'Bridge Commander' Warps Into Stores

Activision yesterday debuted its first-person strategy game 'Star Trek: Bridge Commander' to rave reviews.

The space simulator puts players in command of a Galaxy-class starship after a solar explosion kills the captain and wipes out a Federation colony. Well-known Star Trek aliens such as the Klingons, Romulans and Cardassians appear in a storyline developed with the help of veteran science-fiction writer D.C. Fontana.

'Bridge Commander' has a recommended retail price of $49.99, but can be ordered from Amazon.com for $44.99. British fans are able to pre-order the title for £24.99 from Amazon.co.uk in anticipation of its March 8 release in the United Kingdom.

Lawrence Holland, president of developer Totally Games, yesterday spoke enthusiastically about the game. "Totally Games is proud to release to trekkers and gamers everywhere the first title to faithfully recreate the experience of being a starship's captain," he said in a press release. "'Star Trek: Bridge Commander' delivers the quintessential Star Trek experience by allowing players to show if they have the right stuff for Starfleet through diplomacy as well as blistering ship to ship combat."

Judging from critical reaction, 'Bridge Commander' has succeeded in meeting these aims. "For just about any Trek fan, this Activision release is also one of the crowning achievements for the franchise," wrote Games Domain's John Brandon, who awarded the game 4.5 out of 5. "[It has] one of the single best interfaces ever created in any game, amazingly photo-realistic graphics (as if they have photos of this stuff), and just a couple of unfortunate flaws that creep up on you like a blind date with a Ferengi."

Ivan Sulic at IGN PC also found a few flaws, but didn't hesitate to give 'Bridge Commander' a score of 9 out of 10. "Fan or not, purchase Bridge Commander," he said. "It's a beautiful, engaging, fun, and tactically sound play that shouldn't be passed up by anyone in possession of a PC capable of handling it."

To find out more about the game, read the official press release or the reviews from Games Domain and PC IGN. Head over to Amazon.com to order your copy with 10% off the recommended retail price and support TrekToday.

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