Star Trek: Encounters Critic Reviews

It's a great value for its $20 debut price tag, and it’s easily my favorite game of any generation based on the Star Trek license.

Takes the tactical combat of Starfleet Command and turns it into action - of which there is not enough. It is not a truly bad Trek product, but the frustrating difficulty level and clumsy controls make playing too much of a chore.

Sure, it’s a little silly that the Enterprise is flinging itself around the galaxy taking out Klingon Birds of Prey to and fro, but there are some classic Trek moments to be had, from beaming off away teams to outrunning the shockwaves of exploding planets.

Crafted in a TV universe that puts less emphasis on warfare, Star Trek: Encounters is a curious choice as a tactical ship combat simulation.

It would be even more fun, though, if I had more ships at my disposal earlier, in a campaign that weren’t so linear, or so dull. Still, for twenty bucks, this is a game worth probing.

This is almost a decent game -- it certainly tries -- and Trekkers looking for an action game could certainly do worse. Avoid beaming in with particularly high expectations and you'll probably get your 15 bucks worth of hot Enterprise vs. Bird of Prey action.

I said it in the review and I'll say it again here: this is a Star Trek game in name only, and it's a crying shame. If only a little more attention to the history of the universe had been applied it wouldn't feel like such a wasted license.

Star Trek Encounters isn’t really worthy of it’s license. It seems to be stuck together by black holes instead of a plot, which would’ve so easily have been afforded with all of the various Treks at their disposal.

Mainly it suffers from being too bland and inconsistent, and while it has some good ideas it doesn't quite deliver on all aspects.

Take away the name and there's little here that resembles the long-running franchise at all. And while playing through different eras of the Trek timeline is a great concept, and definitely has its appeal, the actual gameplay doesn't do it justice.

Best to let this game sit on the shelf and take up its own space.

An absolute mess, crippled by a terrible control scheme and frustrating missions that wear on seemingly forever. And even with six editions of the series supplying the narrative, it's a waste of a great license, offering very little to anyone looking for a franchise fix.

Disciples will be disappointed by the fundamental lack of gameplay depth, even as they might like the surprisingly high level of difficulty, but more casual fans might appreciate being able to grab a quick space battle here and there in skirmish and multiplayer modes.

The stuff that fills the holes between the normally brief – albeit mostly fun – combat takes up way too much time, and feels so banal and lifeless, it manages to overpower the good bits and drag down the whole experience.

Such a total misfire, it's difficult to see how even the most committed of Trekkers will have any fun.

The two-player multiplayer modes basically repeat the same flaws and even add some new ones, such as computer-controlled allies rarely pulling their weight. A waste of a licence, and a waste of your time and money.

Star Trek fans should hate it, and so should people who like games.