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Star Trek: Legacy goes the wrong way

Richard Mitchell — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 11:30:00 EST

Reviews for Star Trek: Legacy are all over the map. They range from 40 to 91 on Metacritic and the game averages 67% on Game Rankings. Bad reviews focus on difficult controls and repetitive gameplay, while good reviews mention the epic battles and storyline. Naturally, Star Trek fans will probably find the most to like about this title. Or will they? Two new trailers for the game have appeared on Marketplace, and we were unimpressed. It's not that the game doesn't look decent, it's just that it really doesn't seem to fit the Trek universe. We put the game in our rental queue just to make sure, but it seems like basing a Star Trek game entirely on space combat isn't really a good idea. By and large, people watch Star Trek for the stories and characters, not epic space battles. Sure, Star Trek has its share of battles, but it's not Star Wars. Most of the fun Trek games we remember (PC and 16-bit era) involved controlling the characters themselves, essentially enacting new episodes of the show. These missions were often punctuated by space battles, but battle was never the sole purpose of the game.

Have any of you played Legacy yet? Is it good, or should we regret putting it in our queue?

Star Trek: Legacy goes the wrong way originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 04 Jan 2007 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Trek Legacy rewards the red shirts

Richard Mitchell — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: News

It's a rule in Star Trek, if you see a guy you've never seen before, and he's wearing a red shirt, he's going to die. Typically these unlucky crew members are brought along on away missions, where they will be eaten by a vicious monster or mangled by a robot or otherwise lethally harmed. In the spirit of the red-shirts, Star Trek: Legacy includes a special achievement: the Anonymous Red-Shirt award. The achievement -- 5 points -- is awarded for being the first player that is destroyed in a 4 person multiplayer game. The other achievements all have names that will probably make sense to die-hard Trek fans, too. The reviews for the game have been mixed so far, but it's nice to see some interesting achievements.

[Thanks, un1qu3 n3wy0rk]

Star Trek Legacy rewards the red shirts originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 13 Dec 2006 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Shipping this week: fishing(!) edition

Richard Mitchell — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: News

The last few weeks for 360 releases have been pretty thin. In fact, last week's only release, Star Trek: Legacy was actually pushed back to this week. If Star Trek doesn't do it for you, then you have only one other game to look forward to this week: Rapala Tournament Fishing! No, we're not super excited for the fishing game, the title actually has an exclamation point in it. So, if you're a Trekkie that loves fishing(!), this is a very big week for you. If by some slim chance you are not a Trekkie that loves fishing, then you should probably just keep playing Gears.

Shipping this week: fishing(!) edition originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 11 Dec 2006 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Trek: Legacy story dematerializes

Richard Mitchell — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: News

Those of you hoping that Star Trek: Legacy will add a bold, new chapter in the Star Trek universe may be disappointed. In a recent forum post, one of Legacy's writers, Derek Chester, warns players that many story elements have been cut from the game. Chester reveals that many intended elements never made it into the game, including rendered cinematics and a great deal of the story that tied the different eras together. In fact, it seems that enough of the story has been cut that Chester will be opening a thread specifically to answer questions about the missing pieces (he even mentions the possibility of novelizing it).

We haven't played the game, so we don't know if the overall story is actually broken or if the cut material deals with minutia that only a Trek fan would care about. Still, you'd think a Star Trek game would be all about fan service to begin with. After all, it's not like Legacy is going to sell a million copies to the Madden crowd*.

*No offense to the Madden loving Trekkies out there.

[Thanks, Scott "Bamelin" Strickland]

A brief shift in the time space continuum caused this story to be published yesterday. We have since repaired the rift and brought it back to the present.

Star Trek: Legacy story dematerializes originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 11 Dec 2006 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Trek writer encourages more storytelling in games

Alan Rose — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 14:35:00 EST

Filed under: PC, Microsoft Xbox 360, Simulations, Strategy, Business

After Bethesda Softworks acquired the rights to make Star Trek games last year, they hired famed screenplay writer D. C. Fontana (Trek, Babylon 5, Earth: Final Conflict) and her writing partner Derek Chester to script the storylines for Star Trek Legacy and Star Trek: Tactical Assault. Fontana's participation in these projects underscores a growing trend in game development, where top writing talent is being brought in to supplement next generation production values. She believes this is healthy for the industry: "Today, the games have to have more going on in them--story, character, crisis or conflict, goals. Because of that, I believe writers will begin to see the possibilities in this form of storytelling."

Fontana also penned Activision's well-received Bridge Commander, and Legacy has promising previews. However, the valuable experience that Hollywood writers and bestselling authors bring to the table doesn't always guarantee a successful game. While R. A. Salvatore's Demon Stone may have been a decent platformer, not even Chris Claremont could save X-Men: The Official Game, and Dungeons & Dragons writer Keith Baker's efforts weren't enough to overcome the uninspired gameplay of Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom. Still, it's refreshing to see a focus on narrative that has served companies like BioWare so well.

Star Trek Legacy will be released next week for the PC and Xbox 360, and will feature the voice talent of all five starship captains from Archer to Janeway. Hopefully, it will fare better than its handheld sibling Tactical Assault, which has suffered a Khan-like wrath from gaming critics.

Trek writer encourages more storytelling in games originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 29 Nov 2006 14:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Trek captains climb aboard Legacy

Joystiq Staff — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 10:55:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, PC, Retro, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Adventure, Simulations, Business

Bethesda announced today that all five actors who played their respective captains in the TV series Star Trek will reprise their roles in the upcoming game Star Trek: Legacy. William Shatner, Patrick Stewart, Scott Bakula, Avery Brooks, and Kate Mulgrew have all signed up to make you feel all warm inside when battling through space.

Currently planned for release this fall on the 360 and PC, Legacy will guide players through all the eras of Star Trek using just about all of the ships. We've played the game on several occasions and if our last impression is anything to go by, getting the voices right could be the least of the developer's worries.

If you're so inclined, check out the full press release after the break.

Continue reading Star Trek captains climb aboard Legacy

Star Trek captains climb aboard Legacy originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 14 Aug 2006 10:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Trek: Legacy updated screens

Alan Rose — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 13:35:00 EST

Filed under: PC, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Online, Strategy

Bethesda Softworks (Elder Scrolls: Oblivion) and Mad Doc Software have released 10 new screens from Star Trek: Legacy, which will combine strategy and squad-based shooting elements across all the Trek settings. Take the captain's chair of Federation, Klingon, Romulan, and Borg vessels this holiday season.

See also: Star Trek Online tidbits

Star Trek: Legacy updated screens originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 03 Jun 2006 13:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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