Star Trek: Judgement Rites (1993)

Star Trek: Judgement Rites (1993), developed and published by Interplay

If you've played Star Trek: 25th Anniversary, Judgement Rites should feel familiar right from the bat. It's the second entry to the Interplay Star Trek point and click games in all good and bad. The bad is that the game still has the same UI, which I really didn't like in the previous game and I don't really like it now either. Other than that, it is more of the same that the first game served.

On the good side, it is again an experience that goes very close to the original series in the style of writing. Kirk & co. explore space and try to find the optimal solution for the given problems. In the proper Star Trek fashion, a peaceful solution is always the most preferable.  Of course, you can go to less than optimal solutions as well, but this leads to the worst ending, where Kirk is demoted to desk study at the academy.

Just like its predecessor, Judgement Rites is divided between several episodes, mirroring the structure of the series. Again, you can see this game as a gamified version of an additional season for the TV show. With the improved in-game cinematics, you could even go as far as to say, that the shots of the ships flying in space have nothing to be ashamed of in comparison to the original series.

The original cast returns to lend their voices to the characters, so that is another feather to the cap of Interplay.  Also, this time around it looks a bit better graphically, especially with the pre-rendered Enterprise cinematics and all.

The over branching story of the Judgement Rites has the crew of the Enterprise on their way to have much-deserved shore leave. Every time they attempt to do so is halted by a mission or another. In all, the main bulk of the game is constructed of 9 episodic stories, taking the crew to different planets to solve an array of problems, be it by the brawn or by brains.

Unlike with many other adventure games of the era, there is more replay value in Judgement Rites just because you can solve things in different ways. If you are after the more authentic Star Trek experience, you will most likely aim towards more peaceful solutions rather than go in guns blazing. If you do, however, feel like going towards a solution that lacks the finesse, there is nothing stopping you short of fully bumbling the mission you are on.

And that's pretty much all I have to say about Judgement Rites. If you liked the 25th Anniversary, you'll most likely like this one as well. And if you are a fan of the original Star Trek series, it is very safe to assume you'll like this even more. Together these two games make for a reasonably well-written semi-season for the original series, the big difference being that you have to do the work in order to see how the stories unfold.

The currently sold version on GOG and Steam is the enhanced edition of the game, which includes interviews with Leonard Nimoy and Gene Roddenberry among other bits and pieces of trivia about the Star Trek universe as well as a short documentary about the making of the game itself.