| Star Trek: The Next Generation – A Final Unity | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Spectrum HoloByte |
| Publisher(s) |
|
| Producer(s) | Mathias Genser Meg Storey |
| Designer(s) | Mathias Genser |
| Writer(s) | Kyle Brink Vera Chan Stephen Goldin Naren Shankar Joe Ward |
| Composer(s) | Paul Mogg |
| Series | Star Trek |
| Platform(s) | DOS,Mac OS |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Star Trek: The Next Generation – A Final Unity is anadventure game bySpectrum HoloByte, based on theStar Trek universe. It was released in 1995 forDOS and laterported to theMacintosh.[3] It puts theplayer in control ofCaptain Picard and his crew of theEnterprise D and features traditionalpoint-and-click adventure gameplay as well asfree-form space exploration, diplomatic encounters and tactical ship-to-ship combat.
The cast ofStar Trek: The Next Generation reprise their roles, providing the voices of theirrespective characters.
While on routine patrol of theRomulanneutral zone, theEnterprise intercepts a distress signal from the crew of a Garidian scout ship, seeking asylum inFederation space. After a brief confrontation with the commander of a Garidian Warbird (similar in design to aRomulan D'deridex Warbird except with a red starburst design on the nose), the crew of the scout ship is beamed aboard theEnterprise. One of the refugees mentions to Captain Picard that they are in search of the Lawgiver's legendary "Fifth Scroll", which could aid in preventing war on Garid. Picard agrees to assist them, and the crew of theEnterprise sets out in search of clues to the location of the scroll.
After searching variousstar systems and completing several away missions, the crew of theEnterprise finds the scroll on a planet littered with ruins belonging to the Chodak Empire — a vast alien civilization that disappeared practically overnight almost 900,000 years prior at the very peak of its power. As the refugees return to Garid with their scroll, the Romulans suddenly invade the Federation, though they seem to be avoiding combat while racing towards a nearby Federation-controlled nebula. Further investigation into their motives reveals that the Romulans hope to find an enormous and extremely-powerful Chodak machine known as the Unity Device, which had disappeared at the same time as the Chodak civilization itself. The situation escalates even further when a third, previously-unknown alien race invades the Federation as well, sparking a three-way race to find the exact location where the device would reappear. (TheKlingons, theFerengi, and theBorg also make appearances in the game, although the latter only have an appearance as a Borg Cube in a later scene.)
The storyline takes place aroundstardate 47111.1, according to the opening sequence of the game. This would place the events of the game between the first two episodes of the seventh season of the series, "Descent" and "Liaisons". The non-canonical Chodak race first appear inStar Trek The Next Generation Future's Past and reappear in the Star Trek video gamesStar Trek Generations andBirth of the Federation.
Gameplay is mostly linear in nature, sometimes branching partially depending on choices made during various conversations.
On board theEnterprise, gameplay basically amounts to waiting until the ship arrives at its next destination, and occasionally conversing with various crewmembers for advice. There are various areas of the mainbridge that can be interacted with to control the ship and consult with various people.
The turbolift allows for access to other areas of the ship.
The majority of the gameplay takes place by controlling an away team on variousspace stations and alien worlds, which is the pureadventure part of the game. The away team is selected by the player and is then controlled in apoint-and-click manner by selecting the desired command from the interface in the lower area of the screen. Items in theinventory can be used to interact with the environment in much the same way.
As in most adventure games, inventory items are used to solve various puzzles. The comments and responses of the characters vary depending on the combination the player chooses.
Upon completion of the away mission, the team is beamed up, and theEnterprise awaits further orders or acts with the new information provided by the away mission.
Depending on choices made by the player, two different endings are possible: either a descendant of the Chodak race merges with the gestalt controlling the Unity Device, or the Device destabilizes, resulting in the Enterprise's destruction.
A Final Unity was originally penned for a release shortly after Interplay'sStar Trek: 25th Anniversary.[citation needed] Since25th Anniversary was released at the end of 1992,A Final Unity was scheduled to be released in 1993,[citation needed] but did not make the projected release date.
Seven principal actors of the TV show (Wil Wheaton is missing) plusMajel Barrett, the voice of the computer, were hired to reprise their roles invoice-overs for the game.[4]A Final Unity was Spectrum HoloByte's secondStar Trek video game, following the 1994 gameStar Trek: The Next Generation – Future's Past.[4] Spectrum Holobyte acquiredMicroProse shortly thereafter, and continued developing Star Trek games under the MicroProse name. A version for theAtari Jaguar CD was reportedly in development by MicroProse but it never released.[5][6][7]
A Final Unity officially required afloating-pointcoprocessor (FPU), which was unusual forMS-DOS games at the time.[citation needed] It could still be played on a computer not equipped with one, but at reduced performance.[citation needed]
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Computer Gaming World |   [8] |
| Next Generation | [9] |
| PC Gamer (UK) | 94%[11] |
| PC Gamer (US) | 74%[10] |
| Computer Game Review | 91/93/90[12] |
| MacUser |  [14] |
| Electronic Entertainment | [13] |
| CD Player | 7/10[15] |
A Final Unity was a commercial success, selling 500,000 copies by 1996.[16]
Upon release,A Final Unity was met with generally positive reviews. Andy Butcher fromPC Gamer UK noted that the game "translates the atmosphere and 'feel' ofThe Next Generation almost perfectly" and praised the way it is structured as well as its visual presentation and sound design.[11]Computer Gaming World's Allen L. Greenberg criticized the game's tactical battles as "often tedious and inconclusive", but found the away missions "extremely enjoyable" and the game's overall presentation "impressive".[8]
Next Generation reviewed the PC version of the game, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "If you're a fan of 'ST:TNG,' you definitely don't want to missA Final Unity. It's just the fix you need to hold you until the next movie or novel. But if you're simply looking for a good graphic adventure, you can find better."[9]
A Final Unity was a runner-up forComputer Gaming World's 1995 "Adventure Game of the Year" award, which ultimately went toI Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream. The editors wrote ofA Final Unity, "Despite inconsistent graphics and disappointing tactical combat, near-impeccable voiceovers from the stellar television cast made the game very compelling. Moreover, the game's script was at least as well written as many of the series' final episodes."[17] In 1996,GamesMaster rated the game 53rd on their "Top 100 Games of All Time."[18]
In 2016,Den of Geek rankedA Final Unity as one of the top fourStar Trek games.[19] In the same year,Tom's Guide rankedA Final Unity as one of the top tenStar Trek games.[20] In 2017,PC Gamer rankedA Final Unity among the bestStar Trek games.[21] In 2020,ScreenRant ranked it the 2nd best Star Trek game of the franchise.[22]
Latest Releases//Star Trek: A Final Unity//CD-ROM
Alameda — After a yearlong delay, Spectrum Holobyte Inc.'s CD-ROM game,Star Trek: The Next Generation "A Final Unity," will hit store shelves today.
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