Star Trek™: Starfleet Academy

Apretty good "first try" at simulating Star Trek starship combat in a "real world" sort of sense. "Klingon Academy" and "Bridge Commander" excelled beyond what this game, but it's still pretty good. The creators were VERY ambitious, and they didn't always succeed. For example, the release version flew like a fighter rather than a STARSHIP, but they eventually added a speed slider and at the low end, it feels like "Star Trek" again. They initially wanted more of a "star trek" feel, with lots of diplomacy and exploration but the game ended up being mainly about combat (which led to the sequel, "Klingon Academy.") The graphics are true 3D, but only 620x480. (Klingon Academy improved that dramatically.) The game has several missions which are nearly impossible... expect to play them over and over and over until random events "all flip the right way" so you can complete those missions. This can be frustrating. But... while not PERFECT, this is a fun game. where you get to command a starship, The acting is fine, but not spectacular. This set does not currently include the "Chekov's Missions" expansion. Those are a loss... several fun missions including recreations of several "tv-series" scenarios. Finally, note that GoG has included the nearly-impossible-to find "DVD version" videos as part of this release.. significantly better than the version you'll have seen if you have the CD version, as I do. No black interlacing lines, and no "compression artifact" distortions. That alone is enough to recommend this version.

Think you've got the stones to be a proper Starfleet Captain? How's your tractor beam been doing? Maybe your inter-species conflict resolution skills? Care to find out? This is one of the last truly great space sims, coupled with an FMV game which wouldn't be too bad by itself, actually. Put the two together, and you have Starfleet Academy! Missions can get hectic, with solutions that may not present themselves at the simple blast of a phaser. Can't take out all your problems that way, up in space. Combine that with a few appearances by Shatner himself, and you've got one heck of an experience. Just remember - there's more to life than graduating top of your class!

I loved this game and played for hours with my roommates. I glad to see it here officially supported. Please enable multiplayer over the internet. Wtih Galaxy available now I bet it can be done. Please do it.

This has been a great title of the FMA Spaceflight era. Overall it is a lot like Wing Commander 3 and 4, except it's Star Trek. Ship combat is a lot slower than in the Wing Commander games. You'll have to put a bit more effort on energy management and positioning rather than keeping your crosshair on the target all the time. When taking damage, systems will go offline and you'll need to manage repair priorities. Since you are in simulated missions, you'll have to follow Starfleet protocol and will be graded on your conduct. Aside from the simulator missions, you'll make decisions in the FMA sequences regarding events on campus. Props to GoG's to patch the game to run on modern systems!

This is as great as it was in 1997! Luckily, I had my Checkov's Missions CD so I was able to install them too! Joystick not working well, but that doesn't matter; it can easily be a keyboard game. The choices are great and the game has VIDEO of actual LIVE PEOPLE for the cutscences; none of that cheap assed machinema that Mysteries of the Sith pulled. Some of the issues were corrected in Klingon Academy (why isn't that offered here?) such as phasers looking like phasers! However, the MP in THIS game is far better with Galactic War, Capture the Flag, and Net Profit and Mo Profit games! Furthermore, the Photon Torpedoes in this game are far more accurate than the crap in Klingon Academy! Add to that the simplicity of the firing views, and this game wins out over KA in a few categories!