Star Trek: 25th Anniversary

The Good
Alright. In actuality, I am not a Trekkie. I do enjoy the show, particularly the original, Next Generation, and Voyager, a good bit. I'm sorry, but DS9 just doesn't appeal to me. Anyway, obviously people who go to conventions dressed as Klingons (and moreover bother to learn the language) would find just about any Trek game satisfying. But this is truly Gaming Goodness (to use the PC Gamer terminology) and I wouldn't doubt that almost any person who enjoys adventure gaming would enjoy this program. Even if there were no Star Trek legacy behind it, Star Trek: 25th Anniversary is a great play.

First off, the quality is evident everywhere. The graphics, sound, and voice-acting are all top-notch for the era. No skimping here, people. The environments look like you would expect to see in the original Trek. Only better, thanks to computer graphics. Then the voice acting seems to be done by at least some of the original actors, as it is authentic as these things come. No flatness, almost no awkwardness. It's, for the most part, natural and believable. Combined with the dialogue, which is usually well written (there are campy moments from time to time), the speech in the game serves to bring you into it and keep you there.

Plots are vintage Star Trek. And, after all, isn't one of the things which kept us coming back to the TV series the great, often bizaare plotlines? It probably wasn't the female crew in short skirts. Or was it? Be that as it may, the plotlines here are great for the most part. Without repeating stale plotlines from the show, 25th Anniversary succeeds in bringing the best of the show's feel and blending it with good puzzles to create excellent game content.

Finally, there is actually replayability here. What?? In an adventure game?? Yes! After each mission, you are presented with a rating that tells you how well you did at completing your tasks in the best Star Fleet tradition (yes, that does usually mean non-violence). Not only are you here to solve puzzles, but, in like a good Star Fleet officer, you are a diplomat and explorer as well. So don't miss out any chance to make a good impression on the other beings that you meet throughout the game. This ratings system is where the replayability comes in. There is alot of motivation to come back and see what you might have done differently for a better score.

The Bad
At times the music was rather annoying, despite it being good on the whole.

Also, the game is rather short. Especially if you like it as much as me. Why can't they make more like this?

And finally, there were a couple places where you could get stuck because you missed something in a previous area (like the ship).

The Bottom Line
If you like adventure gaming, this one's one of the best in the business. In my opinion, it stands with such classics as Gabriel Knight and Monkey Island.