- Original Release: 2002
- Developer: Totally Games
- Publisher: Activision
- Platform: PC
I have very fond memories of this game, and it’s great playing it again. Bridge Commander puts you in the role of a Galaxy class starship (and later Sovereign) and I think it’s the closest game that brings about the feeling of being a captain of a ship – rather than being the ship itself.
While in the bridge view, you can give commands to your crew – all fully voiced – and they’ll do it for you. As this is a combat orientated game, you’ll mainly be dealing with Lt. Savali, your tactical officer. You can tell him what targets to aim for, set his tactics or let him decide. If you want to, you can play the entire game like this, ordering your crew and never taking manual control. I really love that you can play the part of captain without taking direct control.
If you want to do more yourself, you can do that, too. The external view of the ship enables controls for manual control of the ship, letting you fly around and fire as you prefer. The camera is locked onto the target, letting you move through your different phaser arcs rather than being limited to forward facing weapons like previous space combat games. You also still have access to all the crew and can give commands from this view, so you can continue giving orders and just admire the battles.
Targeting subsytems is a major part of the game. You can target individual components of the ship like cloaking devices, individual phasers, shield generators and the warp core. Missions throughout the game will require use of this, especially when disabling ships and stations. The hull of your target will still take damage, so you need to be careful with what you hit – especially if you then need to defend your disabled target.
The game isn’t without its flaws. I think it could have done with conversation choices, even just ones that don’t change the story, just your own flair on the conversation. It’s a bit odd that the first officer handles all of the conversations. I would also like more options regarding what you can do, as some sections (particularly Science and Engineering) are quite limited. The game is very good at supporting mods, and the community has added a lot of features (along with nicer looking ships) – for this playthough I went with the base game with some minor modifications to make it run at 1080p. .
Bridge Commander is an amazing experience for the ship side of Star Trek, and this would be my basis for the “perfect” Star Trek game, which would combine this with Elite Force and a bit of No Man’s Sky for exploration, some mysteries to solve and new things to discover.
Where to get Star Trek: Bridge Commander.
How to play Star Trek: Bridge Commander on Windows 11
The Gog version of Bridge Commander works on Windows 11. For a higher resolution I used this resolution mod, and then made my own mod for a larger UI.
There are also several major overhaul mods (and thousands of smaller mods), such as Kobayashi Maru (I worked on this one many years ago), BC Remastered, plus an upcoming one focused on making the singleplayer more enjoyable.
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One of my favourite games ever. Loved this game. I got my first laptop in 2003 (which cost way more than it would now!) And this was the first game I played on it
I had to play it on the shared family PC, but I played it a lot more (plus did a lot more modding) after I was treated to a laptop after my step dad sold Manchester United shares, which I think was 2005ish.
I think this is probably one of only a couple Trek games my brother played. He’s always been into Civilisation games so Birth of the Federation was another
I absolutely -loved- this game.
Still do, need to reinstall it sooner or later.
Give me a 2023 version with #newtrek content and I’d buy this now!
One of the best Star Trek games. Recently replayed it within the last year and it still holds up. Story, music, dialogue, missions, gameplay, action— -all great. Definitely a classic!
I played this game so much in college. And the mods were great. Texture packs, soundtrack packs, ship packs, etc. I swapped out the musical score for the Wrath of Khan soundtrack.
Never played the full game,but spent a huge amount of time on the démo, it was a blast. Is this still playable?
Yes, it’s for sale on GOG. Some people have reported crashing, but I personally didn’t have issues.
Such a great game still today, loved it then, loving it today. I often do a quick battle on Steam Deck (tho doesn’t fill the 16/9 ratio, only 4/3).
They are some nice mods too, like Bridge Commander Remastered that I would recommend.
I used a specific 1080p mod for mine, and then altered the buttons to be larger. Although a specific Steam Desk would be a good idea for someone to make (although I know someone is working on one which will adapt to different sizes).
That game was a big part of my team years. The mods were so good. I remember doing stuff like putting 10 NX-01 Enterprises against the All Good Things Galaxy.
I’d pay $500 for a true sequel. One of the best Trek games of all time.
Bridge Commander and Elite Force took up most of my teen years.
I still play it.
Bridge Commander had one the best modding communities out there too. I remember when they got saucer separation & Warp travel to new Star systems to work
my favorite trek game ever. elite force was cool and STO is alright but this was awesome on so many levels. and its mod scene just made it better.
Amazing game
And so many cool mods for this game too.
Downloaded it off GoG the other week, great game
I still own it to this day
Loved this game, played it for hours back in the day.
There was a mode where you could command most ships in the game. The bridge layout only changed between Galaxy and Sovereign classes, but flying the other ships from 3rd person was a blast. I loved the Klingon Bird of Prey and it’s cloak
I also grew up with this one. Besides the fantastic atmosphere, the soundtrack and the episode-worthy story, I absolutely loved how the game looked and loved the fact that you control a single ship and can switch between space and bridge. Still worth plating today. 👍
Probably my favourite Star Trek game and the one I spent the most time in as it’s aged so well thanks to the thriving mod community. I just wish it were more stable on modern systems; it’s pretty inevitable that if I play it I only stop when it crashes.
I really want a sequel.
Even the music was sooo good. Every now and then I put up Bridge commander music on YouTube when I need some focus time
The mods were so good. Remember when they were going to make ST: Excalibur based on the nanofx work?
Its a great title, i have the Kobyashi Maru Mod installed and i do feel mods has kept this game a long life for the last 21 years
The multiplayer was pretty good too, and the MOD scene was great. It is too bad Activision dropped it almost immediately after release.
Modding this game put me on a path to becoming a game dev – it’s one of my all time favorites
The best Star Trek game. Ever. Can’t tell you the hours I poured in Kobayashi Maru, and scouring the GameFront files website looking for new ships to add to my game. LOVE this game!
Played this for the first time last year and loved it despite some odd choices in the story like the crew making weird insensitive jokes about the Klingons and the plot being particularly pro violence for a series that’s supposed to be about diplomacy.
Pinnacle trek game -despite the bugs and freezing.
One of my all time favourite games. I spent so many hours messing about with the mods and constant space battles.