DESCRIPTION

Generally considered by the gaming community as one of the first Star Trek titles to "get it right," Star Trek: The Next Generation — A Final Unity combines quality voice acting from original cast members with tightly meshed QuickTime movies to advance the story. Solving the mystery of A Final Unity requires judicious use of "away team" members' abilities in a series of critical missions, as only four crewmembers can be selected for each.

The level of interaction is left up to the user, partly through the choice of three difficulty levels, partly based on the level of administrative duties assigned to other crewmembers, and partly as a function of personal preference settings. As with the cast, equipment is standard Star Trek fare, with a profusion of phasers, tricorders, med-kits, and typical inventory stock. The complexity of ship control functions is also determined by user preference (hands-on or automated).

As in many Star Trek episodes, the story begins with the U.S.S. Enterprise responding to a distress signal in the Neutral Zone, and the action becomes intense within minutes. Romulans, Garidians, Ferengi, Klingons and more enter the mix as you beam down to exotic worlds, warp around the galaxy, and chart a new course in the highly detailed Star Trek universe. The plot slowly evolves, as missions unlock clues of an ancient race shrouded in mystery.

With actors such as Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brett Spiner, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, and Majel Barrett reprising their roles via voiceovers, Star Trek: The Next Generation — A Final Unity is the next best thing to watching the show on television. The adventurous storyline is rich in detail, with a galaxy full of alien races, exploration, discovery, and tension-building confrontations, held together by nicely rendered cut-scenes. ~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide