As a series of games, the Star Trek franchise must be among one of the worst in history. Despite its unbelievable success on television, developers seem clueless as to how to make a decent videogame out of it. The latest team to try is Bethesda, the developer behind Oblivion.

Although Star Trek: Tactical Assault isn’t a bad game, it’s not very good either. You take on the role as either a Federation or Klingon captain and have to find a nice balance between strategic and action-based tactics to keep the galaxy safe. To try to make you use your brain during a starship battle you have to position your cruiser correctly due to different weapons located on the hull of your ship; if your port-side phaser is drained, you may have to turn the ship starboard to use a photon torpedo situated there. Although these elements have been employed with some degree of success, it’s marred by the fact that you’re also being urged on to destroy enemies with no remorse and eventually it becomes confusing which to concentrate on. Its major flaw, however, is how slow and bland the universe is. We really think a spaceship that has a warp drive should feel a little faster than an ice cream truck and although space isn’t exactly Disney Land, surely Bethesda could’ve done something to make the environment seem a little more interesting?

Trekkies will appreciate the presentation, and the quotes that appear on each loading screen are a nice touch. Unfortunately, the actual game is nothing but mediocre.

Simon Miller