Video game:Sega Genesis Star Trek: The Next Generation: Echoes from the Past

Few series, if any, have made as large a pop culture impact as "Star Trek." When it first aired in 1966, the television show failed to make a large impression, and NBC cancelled it after only three seasons. However, over the years it has amassed a cult following, several spin-off shows, a movie series, and a library of novels and comics. Beginning with a board game in 1967, developers released many forms of interactive entertainment involving the beloved "Star Trek" characters.

Mike Mayfield developed the first "Star Trek" video game in 1971. Entitled simply "Star Trek," this text-based computer game spread to most home computers by the end of the 1970s, and became the first of its kind to sell more than one million copies. It showed that games based on the series could be successful, and paved the way for the release of many more video games.

In 1994, Sega and Nintendo released "The Next Generation: Echoes from the Past" for the Sega Genesis and Game Gear, and "The Next Generation: Future's Past" for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Both game's feature the same gameplay and plot, but with minor differences between versions. In both titles, players control the starship "Enterprise," and must investigate a missing Romulan spacecraft and the appearance of the Integrated Field Derandomizer, which has the ability to reshape matter and energy.

"Echoes from the Past" and "Future's Past" both received positive reviews from critics and players who praised the games' plot and control. Players especially enjoyed the interaction with "Next Generation" characters such as Captain Picard and Lieutenant Commander Data. The magazine "Electronic Gaming Monthly" rated the game 7.5 out of 10, saying it lost points for "boring" landing missions and pixilated graphics.

More than four decades after the original "Star Trek" series aired, the franchise remains popular. J.J. Abrams and Paramount released a rebooted movie version of the series in 2009, followed by its sequel in 2013. Over fifty different video games featuring the beloved "Star Trek" characters exist, allowing fans to go "where no one has gone before."