Star Trek Starfleet Academy: Starship Bridge Simulator

[Melf]

Porting games can be a good thing — when it's done right. Such was not the case with Interplay's Star Trek Starfleet Academy: Starship Bridge Simulator, which lost most of its charm when it made the jump to the 32X. So much potential was wasted, and perhaps its only real distinction lies in its unnecessarily long name. Read the full review here (http://www.sega-16.com/review_page.php?id=35&title=Star%20Trek%20Starfleet%20Academy:%20Starshi p%20Bridge%20Simulator).

[Obviously]

As stated in the review the PC version came out years after this. It's a port of the SNES version which was the original Starfleet Academy and not the PC version. The PC version is kind of a remake of this game.

[Melf]

Agk, you're right. Lemme fix that.

[Flash1087]

I thought Elite Forces more than made up for this.

Played the SNES version back when I was too young to know any better. I should re-visit it sometime.

[Melf]

I enjoyed Elite Forces greatly (the first one. Haven't played the sequel). I liked how they made it as close to an actual episode as possible, with full intro and everything.

[Obviously]

That's why Bridge Commander and the PC version of Starfleet Academy were so good. They made them feel like an actual episode or movie without sacrificing gameplay, the same goes for Elite Forces. I only played the demo for its sequel because the full version costs more than its worth since it's kind of rare.

Personally I feel Bridge Commander is the best Star Trek game out there, but it's a little too short.

[A Black Falcon]

The pool minigame actually isn't in the SNES game as far as I know, so that's an addition to the 32X version... also, yeah, they definitely improved those 3d models, for sure. I mean, sure, it's impressive that it had 3d models at all on the SNES, but the 32X version clearly looks better and more detailed.

As for the game though (and I just got a copy, which is why I'm posting), it seems okay on first impression, but pretty simplistic. I wish you had more weapon variety (phasers, phasers, phasers, and it's not like you have weapon power to worry about either), a bit better map (having to switch radar ranges is kind of annoying, and why isn't there a large map where you can clearly see stuff in the system you're in? It makes finding things harder than it should be.), but it's fun to fly around and shoot stuff, and the gameplay's decent. So yeah, it could be better, but a nice effort for the 32X.

[profholt82]

I've never fully figured out how to play this game correctly. I like the fact that it's kind of laid back and you can walk around the ship and figure out different stuff to do. I think that graphically it blows the SNES version out of the water. It seems like whenever I actually play it I just screw around for a half hour or so and then some emergency situation happens and I get my ass kicked. One of these days I'll sit down and read a manual for it to figure out what all I'm actually supposed to do. It's definitely a cool game. There's a lot of varied gameplay within the game. It's not just fighting Klingons or Romulons like so many other console Star Trek games.

[Bastardcat]

Get the PC remake, anything else is just a sick joke.
Not to mention the Shat is in it.

[Guntz]

I have this game but since I don't know anything about Star Trek, the most I can do is play the pool mini-game... :(

[TVC 15]

How does it rate in comparison to the SNES original, It certainly looks a tonne better and smoother in videos, but how does it play? Is it any worse or better? A few have suggested it actually plays worse and is more confusing to navigate.

I kinda had a soft spot for the original, though I could imagine its like watching paint dry to non-Trekkers.

[A Black Falcon]

How does it rate in comparison to the SNES original, It certainly looks a tonne better and smoother in videos, but how does it play? Is it any worse or better? A few have suggested it actually plays worse and is more confusing to navigate.

I kinda had a soft spot for the original, though I could imagine its like watching paint dry to non-Trekkers.

I played a little bit of the SNES version, and in the first training mission at least it was indeed much easier to see the beacons on the SNES version -- all four are clearly visible from your starting position and are brightly colored on the SNES. On the 32X though, the graphics are a bit darker, and actually finding all four beacons was tricky and required some time as I figured out how to use the radar and the different radar ranges, which really is the key to finding things in this game -- figuring out how to read the radar (the square means you're on a plane with the object, so don't go up or down if you want to find it; the arrows mean it's above or below you) and what the right radar range is for the current encounter, and when to change it.

Still though, given how much better the graphics are, if you like the game, I'd say definitely try it on 32X>


I've never fully figured out how to play this game correctly. I like the fact that it's kind of laid back and you can walk around the ship and figure out different stuff to do. I think that graphically it blows the SNES version out of the water. It seems like whenever I actually play it I just screw around for a half hour or so and then some emergency situation happens and I get my ass kicked. One of these days I'll sit down and read a manual for it to figure out what all I'm actually supposed to do. It's definitely a cool game. There's a lot of varied gameplay within the game. It's not just fighting Klingons or Romulons like so many other console Star Trek games.

Apart from the radar range issue I describe in my previous reply (and having the manual might help with explaining that, perhaps? I just have the cart.), it's not THAT complex... more complex than a Star Wars Arcade or Shadow Squadron, certainly, but less so than most any PC space sim from the '90s. You only have one weapon most of the time for instance, and it doesn't have a real power meter or overheating or anything like that, so in terms of weapons it's pretty simplistic. It does have much better graphics on 32X and some variety of missions though, yeah.

[Bones Justice]

I enjoyed playing this game mainly because I like the idea of being a captain in Star Trek. But the game could have been a lot better. The single player game is not bad but the two-player mode is a real dissapointment. They just didn't put enough into the two-player game to make it interesting after you've played it even once.

I've never played the SNES version of this game. Is it basically the same game?

My only other Star Trek game is the Next Generations game for Genesis. It's a much better game than this 32X game.

It's too bad they never made a good Star Trek - Wrath of Khan game. Not only was it a great movie but the whole bit about "Genesis" would have given them some great audio clips for the game!

[Phantar]

@Ken: The Title of the review is missing an "r"... it reads "Stafleet Academy". :p I know the "r" is silent, but nevertheless missing.