Released in 1982 for the Vectrex, Star Trek: The Motion Picture offers a first-person space combat experience. The player takes control of the USS Enterprise in a series of hostile sectors swarming with Romulan and Klingon enemies. Despite sharing its name with the 1979 film, the game does not follow its plot but instead delivers a gameplay experience full of action.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Developer : GCE (General Consumer Electronics)
Year: 1982
Genre: Flight Simulation / First-Person Shooter
Modes: Single-player, 1 to 2 players taking turns
At the Helm of the Enterprise
Piloting the iconic starship, the player must navigate through space and eliminate all enemies in a sector to move on to the next. Each sector contains an unknown number of opponents. They must be tracked down, sometimes after a long search, before advancing. Enemy fire is frequent and must be dodged, intercepted, or absorbed.
The cockpit view puts the player directly in the role of Captain Kirk. The screen displays a central targeting reticle, while two gauges at the bottom show the photon torpedoes and shield strength. It’s a true starship cockpit rendered directly on the Vectrex screen.
Limited Resources
Ammunition and shields are limited resources. Using them wisely is crucial, as wasting a torpedo or activating a shield at the wrong time can quickly endanger the ship.
To restock these resources, a space station is available once per sector. It rotates on itself, and the Power Link function must be used to dock at the right moment, all while avoiding enemy fire. Care is needed, as the station will explode if accidentally hit. If you’ve already resupplied or the station is destroyed, it won’t be possible to reload again. In that case, you’ll have to carry on as best you can… or lose a life to start over with a full supply.
The Mothership
In certain levels, a black hole appears. This is not a hazard, but a gateway to a special battle against the Klingon mothership. To access it, you must aim precisely at its center using the Power Link. Once inside, the player faces a behemoth firing nonstop, combining Romulan and Klingon weaponry. Its weak point is a small flashing spot at the front. Hitting it requires precise aim and good timing. Upon victory, an extra life is awarded, and the game restarts at the first sector with increased difficulty. From the main menu, the player can choose which sector the black hole will first appear in, by selecting one of the eight available game modes.
An interesting strategic option: if a sector seems too difficult, you can choose to skip it via the black hole… assuming you can successfully lock on in the chaos.
An Officially Licensed Oddity
Clearly, this game could have had a different title. Nothing in the gameplay really evokes the film. There’s no narrative connection or identifiable characters. The game is also not a port of Sega’s arcade cabinet released the same year. It is an original Vectrex title, designed for the console and taking advantage of its unique features, such as the dedicated overlay. The game was also released under the name Star Ship in some countries and Harmagedon in Japan, with some graphical differences.
Fun fact: the game makes a brief appearance in the 1982 movie Android.
What Stands Out
✅ Strengths :
- Highly immersive cockpit view.
- Resource management integrated into gameplay.
- Refueling station adds strategic depth.
- Well-designed mothership battle.
❌ Weaknesses :
- No progress indicators within sectors.
- Station hard to dock with during early playthroughs.
- No real connection to the film.
A Game to Pilot
Star Trek: The Motion Picture on Vectrex is a licensed game, but not a “Star Trek game” in the strict sense. Nonetheless, it stands out thanks to its visual simplicity and tense, immersive gameplay. It gives the impression of a much larger universe than it actually offers and delivers truly engaging and fun play sessions.
For more, check out this fan video on YouTube :
