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Sony PlayStation
Starfleet Academy
Platform: PlayStation
Publisher: Interplay
Note: The following shots are from the PC version of the game.
The Basics
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Starfleet Academy never saw the light of day on the PlayStation, and frankly, we're not really sure why Interplay decided to start publicizing Starfleet Academy nearly three years before its eventual release for the PC. But one thing's for sure: When you start the hype machine that far in advance, the final product had better deliver all the goods as promised, and then some. Here's a bit about the unfortunate PC game that managed to surface.
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In all fairness to the folks who worked on Starfleet Academy, part of the reason for the long incubation process was that the project was put on hold while the game's producer worked on other titles. But that doesn't change the fact that Starfleet Academy looks and plays no better than space combat games from two years ago - and when expectations are as high as they were for this game, that's not gonna cut it.
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Starfleet Academy put you in the Federation uniform of the sheepish David Forester, who just arrived at Starfleet Academy's Command College in San Francisco. Forester was the commander of a group of cadets with a lot of potential - and a lot of emotional baggage. Two team members got into a squabble at the very first team meeting, and that was just the first of a series of problems involving each and every member of your crew. Added to this the appearance of a reactionary group at the Academy called the Vanguard, who believed all the Federation's problems with the Klingons and Romulans could be solved through brutal retaliation - and the fact that one of your team members sympathized with this isolationist group - and you can see these aren't going to be carefree school days.
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In addition to keeping your cadets on track, you also met Star Trek luminaries such as Hikari Sulu, Pavel Chekhov, and of course the legendary James T. Kirk. All the scenes involving characters at the Academy were handled with full motion video, something of a letdown for those under the impression that the game gave you a chance to move about your quarters or throughout the Academy. And interaction was limited to selecting dialogue responses and then sitting back to see how well you chose.
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WHAT HAPPENED?
The game is currently available for the PC and was originally expected for the PlayStation. Interplay sources say, however, that the PlayStation's 2MB system memory capabilities fall short of what would be needed to make the title work.
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