Review by: Brian Clair

Star Trek: A Final Unity continues the line of computer games based upon the popular television and movie series. Unlike many of it’s computer based predecessors however, A Final Unity takes the game to a graphical environment. You play the part of Captain Picard, who has command of the famous U.S.S. Enterprise. The game begins with a rather long movie sequence which starts you on your first mission against a Romulan/Beridian Bird of Prey and the opening credits from the television series, complete with theme music. In fact, the game uses the voices of the original Next Generation actors throughout the game to help make it more realistic. I actually feel sorry for everyone but Patrick Stewart though, as many of the lines are exactly the same no matter who you talk to.

Despite this, the game does give you some damn nifty control over the Enterprise herself. You can control navigation, the ship’s computer, tactical, engineering, the transporter room, and more — just like on the television show. In fact, you can directly control everything from repairs and engine power to phaser beams and photon torpedo configurations, it’s all highly detailed. Everything looks sleek and perfect in this regard and the opening movies even use cool sprites to imitate the actors themselves. The graphics in the rest of the game are in SVGA, but are drawn in a more artistic style somewhat different than that used in the various computer consoles.

At this point, you’re probably wondering what this game is about. Basically, you can do what you want, to a point. As you travel throughout the galaxy, you’ll be given certain missions by Starfleet Command and others. Your job is to figure out the various puzzles to complete that mission. Having played through a good chunk of the game, I can tell you that the missions are fairly in-depth and keep true to the Star Trek fashion and world. If this weren’t enough, movies are incorporated into the game during the missions that look just like the television series, which helps the feel of the game. Everything from the holodeck to phasers and tricorders are present which combined with the actors voices and mannerisms helps make this game a true Trek experience.