about the game itself. Considering how much time the shows spend on a bridge, I've always found the concept of Bridge Commander intriguing. In practice, however, the concept doesn't hold up. For the majority of the campaign, there are three possible types of action: (1) Combat (2) Warping from system to system, searching something (3) Listening to cutscenes or dialogues The emphasis here is on "listen." Despite being the captain, you don't get to say a single word. In fact, your agency boils down to selecting which ship to fire on, adjusting system power distribution, and prioritizing repairs. For 90% of engagements in the game the abilities of your tactical officer are entirely sufficient. For later missions, you're pretty much forced to pilot the ship yourself, which unfortunately also breaks the immersion of being the captain. Furthermore, controlling the ship feels very awkward, making this option even more unappealing. The plot is shallow and generic to where I've found myself quite bored by the endless talking. The game also lacks polish. It's not uncommon that you're forced into a cutscene while you're still on red alert and your main battery is running low. Dialogue of your bridge officers frequently overlaps with cutscene dialogue, and even in critical combat situations, the viewscreen will be occupied by people hailing the ship. For the most part, the game is easy. Occasionally, however, the difficulty ramps up out of nowhere, and you're given a time critical or otherwise difficult task. If you don't know the solution to such a situation, you immediately lose, and since there is no manual saving, you're often forced to replay 15 minutes worth of combat and dialogue over, and over, and over again. This is called trial and error, and it's not fun.
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