Star Fleet 1: The War Begins

Cygnus Multimedia originally developed and published Star Fleet 1: The War Begins. It was originally released in the early eighties, but it was re-released some years later by Interstel. It is a turn-based science fiction strategy game. It found its way to multiple other formats, including the Atari, Apple and Commodore 64. It is a very complex futuristic game, and its many challenges are part of what made it so popular.

In the game, the user plays the part of a Star Fleet cadet, newly graduated from the academy.

He has taken command of his first U.S.A.G. Starship and has been assigned his first mission. The Federation is at war with two races of alien beings: the Krellans and the Zaldrons. The player will take part in some of this conflict.

The first thing the user has to do is choose from a list of beginning ships available in the dock. Naturally, all of the ships have positives and negatives, and this first choice of ships could shape the way the user learns to play. Although the game is considered a space strategy, the main focus of Star Fleet 1: The War Begins is conflict and battle. The world is divided into territories and each time a user enters a hostile territory, there is going to be a fight. The territories are divided into quadrants and there is a reasonable pattern of beings in each quadrant. There can be up to five enemy Krellan vessels, but there is usually only one of the larger and more powerful Zaldron ships lurking about. There will also be star bases and space marines in each quadrant. The user will enter a hostile area for two reasons. Number One: He is trying to get some place else and chance takes him through a nasty zone. Number Two: He has been deployed there by his commanders to take care of a problem. His goal is either to destroy or disable enemy vessels and deliver them to a friendly star base following the battle.

While this sounds pretty routine, there are numerous things that will create variety, depth and interest and during the course of play. First of all, the user has several weapons from which to choose when attacking an enemy ship. There are mines, torpedoes and phasers. Enemies almost always attack with phasers. Also, hauling a crippled vessel back to a friendly star base will require the user’s crew to board the ship and overrun its crew. This offers the user a different type of combat and requires different types of strategies than space battles. It is also possible for enemy spies and saboteurs to escape during these boardings, only to return to the scene and wreak havoc later.

There are many twists and turns to Star Fleet 1: The War Begins. It should provide an interesting play…certainly much more interesting than it appears on the surface. The gamer will never know what surprise is around the next corner, and suspense always makes for a good play. Good luck.