Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation
a game by Sega, Absolute, and Microprose
Genres: Action, Adventure/RPG, Strategy/War
Platforms: Sega GenesisGenesis, NESNES, GameGear, GameBoy
Editor Rating: 6.2/10, based on 12 reviews
User Rating: 8.7/10 - 3 votes
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See also: 2021 Movies, Star Trek Games

What institution of higher education has the longest waiting list in the galaxy? Every Trekker knows its Starfleet Academy! Now Star Trek the Next Generation: The Advanced Holodeck Tutorial gives you a full-fledged Game Gear scholarship.

You Make It So

You command a Holodeck sim of the il.S.S. Enterprise on a series of space-flight objectives assigned by Starfleet Academy instructor Capt. Jean-Luc Picard. The challenges involve classic TNG scenarios, such as saving plague-threatened colonists and transporting critical diplomatic personnel. Successfully completing each test moves you closer toward graduation.

TNG fans know Starfleet Academy is tough, and this game fulfills those expectations. Completing the scenarios requires you to make split-second decisions based on info from key personnel, then the button-presses fly as you fire up various on-board systems. At least the famous Enterprise crew is on hand at their customary stations: Worf mans weapons and Data monitors sensors, for instance.

Graphics in Control

The Game Gear controls do a workmanlike job of enabling you to cycle through the six crewmen and access the systems at their stations. Phasor-fights are first-person-perspective shoot-em-ups from the Bridge. Establishing orbits around planets requires slick side-view flying from Data's sensor screen. Rerouting critical power takes place through a massive circuit diagram in Engineering, which requires you to make so many quick moves that you fry your fingers along with your brain.

The game's challenge may make the staunchest fans consider dumping their warp cores, but the TV-style visuals should dazzle them into completing their Academy training. The character portraits are right on, thanks to topnotch CC colors.

If the graphics grab aspiring Ensigns, the sounds will solidify their quest for a Starfleet career. The nifty TNG theme music and the warp swooshes are TV true.

Graduation Exercise

Starfleet Academy is no summer school, but Next Generation fans will want to pull Enterprise duty. Engage!

ProTips:

  • When a crewman's emblem flashes and beeps, talk with him immediately.
  • In any situation where a phasor shootout is possible, put the shields up.
  • Attention, Trekkets, Star Trek Generations: Beyond the Nexus (based on.the new movie) is coming to the Game Gear.
  • If the Enterprise suffers more damagf than you can handle, you can always'warp back to the Earth sector for repairs.
  • Make sure La Forge has the shin's power under control before you use Photon Torpedoes.
  • When sensors show other ships are close, check them out before you do anything. Romulans are everywhere.

Download Star Trek: The Next Generation

Genesis

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
  • Game modes: Single game mode

Player controls:

  • Up, Down, Left, Right - Arrow keys
  • Start - Enter (Pause, Menu select, Skip intro, Inventory)
  • "A" Gamepad button - Ctrl (usually Jump or Change weapon)
  • "B" button - Space (Jump, Fire, Menu select)
  • "C" button - Left Shift (Item select)

Use the F12 key to toggle mouse capture / release when using the mouse as a controller.

NES

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
  • P-200, 32 MB RAM
GameGear

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

A fleet of Star Trek games is preparing to beam onto almost every' video game system in the galaxy. This NES game certainly won't be the flagship title, but it has some interesting features nonetheless.

Sensor Reading

Step onto the bridge of the Enterprise and take control of the con. You're a promising Starfleet Academy Cadet, singled but for advanced training on the Holodeck. Captain Jean-Luc Picard is the officer in charge. He presents you with an increasingly challenging series of Tutorials. Your future career depends on each mission's successful completion.

At your disposal are the complete resources of the U.S.S. Enterprise, including the talents of its crew. Using a very complex -- and very annoying -- system of controls, you ask advice of your senior officers and direct them to do everything from putting the Enterprise into orbit to repairing damage to the ship's various systems. Although the many menus provide a range of command options, the button-pressing and scrolling necessary to activate them definitely requires patience under pressure.

ProTips:

  • Getting the ship into, orbit can be ridiculously frustrating, since the ship controls so poorly. Practice during the first mission.
  • It's very hard to hit anything with the Photon Torpedoes. Rely on your Phasers.

During the real-time battle sequences, your attack the enemy vessels that appear onscreen. The idea's a good one, but the sluggish controls will have you ready to resign your commission.

The graphic highlights of the game are the digitized head shots of the Enterprise crew. The representations of the engine systems and the transporter grid are clever, but not eye-popping by current standards. Decent background music relies on the oh-so-familiar Star Trek theme, and various explosions and alert signals punctuate the action.

Starfleet Academy Crib Sheet: Here are two passwords -- Lore and Sela.

Gamers familiar with the Game Boy version may think they've journeyed through a worm hole and gone back in time. It's virtually identical, although not as difficult as the original, chiefly because of the color graphics and larger screen size. A big problem with both games is the dullness of the missions. Info along the way would have made the missions and game play more interesting.

  • If you don't maintain the ship's power, you won't complete your mission. The Warp and Impulse Engines will generate power, but the Shields and Phasers consume it. When LaForge says you have to reallo-cate power, do so.
  • Since you must complete your mission within a certain amount of time, travel at Warp Speeds 8 or 9.

Report, Number One

Trekkers might find this game a good, warm-up for the 16-bit and CD versions of the game hovering in the next sector. The frustrating controls and dull missions, though, will ensure that most cadets are just not willing to make it so.

  • Manufacturer: Spectrum HoloByte
  • Genre: RPG-action
  • Difficulty: medium

Hey, man, these are the voyages - for real. You call the shots aboard the Enterprise, warping around the galaxy to deliver medical supplies, rescue scientists, scrap with Romulans, and complete other missions.

In the course of your Starfleet duties, you find clues about the "Integrated Field Derandomizer" (IFD), an ultimate weapon left behind by an ancient civilization. Let's just say that you'd better find it before the Romulans do!

It's amazing how much stuff there is to do in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and it takes a fair amount of brain power and skill to survive.

However, The Next Generation's biggest strength is that it stays very, very true to the spirit of the show. The designers made sure that the crew's goals and methods are square with Starfleet regulations - mess with that Prime Directive, buddy, and you're outta there quick.

On the down side, it's a little slow. You spend quite a bit of time twiddling your thumbs while you wait to warp to a far corner of space or make repairs. Even the characters walk like somebody turned up the gravity. It makes a few missions - such as rescuing miners in the maze of tunnels below Orientus Alpha IIIB - a real endurance test. But the universe isn't perfect - if it were they'd have found a cure for baldness by the time Picard took over the Enterprise.

Fans of the series won't want to miss The Next Generation, and there's a lot here even for Doug Brumley types who have never seen the show.

  • Machine: NES;
  • Manufacturer: Absolute Entertainment;

The NES version of Star Trek: The Next Generation is a mixed success. On one hand, it's a decent space-combat simulator. You can't compare it to 16-bit titles such as Wing Commander or Warp Speed, but it holds its own against the (admittedly sparse) 8-bit competition. If nothing else, it's a challenging game that should keep players busy for quite a while. But as a translation of the TV series (and soon-to-be motion picture), Star Trek falls short. The obvious difficulties of turning the often talk-heavy show into an action game occasionally became too much for the designers.

Taking a Clint Eastwood approach to interplanetary diplomacy, the game mostly consists of Feringi-stealing-cargo; Feringi-getting-hurt. A few peace-keeping missions focus on planetary evacuations or transporting diplomats, but most of the time the Enterprise roams the galaxy in search of stuff to blow up.

While this is an interesting way to deal with the pond scum of the universe, it doesn't exactly jive with the Prime Directive. But the scenarios that are more familiar to the show's audience can be pretty boring. Evacuations, for example, have you chasing a bunch of radar blips with your transporter target square. And where's the away-team action?

Absolute also made some questionable technical decisions: Was it worth using up memory for slightly animated digitized characters when the transporter radar screen looks like Atari 2600 quality?

Simpler renditions of the crew with multiple colors would have looked better than the yellow and black digitized portraits. So while NES fans can cheer the arrival of a new title, StarTrek: The Next Generation is only slightly above average.

  • Theme: Action/RPG

Sign aboard the Enterprise, and explore the universe. Control every aspect of a working star ship, and travel to the strange planets. There are over 2000 worlds to find. Your overall quest is to piece together the Trinity Puzzle, and along the way you'll meet with Romulans and Ferengi. Wow!

  • # of players: 1-player
  • Difficulty: Moderate
  • Available: March 1993
  • Number of Levels: 8
  • Theme: Action/Adventure

Spectrum Holobyte is boldly going where has gone before - the Super NES, with Star Trek: The Next Generation! You control the Starship Enterprise on several missions that are assigned by the Federation and accidentally stumbled on by yourself. Interact with other races in space from the vast instrumentation onboard, or beam down to a planet's surface or into a space vessel to deal with intergalactic problems and solve interplanetary disputes. There are plenty of digitized pictures from the television series, intermissions and other neat touches that will make you say "Engage!"

People say:

6

This game has a few cool features, like controlling all the aspects of the ship, but I felt put off by the many options. There was little explanation of what each crew member did, and under fire this was lethal. Despite the many things to do, I felt as if I wasn't in command. Some of the options were downright confusing. The graphics were simply average. I bet only Star Trek fans will like it. An average title for the NES.

6

I'm a fan of the Star Trek series and I don't really like this game. The control over the ships' operations was nifty but not very interactive. The crew seems like cardboard cut-outs because they lack the personality of the show characters. The real trouble comes when flying the ship because the control is backwards. You shouldn't push up to fly up. It's very confusing and frustrating, even in the vastness of space.

6

I would probably like this game if I was a big Star Trek fan, but, as it turns out, I'm not. So I don't think much of this game. I think the graphics are pretty decent, the sounds are okay, and the game plays very well. The many missions are welcome, but after playing a while, they become pretty repetitive and it starts to feel like you've played that mission before. Other gamers beware! Only for major Trekkoids!

8

I am a Trekkie of sorts so I might be slightly biased toward this game. The graphics and sounds are nothing special, but for fans of the show it's the adventure, not the action, that will appeal to them. You act as captain, controlling the crew, ship, and everything else. It plays like an interactive adventure game so don't expect too much fighting. Decent for its size but I'd like to see it on the 16-Bit platform with more action.

Climb aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise and take command of the most awesome ship in the galaxy!

As one of an elite group of cadets, you have been chosen to take part in some of the toughest holodeck training missions in Starfleet. Five of the ship's senior officers are poised and ready for any orders you have for them. Each crew member has a specialty and you must know how to use them, in certain situations.

Before a mission, consult with Capt. Jean-Luc Picard. Instructor Emeritus. He will brief you on missions from saving colonists, to transporting cargo, to attacking Ferengi and Romulan ships. How you go about the missions is up to you. Missions are timed, so you must pace yourself through them. Now boldly go where no one has gone before!

  • Manufacturer: SEGA
  • # of players: 1
  • Difficulty: HARD
  • Theme: ADVENTURE

The popular Star Trek series can now be played on your Genesis. The concept and theme of this game is very clear - deter any hostile ships and restore peace in Federation space. In order to do this you have to control the Enterprise and its crew. You must respond to any distress signals or protect Federation space from Romulans and other life-forms. The crew of the Enterprise will gather information and resources to aid you on this adventure through space. Pay attention to Picard's advice on your travels to distant planets and worlds where the enemy awaits.

  • Manufacturer: Sega
  • Machine: Genesis
  • Theme: Adventure

People say:

7

Star Trek: TNG is a good re-creation of the show. The graphics and story line are pretty good, too. Yet, it's difficult to get into, but most fans will like it. The audio is standard Genesis fare, but the cinemas are nice. The interface is pretty good, and you get the feeling of really being in control. If you are a fan of Star Trek, Sega has made this game for you. I just wish that the graphics weren't as dark as they are.

7

Well here we are with Star Trek on yet another format. I like the concept behind this one and it's fun to play, but not without shortcomings. There's this recurring tendency of your characters to not move the way you want them to. Is it bad control? That's one way of putting it. Also, the cheapness of enemy attacks suddenly popping out of nowhere is a pain in the rear. A good game hampered by a few problems.

5

I like Star Trek: TNG the TV series, but I can't say the same about this game. Maybe it's because I don't like these types of games. As far as graphics, I think that everything was drawn pretty well. The sound was also done exceptionally well right down to the transport sound effect. If you're the kind that likes games that you won't get tired of, this game has plenty of different missions.

6

If you're a diehard RPG or Trek fan, you might consider looking at this one. The digitized graphics, animations, and sound effects are mediocre. The thing that really kills it is the game controls on the planet. Once you beam down on a planets, you get zapped by the enemy. The battle scenes in space are very difficult. It's not fair to be attacked by three ships while having a limited supply of weapons. Too bad...

Although this version of Next Generation doesn't quite reach warp speed, it's a varied and absorbing game. At the helm of the Starship Enterprise, you navigate across the universe, completing various smaller missions. At each step in your travels, you'll accumulate the pieces of the puzzle that will help you solve a greater mystery affecting the entire Federation and its most dangerous enemies.

Set Phasers to Stun

You command the Enterprise from the Bridge, but you also have access (via a series of graphic-adventure-style menus) to the Conn (navigational controls) and Computer, Engineering, Security, and Tactical systems. Communications with other ships and Starfleet give you clues and directions that help you pursue your mission. Once underway, you set your course, determine warp speed, monitor the ship's systems, search computer files for crucial information, fire phasers and photon torpedoes, and even send out Away Teams.

ProTips:

  • During Away Team missions, always walk with your phaser ready to stun.
  • When a battle occurs and the enemy hails you, respond to the hail. Destroying an enemy ship will generally bring more trouble than it's worth.
  • Pay close attention to what this alien tells you. It'll give you important clues for later in the game.

The action all sounds authentic, and in many ways, it is. The varied game play from the first-person bridge perspective to the overhead-view role-play-style Away Team explorations, captures much of the flavor of the television show. Unfortunately, uneven action, such as long, repetitive exploration of mines, slows the game just when the story line starts getting absorbing. Similarly, the frustratingly awkward controls will make more many officers feel like resigning their commission. And of course, it's just not yet possible to capture the complex characters of a show like Star Trek in a 16-bit video game.

Repair the alien ship by searching for replacement parts and installing them.

Make It So

Despite the gaps in the game play, most residents of the Federation are really gonna want to like this game -- and Next Generation's stellar graphics really help to "make it so." Bridge views that scroll 360 degrees, the familiar TNG faces, and other authentic details bring the game to life.

Although delightfully familiar, the Next Generation theme song gets repetitive at times. Really cool sound FX include the Red Alert klaxon, Communications hails, familiar sounds of the Transporter in operation, and phasers firing.

Engage!

This Genesis game isn't quite the same as the SNES game released earlier this year, but it's close enough that Starfleet officers who survived the SNES mission won't encounter enough surprises to make it worth a second play. Those with a choice will want to opt for a commission on an SNES voyage. Either way, fans should definitely set a course for this first generation of TNG games.

The Enterprise is finally about to enter Genesis space. Star Trek: The Next Generation is due to be released by Sega in March. This long-awaited 24-meg action/adventure game will enable you to command the U.S.S. Enterprise 1701-D.

A Strange Hem Story

The game warps you into several types of game play challenge which are woven into an intriguing story line. During a routine mission, the Enterprise encounters a derelict spaceship. Captain Picard brings the crew out of suspended animation and finds that they seek a legendary omnipotent device. The device was created thousands of years ago, but it was so powerful that its creators, fearful that it would fall into evil hands, sent it into the future, where it reappears every 10,000 years.

A Trek for Trekkers

Trek will combine several interesting game play interfaces. You'll start out on the Enterprise bridge with a first-person perspective. Full-screen displays enable you to use such ship's stations as the Sensors, the Computer, and Engineering, as if you're the crewman on duty. Although fighting is always the last resort (as in the television show), you'll engage the starships of Romulan, Ferengi, and other races in face-to- face confrontations, some of which will end up in Phaser shoot-outs.

When it comes time to carry on outside the ship, you pick an Away Team based on the talents of your crew. Commander Riker, Data, Dr. Crusher, Worf, Geordi, and Counselor Troi are among the crew members eligible. Of course, you have a full complement of "expendable" crewmen.

Away Team missions appear in a 3/4-overhead perspective and take place on various planets and ships.

You'll be able to switch control among the Away Team members, so that the Team can accomplish several tasks at once, in real time.

A Genesis Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation sounds like it's going to satisfy even hard-core Trek aficionados...and it had better! Since there are no fans like Star Trek fans, let's hope Sega can make it so.

Snapshots and Media

Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Screenshots

NES/Famicom/Dendy Screenshots

GameGear Screenshots

GameBoy Screenshots

See Also

Viewing games 1 to 2
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