Video game:Sony PlayStation 2 Star Trek: Encounters

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 2006, Bethesda Softworks released "Star Trek: Encounters" for the PlayStation 2. Unlike other "Star Trek" titles, this arcade-style shooter game includes starships and characters from all five "Star Trek" television series. Gamers play in free play mode, which consists of battling different ships, or story mode. The plot in story mode revolves around six missions, five of which come from the television shows.

"Encounters" received negative reviews from critics and players, who found the storyline disappointing and the graphics underdeveloped. In his review, Juan Castro of IGN wrote that the game had a "promising setup," but that "the actual gameplay doesn't do it justice." He, like other critics, believed that "Encounters' is Star Trek' only in name, not in function." Nevertheless, Bethesda Softworks continued to release "Star Trek" video games, including "Star Trek: Tactical Assault," and "Star Trek: Conquest."

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."