A Klingon-Designed Game

We consider ourselves middling-level Trekkers, not fanatics, but devoted enough to know a Tribble when we see one. We can tell a communicator from a phaser and have a real clear picture of what happens when the matter cells in the ship’s warp drive threaten to mix in with the anti-matter.

So we were disposed to like Interplay’s “Star Trek: 25th Anniversary,” a hybrid game combining a space flight simulator with a series of role-playing adventures. We were disappointed.

The adventures are OK, not great, and the flying stuff is a challenge.

But this is a technical mess. It took an hour to load on our 386SX and two hours on our 486 set at 8mhz. It is said to take as much as four hours to load on a 286.

There is nothing in the instruction manual to prepare you for this lengthy load up. And don’t get us started on the other failings of the manual!

“Star Trek” features characters from the original TV series--Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scott and the others--on a series of seven adventures. They are presented in an episodic format, like a TV series, with many of the same stock lines, predictable wisecracks and banter that were so much a part of the show.

You control Kirk, who leads landing parties that include Spock, McCoy and one quasi-expendable young Enterprise officer. The first episode, “Demonworld,” is about a race of very religious humanoids plagued by demons.

As adventures go, it’s not exactly imaginative. Eventually you kill off the demons who are wrecking the otherwise ideal planet. Too bad you can’t do the same for the demons in this game.

Star Trek

Rating: **

IBM and compatibles; 386 or better with 10mhz or better; hard drive required. List: $59.95.

Computer games are rated on a five-star system, from one star for poor to five for excellent.