Video game:Star Trek: Starfleet Command

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 1999, Interplay Entertainment released "Star Trek: Starfleet Command" for Windows computers. Based off the board game "Starfleet Battles," this strategy game gives players the opportunity to command a starship and participate in space combat. Gamers have the choice to play in the single-player campaign mode or in the multiplayer combat mode. Unlike other "Star Trek" games, players choose which group, ranging from the United Federation of Planets to the Klingon Empire, to play as. In order to advance through the game, players must form alliances and win a series of battles. Because of the wide variety of choices and free play involved in this game, no two campaigns are alike.

Because of the way "Starfleet Command" allowed players to have free reign in the "Star Trek" universe, it received very positive reviews from critics and gamers, who also praised its graphics and replayability. In his review, Trent C. Ward of IGN noted that the storyline and missions of "Starfleet Command" would excite long-time fans of "Star Trek," and that the game "comes as close as anything yet released to delivering the feeling of actually living out a career in the Star Trek' universe." The popularity of the game led Interplay to develop new missions and establish an online presence for gamers. It also developed a series of sequels, the first of which, "Starfleet Command II: Empires at War," it released in 2000.

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."