Star Trek’s Lost Borg Epic Is Saved
Thanks to online gaming distributors like GOG, it has been possible for Star Trek fans to travel down memory lane and play many of the classics of yesteryear, including the oddly addictive Star Trek: Armada and its sequel. However, not all previous titles are currently available, meaning that fans once had no way of playing Star Trek: Borg, an interactive game that focuses on the franchise’s most famous foes.
Star Trek: Borg Remastered
That’s all changed, however, thanks to Star Trek: Borg Remastered, a fan site that makes it easy to play this game on both desktop and mobile devices.
Star Trek: Borg came out in 1996, and even by the standards of PC games at the time, it was a very experimental title. While there are plenty of dynamic activities spread throughout the game, it’s quite fair to judge this title as more of an interactive story than a proper game.
Q Is Involved
If you want to deal out judgment while playing, you’ll be able to learn from the best as Captain Picard’s longtime, godlike nemesis Q plays a major role in the game’s story.
Rather than playing as Riker, Data, or any of the more familiar faces from The Next Generation, Star Trek: Borg has players take control of Cadet Qaylan Furlong.
A Tough Choice
The young cadet is haunted by the death of his father, a man who was one of the thousands of Starfleet officers who died fighting the Borg at Wolf 359.
Much as he did in the TNG episode “Tapestry” for Picard, Q gives the cadet a chance to go back in time and change the past.
To do so successfully, players help the cadet as he takes control of his father aboard the USS Righteous and tries to keep the man alive against inexplicable odds.
Bad Odds
The odds are so bad, in fact, that almost every first-time playthrough of Star Trek: Borg involves dying several times; the game lets players turn back time after they receive a bad ending, which means they can gain useful info to help the next playthrough be more successful.
However, since Q is capricious, he will only let you do this a handful of times before he gets bored and leaves the cadet to his own devices.
Simple Game Play
If we’re being honest, the gameplay is pretty basic. But the real charm of Borg is that it serves as a time capsule of ‘90s Star Trek.
Veteran franchise composer Dennis McCarthy created a new score for the game, the script comes from veteran TNG writer Hilary J. Bader, and the starship sets are mostly reused from Voyager.
Throw in the fact that we get cool Borg footage from the pilot episode of Deep Space Nine and playing Star Trek: Borg becomes the perfect way to embrace some nerdy nostalgia.
Star Trek: Borg Available Online
Fortunately, playing the game via its official website is easier than getting assimilated: just scope out the simple directions, hit “start program” on the sweet LCARS interface, and begin your one-person fight against the scariest baddies in Star Trek history.
This game allows you to see these foes like never before and also lets you experience an otherwise lost Q story…something that becomes even more important when you consider we’re unlikely to get the Star Trek: Legacy show fans hoped to see more of him in.
Fortunately, fans can scratch the itch for new Trek and new Q by playing Star Trek: Borg, and you can get this game started even quicker than Q can snap his fingers.
