Good Star Trekish games?

I'm looking for a good star trek like game. Can been on PC, Wii or ps3. It would have to be older as I can't just play STO because my PC isn't up to the task. I'd checked steam and GOG and was surprised they didn't have any trek games expect online and the movie one. Would be nice to get a game that you were able to move a character as well as a ship but that seems rare. One I was looking at was FTL heard that was good. Also looked at Sword of the Stars.

Mass Effect yo.

@phili151: yeah thought about getting the trio on ps3. Can't really fly the ship though. Has a lot of star trek though.

FTL is a pretty good choice too but yeah Mass Effect is where its at.

I don't have anything particularly useful to add, except that it's the element of being an actual captain of a ship with a crew, giving orders, that has been least effectively captured in video games outside of maybe STO and the old Star Trek adventure games.

Star Trek: bridge commander was pretty rad. But yeah, I agree with you in that it's a little explored (heh) genre. Even STO didn't quite get it right.

If you've got 6 people, Artemis!

This.

There aren't many games that are what you want. Star Trek Online, Star Citizen and EVE are the short list.

FTL is really good but doesn't really fit your parameters. Sword of the Stars is a 4X strategy game and is not at all what you are looking for. Mass Effect is also extremely good but it doesn't have any ship gameplay at all.

It's extremely complicated, with a really obtuse UI, but 3000AD's Universal Combat that was just released for free on Steam is kinda all about the Star Trek style starship. Just how steep the learning curve is can't be overstated - there's a three page keyboard map, a 97 page beginner's guide and stuff like that, but once you get past that (certainly won't be done quickly), you get your hands on a starship with a large crew which you can assign individual duties to, send down to planets on shuttles, assign to fighter escorts and all kinds of stuff. The graphics are pretty aged if you care about that part, but I recommend at least giving the free Steam version a try.

An older game that surprisingly looks a bit better visually is Particle System's Independence War, which you can find on GOG. It's a bit more focused on combat, but you get a capital ship with four bridge stations, and which has a detachable bridge á la TNG.

The sequel, Independence War 2, which is also on GOG, starts off with more Wing Commander-esque fighter ships and stuff, even though you get access to cruisers later in the game, so it doesn't feel quite the same.

Another much older series which I hope will come to GOG/Steam/whatever at some point is Omnitrend's Rules of Engagement and Breach series, Rules of Engagement was heavily inspired by TNG, where you essentially control a starship from the Star Trek LCARS interface, and the game was interconnected with Breach, which was a turn based tactical game like X-COM, where you would play your crew's away missions, boardings and stuff like that.

Mass Effect strikes me much more as a Babylon 5 kind of thing tonally. I like Babylon 5, but it ain't Star Trek.

There's supposedly a fan made sequel to Star Trek: Bridge Commander in the works, which have been given authorization by CBS to use Star Trek ships and characters, so if that ever gets finished it could be exactly what we all wish for.

FTL.

if you ain't rerouting power you ain't star trekkin.

It's been said but FTL!

The pc game Distant Worlds: Universe has a really great Star Trek mod! Picard-era or something, i've watched some youtube vids of it, looks neat! 4x Federation fun!

I just came here to talk about Artemis, only to find somebody already did. Glad to see I'm not the only one who knows about that game.

Space Station 13

Mass Effect is what you want. If you haven't played Mass Effect, you should play Mass Effect.

I don't seem to remember the Star Trek episodes where insane clowns are killing everybody, or the janitorial staff are sabotaging the corridors. There is plenty of forced roboticization though so maybe I'll let it pass.

I second the recommendation of Independence War. I found it damn hard, but it's exactly what you are asking for.

That and Bridge Commander, which is probably the most Star Trek, of the Star Trek games out there.

The Star Trek Armada 3 mod for Sins of a Solar Empire Rebellion is a damn good time, especially with friends. You can end up having massive fleet battles with the ship number nearing triple digits in some gravity wells. But seeing as you said you can't run STO, I'm not sure if your PC would be up to snuff, but I got a few friends who are able to play Sins on laptops.

Then you didn't watch Voyager. Can't fault you for that though.

@masterbrief: The ultimate Star Trek type game is Mass Effect 2. Incredible story, and the side missions (loyalty quests) feel a lot like individual episodes in a series of Star Trek.

uhhhh... guys...

ARTEMIS?

It's the only real Spaceship Bridge Simulator.

Wasn't that old Voyager FPS game really highly thought of. I mean it's probably 15 years ago so your mileage may vary but yeah. Probably better than the Star Trek Generations game I still have for Gameboy.

It was a great FPS set in the Star Trek universe, but I can't say it stays particularly true to the ideas behind Star Trek. There are some weird role-playing servers akin to ARMA's Altis Life though, where people get really angry if you draw your phaser, and really like just sitting in the mess hall.

The ONLY answer. Oh god, so good.

Spaceteam

@mellotronrules: brilliant sir. 5 stars

Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force was it's name, it was/is really good, though it has kind of become a victim of time in that you can't really find it anywhere but used physical copies.

Anyways I recommend a game called Consortium, it's short and ends on a cliff hanger, but it's pretty cheap on Steam during sales and is like playing an episode of Next Generation, sort of.

I'll throw in a recommendation for Star Control 2. It's very obviously influenced by Star Trek, but it's way more humorous. Though it's available on GOG, I'd go for the Ur-Quan Masters which adds the voice acting (which is awesome) and remastered music from the 3DO version.

The old point 'n click adventure games (Star Trek 25th Anniversary and Judgment Rites) are really good too. The CD-ROM versions even features the original actors reprising their roles. I didn't even like Star Trek all that much and still found them very enjoyable. It's a shame they aren't available for purchase anywhere nowadays. I'd imagine they're stuck in some weird rights limbo with Interplay gone. Hopefully GOG can work something out in the future.

I also second the recommendation for Star Control 2. In its Ur-Quan Masters form at least, a free download sanctioned by its devs. That game is a true classic that blew my mind.

Older Star Trek games you ask? One of them has to be Bridge Commander. You'll have to find it on Amazon or Ebay. Not sure if it's on GOG. You play as the captain of the USS Dauntless which is basically you're very own Enterprise-D. The Next Generation characters do make an appearance in both cut-scenes and missions. Graphics are not its strong point but if you're a Star Trek fan, it's a must play.

The Star Trek Armada series are decent strategy games. For FPS, The Elite Force series are pretty good. They're based on the Id Tech 3 engine so it's easy on the eyes for an old game. The Enterprise-E and it's characters make an appearance as well. The first has you on Voyager and the second on the Enterprise-E.

Star Trek-ish game? More like Star Trek-is lame!

ha HA

...I'm sorry.

Sword of the Stars is a 4x and not really something I'd call Star Trek-ish. It's a very good game though and you should play it if you like space 4x with emphasis on combat.

Oh, another oldie if you aren't too picky about graphics - Starflight. Sandbox space exploration game from 1986 with diplomacy, alien languages, crew and resource management, planetary landings (and scanning for all you Mass Effect fans) and an overarching plot about mysteriously dying stars. If you have access to a Sega Genesis, that's the preferable version, but the slightly more dated PC versions of Starflight 1+2 are sold in a cheap bundle on GOG.

'Nexus: The Jupiter Incident' is worth checking out. It's probably dirt cheap on Steam.

The Homeworld remakes are out soon too, which aren't necessarily that Star Trekish, but whatever, Star Trek sucks anyway.

I remember Elite Force(s?) as being fun, but that may be a rose-tinted optical visor.

Could get 5 friends and a bunch of laptops and try Artemis?

I got Master of Orion 1 and 2 off got,they had very high praise and then sins of a solar empire. Gonna get FTL and also Bridge Commander and some star trek game on the Wii. Also that Artemis game looks super fun but only have 2 guys that would play it with me. Thanks for the suggestions duders keep em coming. Also Elite Force was fucking awesome.