Star Trek: Captain's Chair is a simply amazing game. The amount of detail and information contained within are almost on a par with some of the previously released Technical Manuals. To top it off, in contrast with the flat, two-dimensional pictures that are usually a staple of the technical manuals, all of the objects contained within are shown in stunning 3D, including the ships.
The game starts off with the voice of the Enterprise (or Starfleet) computer system, Majel Barrett Roddenberry. From here, players can pick one of the five ships to explore.
As players click on a ship name, the ship's bridge appears as it would if the player were sitting in the Captain's chair. In addition, the computer gives a background of the ship and its history and a small box of text appears below the ship menu line giving highlights of the ship's history, plus its registration numbers and details of the designer.
At the side of the screen is another series of buttons, one that turns a secondary menu on and off. This secondary menu allows players to access the ship's tour function.
During the ship tour, an officer who has served aboard it shows off the various consoles and meeting rooms that might not be readily apparent as well as sharing personal recollections of their time aboard the vessel. It really gives players a thrill to hear the bass tones of Worf's voice as he comments about the ship and it can be very uplifting and sad to hear Sulu talk about the way Kirk left his imprint on the Enterprise.
In addition to the ship itself, players can explore the consoles of the ship and the exterior of the vessel by simply clicking on the appropriate buttons. In addition, players can move their point of view by opening the map of the bridge and clicking on the appropriate station (showcased on the map by white dots). This will move the player's POV to that station or area.
The consoles themselves, as well as the different areas of the ship, have hot spots that can be clicked on to view various Trek objects or make the consoles function. The objects are presented in three dimensions and can be tilted and panned in the same manner as the exterior and interior views of the ship.
If you ever wanted to explore the deck of the Enterprise or wondered what it would be like to actually "be" on the bridge of the ship, wonder no more. You can be there with Star Trek: Captain's Chair. Now, if they could only build ships like this in real life...
Graphics: Excellent, though the views not in the tours tend to be very grainy.
Sound: Excellent. All the voices come through clearly. I never noticed how bombastic Will Riker could sound until I heard his tour of the Enterprise E.
Enjoyment: Extremely enjoyable. Star Trek fans will get hundreds of hours of play out of this game.
Replay Value: Endless hours of fun and exploration.
People who downloaded Star Trek: Captain's Chair have also downloaded:
Star Trek: Borg, Star Trek: Generations, Star Trek: 25th Anniversary, Star Trek: Bridge Commander, Star Trek: Armada, Star Trek: Klingon, Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force, Star Trek: Judgment Rites
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