Star Trek: Borg

Last updated
Star Trek: Borg
Star Trek Borg cover.jpg
Developer(s) Simon & Schuster
Publisher(s) Simon & Schuster
Director(s) James L. Conway
Producer(s) Dan Dugan
Programmer(s) Peter Mackey
Artist(s) Michael Mayer
Writer(s) Hilary Bader
Composer(s) Dennis McCarthy, Kevin Kiner
Series Star Trek
Platform(s) Mac OS, Windows
Release
  • NA: November 18, 1996 [1]
  • EU: 1996
Genre(s) Interactive movie
Mode(s) Single-player

Star Trek: Borg is an interactive movie PC game and audiobook set in the Star Trek universe. It was written by Hilary Bader, directed by James L. Conway, and featured an original score by Dennis McCarthy. It was released in 1996 by Simon & Schuster for PC and Macintosh.

Contents

Plot and gameplay

In the midst of a Borg invasion ten years after the Battle of Wolf 359, Starfleet Cadet Qaylan Furlong is given an opportunity by Q (John de Lancie) to go back in time and prevent his father's death in the historic battle.

Q sends Qaylan to the USS Righteous, an Excelsior-class ship on which his father is serving, just before the Battle of Wolf 359. Originally, the ship's security officer Coris Sprint was killed by a Borg intruder over four hours before the battle. Q gives Qaylan control of Sprint's body at this point, allowing him to change history. Since Sprint is Bijani (a heretofore unseen alien race) he has the ability to go into a "Bijani Pain Trance" which allows him to complete jobs even when feeling immense pain. This plot device later becomes an important part of the story.

Meanwhile, Q takes over the role of Dr. Thaddeus Quint, whose personality is similar to Q's.

At several points throughout the game, the player (Qaylan) is given multiple choices about what actions should be taken in various situations. Each action has a correct choice and several wrong choices. If the wrong choice is made the game either ends (e.g., ship destruction), or is re-routed back to the choice point (e.g., told to try again). In cases where the game ends, Q will reset time and allow the player to try again. It is often necessary to fail (and die) in order to gain information and then utilize Q's power to "reset" time to put that information to use. If the player makes too many mistakes, however, Q becomes bored and the game ends.

Once the player has correctly completed all choices, Qaylan succeeds in modulating the ship's shields during the Battle of Wolf 359, rendering the ship invisible to the Borg and saving the crew. Q will then reveal himself and express surprise at what Qaylan has accomplished. To preserve the timeline, he transports both the ship and crew 10 years into the future. The crew of the Righteous then leave to link up with the rest of Starfleet in repelling the new Borg invasion.

Production

The script for the game was written by Hilary J. Bader; Bader began as Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) season 3 writing intern, and also wrote the TNG episodes "The Loss", "Hero Worship", and "Dark Page" (3 total for TNG). [2] [3] [4] Bader went on to write for many children's cartoon shows and comic books, and also wrote for the computer game Star Trek: Klingon . [3]

The live action segments of Star Trek: Borg were directed by James L. Conway and featured the return of John de Lancie as Q. The duo had previously worked together on the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Death Wish". [5] The filming of the live action segments of the game took place at the same time as Star Trek: First Contact . Conway had been competing to direct that film against The Next Generation cast member Jonathan Frakes but lost out. [5] However, Frakes did also direct the audiobook version of the game. [6]

The USS Righteous sets are mostly redressed versions of the sets of the USS Voyager from the Star Trek: Voyager series, with the exception of the bridge, which was a redressed form of the bridge of the USS Excelsior as seen in the Voyager episode "Flashback".

Visual effects shots for this game were originally produced for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9) pilot episode "Emissary" which also depicts the Battle of Wolf 359.

With the exception of Murray Rubinstein and some minor players, the entire cast has appeared on one or more of the Star Trek TV series. For example, Jeff Allin also guest-starred as a single parent in the TNG episode "Imaginary Friend"; John Cothran Jr. has played two different Klingon characters on TNG and DS9; and Marnie McPhail played one of the Enterprise-E crewmembers in Star Trek: First Contact (in which her character is also assimilated by the Borg).

The soundtrack to the game was later published by composer Dennis McCarthy on his own label in 2008. [7]

Reception

Chris Hudak gave the game 4.1/10 in his review for GameSpot, and said that Star Trek: Borg didn't live up to the potential of the source material. While he described de Lancie's performance as "superb" but "wasted here", [8] he said that the game was a "quick-pick-a-path mess". [8] Furthermore, he felt that due to the interactive movie elements of the gameplay, it didn't feel much like a game at all. [8] However, Roy Bassave, writing for the Knight-Ridder media group and published in The Buffalo News praised the game and said that it had superior production values to the First Contact film. [9]

Barbara Krasnoff, of Computer Shopper , found fault with the game's interface, saying that it was hard to get the game to accept mouse clicks when you needed to select a series of numbers. She overall found it lacked challenge as if you were to die, then you are resurrected without penalty, but thought that it would be well received by fans of the franchise. [10] The review in The Boston Herald made it clear that the game would only be received positively by fans, saying that the gameplay moved "incredibly slow". [11] It did praise the plot, stating that it was "interesting and offers some funny and trademark-Trek moments for even the mildest fan". [11] It gave the game a score of two and a half out of five. [11] The game was later called a "bright spot" of Star Trek gaming by James Lileks of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune . [12]

In September 2017, PC Gamer ranked Star Trek: Borg among the best Star Trek games. [13]

Related Research Articles

<i>Star Trek: The Next Generation</i> American science fiction television series

Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry. It originally aired from September 28, 1987, to May 23, 1994, in syndication, spanning 178 episodes over seven seasons. The third series in the Star Trek franchise, it was inspired by Star Trek: The Original Series. Set in the latter third of the 24th century, when Earth is part of the United Federation of Planets, it follows the adventures of a Starfleet starship, the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), in its exploration of the Alpha quadrant and Beta quadrant in the Milky Way galaxy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Worf</span> Fictional character from Star Trek

Worf, son of Mogh is a fictional character in the Star Trek franchise, portrayed by actor Michael Dorn. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG), seasons four through seven of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9), and the third and final season of Star Trek: Picard, as well as the feature films Star Trek Generations (1994), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).

In the Star Trek science-fiction franchise, the Maquis are a 24th-century paramilitary organization-terrorist group. The group is introduced in the two-part episode "The Maquis" of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, building on a plot foundation introduced in the episode "Journey's End" of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and appear in later episodes of those two series as well as Star Trek: Voyager. The Maquis story debuted when three Star Trek television shows running from 1987 to 2001 took place in the same fictional science-fiction universe at the same time in the future. As a result, the Maquis story was told across several episodes in all three shows. The Maquis are especially prominent in Star Trek: Voyager, whose premise is that a Starfleet crew and a Maquis crew are stranded together on the opposite side of the Galaxy.

Q (<i>Star Trek</i>) Fictional character from Star Trek, played by John de Lancie

Q is a fictional character, as well as the name of a race, in Star Trek, appearing in the Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Lower Decks, and Picard series and in related media. The most familiar Q is portrayed by John de Lancie. He is an extra-dimensional being of unknown origin who possesses immeasurable power over time, space, the laws of physics, and reality itself, being capable of altering it to his whim. Despite his vast knowledge and experience spanning untold eons, he is not above practical jokes for his personal amusement, for a Machiavellian or manipulative purpose, or to prove a point. He is said to be almost completely omnipotent and he is continually evasive regarding his true motivations.

Star Trek: Voyager is an American science fiction series created by Rick Berman, Michael Piller and Jeri Taylor. It aired from January 16, 1995, to May 23, 2001, on UPN, with 172 episodes over seven seasons. The fifth series in the Star Trek franchise, it served as the fourth after Star Trek: The Original Series. Set in the 24th century, when Earth is part of a United Federation of Planets, it follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager as it attempts to return home to the Alpha Quadrant after being stranded in the Delta Quadrant on the far side of the galaxy.

In the Star Trek fictional universe, shields refer to a 23rd and 24th century technology that provides starships, space stations, and entire planets with limited protection against damage. They are sometimes referred to as deflectors, deflector shields, or screens. Types of shields include navigational deflectors.

Transporter (<i>Star Trek</i>) Teleportation device installed on starships in Star Trek

A transporter is a fictional teleportation machine used in the Star Trek universe. Transporters allow for teleportation by converting a person or object into an energy pattern, then sending ("beaming") it to a target location or else returning it to the transporter, where it is reconverted into matter ("rematerialization").

The Star Trek fictional universe contains a variety of weapons, ranging from missiles to melee. The Star Trek franchise consists mainly of several multi-season television shows and a dozen movies, as well as various video games and inspired merchandise. Many aspects of the Star Trek universe impact modern popular culture, especially its fictitious terminology and the concept of weaponry on spacecraft. The franchise has had a widespread influence on its audiences from the late 20th to early 21st century. Notably, Star Trek's science fiction concepts have been studied by real scientists; NASA described it in relation to the real world as "entertaining combination of real science, imaginary science gathered from lots of earlier stories, and stuff the writers make up week-by-week to give each new episode novelty." For example, NASA noted that the Star Trek "phasers" were a fictional extrapolation of real-life lasers, and compared them to real-life microwave based weapons that have a stunning effect.

This article discusses the fictional timeline of the Star Trek franchise. The franchise is primarily set in the future, ranging from the mid-22nd century to the late 24th century, with the third season of Star Trek: Discovery jumping forward to the 32nd century. However the franchise has also outlined a fictional future history of Earth prior to this, and, primarily through time travel plots, explored both past and further-future settings.

The Star Trek franchise has produced a large number of novels, comic books, video games, and other materials, which are generally considered non-canon.

"Q-Less" is the seventh episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9), and aired February 8, 1993.

"Infinite Regress" is the 101st episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the seventh episode of the fifth season. The show depicted a Starfleet spacecraft slowly making its way back to Earth after being stranded in the Delta Quadrant.

<i>Star Trek: Legacy</i> Video game based on the Star Trek series

Star Trek: Legacy is a 2006 real-time tactics space combat video game for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 developed by Mad Doc Software and published by Bethesda Softworks in association with CBS Paramount Television and CBS Consumer Products. Originally slated for release in the fall of 2006 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Star Trek, the Windows version was not released in North America until December 5, 2006, and the Xbox 360 version until December 15. In Europe, both the PC version and the Xbox 360 version were released on December 22, 2006.

Star Trek uniforms are costumes worn by actors portraying personnel of a fictitious Starfleet in various television series and films in the Star Trek science fiction franchise. During the various series, the costume design has often changed to represent different time periods and for reasons of appearance and comfort. Sometimes different styles were deliberately mixed to enhance the sense of time travel or alternative universes.

Q2 (<i>Star Trek: Voyager</i>) 19th episode of the 7th season of Star Trek: Voyager

"Q2" is the 19th episode of the seventh season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager. It initially aired on the UPN network as the 165th episode of the series, and was directed by Star Trek: The Next Generation castmember LeVar Burton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borg</span> Fictional faction in Star Trek

The Borg are an alien group that appear as recurring antagonists in the Star Trek fictional universe. The Borg are cybernetic organisms (cyborgs) linked in a hive mind called "The Collective". The Borg co-opt the technology and knowledge of other alien species to the Collective through the process of "assimilation": forcibly transforming individual beings into "drones" by injecting nanoprobes into their bodies and surgically augmenting them with cybernetic components. The Borg's ultimate goal is "achieving perfection".

<i>Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force</i> 2000 first-person shooter video game based on the Star Trek series

Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force is a first-person shooter video game developed by Raven Software and published by Activision. The game was originally released on September 15, 2000 for Windows and Mac OS. A port for Mac OS developed by Westlake Interactive and published by Aspyr Media was released on November 20, 2002. Elite Force was ported to the PlayStation 2 by Pipe Dream Interactive and published by Majesco Entertainment on December 11, 2001.

"Q Who" is the 16th episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. The episode first aired in broadcast syndication on May 5, 1989. It was written by executive producer Maurice Hurley and directed by Rob Bowman. "Q Who" marked the first appearance of the Borg, who were designed by Hurley and originally intended to appear in the first season episode "The Neutral Zone".

Several characters within the Star Trek franchise, primary and secondary, often made crossover appearances between one series and another. This included appearances of established characters on premiere episodes of new series, a few long-term transfers from one series to another, and even crossovers between Trek films and television. A few crossover appearances, such as that of Spock on The Next Generation and the time-travel of the crew of Deep Space Nine to the era of The Original Series were especially lauded by both fans and critics.

References

  1. ↑ "Online Gaming Review". 1997-02-27. Archived from the original on 1997-02-27. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  2. ↑ Block, Paula M.; Erdmann, Terry J. (2012-11-16). Star Trek: The Next Generation 365. ABRAMS. ISBN   9781613124000.
  3. 1 2 Reeves-Stevens, Judith; Reeves-Stevens, Garfield (1997). The Continuing Mission: A Tenth Anniversary Tribute . Pocket Books/Star Trek. ISBN   9780671874292. Hilary J. Bader star trek.
  4. ↑ Goodman, D. (2019-07-09). "A Look Back: Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Loss". Redshirts Always Die. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
  5. 1 2 "Voyager's "Death Wish," 19 Years Later". StarTrek.com. February 19, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  6. ↑ Star Trek Borg. Simon and Schuster. December 1996. ISBN   9780743542562 . Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Dennis McCarthy / Kevin Kiner – Star Trek: Borg (Original Soundtrack To The Interactive CD-Rom Video Game)". Discogs. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 Hudak, Chris (January 9, 1997). "Star Trek: Borg Review". GameSpot. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  9. ↑ Bassave, Roy (November 28, 1996). "They Must Be Assimilated". The Buffalo News . HighBeam Research. Archived from the original on April 13, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  10. ↑ Krasnoff, Barbara (May 1, 1997). "Star Trek Borg". Computer Shopper . HighBeam Research. Archived from the original on November 12, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 "Slow 'Borg' keeps you Q-ed into action". The Boston Herald . HighBeam Research. January 10, 1997. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  12. ↑ Lileks, James (October 14, 2000). "Elite Force gets Star Trek ambiance right". Star-Tribune . HighBeam Research.
  13. ↑ Cobbett, Richard (2017-09-25). "The best Star Trek games". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.