Star Trek: Bridge Crew is probably one of the most highly anticipated games for virtual reality to date, and it finally hit Steam on Tuesday for $50. HTC is using the new game to lure new customers into the virtual version of Gene Roddenberry’s final frontier by bundling the game with the purchase of a HTC Vive virtual reality headset for PC. The promotion starts now, and will run until the end of June.
In addition to serving as a bundled game with the stand-alone HTC Vive package, HTC also teamed up with MSI to create a special bundle sold through Amazon, Newegg, Fry’s Electronics, and Micro Center. It will consist of the HTC Vive kit, the Star Trek: Bridge Crew game, and Radeon RX 580 cards manufactured by MSI.
In another bundle deal, HTC teamed up with CyberPower PC to provide the HTC Vive kit and Star Trek: Bridge crew when customers configure a PC with the following required components:
| Processor: | Intel Core i7-6800K Intel Core i7-6850K, i7-6900K Intel Core i7-6950X Extreme Edition |
| Graphics: | AMD RX 580 and above Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 and above |
| Accessory: | HTC Vive |
Red Storm Entertainment (Far Cry 4, Tom Clancy’s The Division) developed Star Trek: Bridge Crew specifically for virtual reality. Players serve as officers of the Federation on board a new starship called the U.S.S. Aegis. The game provides a single-player experience along with an online four-player co-op multiplayer option. Star Trek: Bridge Crew also supports local multiplayer gaming using just one set of Lighthouse base stations.
The mission of the U.S.S. Aegis and its crew is to explore an uncharted portion of space called the Trench. The Federation is looking for a place to plant the rest of the Vulcan population after the destruction of their home world in 2258. The game takes place in the alternate timeline set forth by the 2009 film Star Trek, an era when the Klingon Empire isn’t exactly keen with humans and the Federation itself.
Star Trek: Bridge Crew includes full-body avatars, hand tracking, and real-time lip sync. Players take the role as Captain, Helm, Tactical, or Engineer, and combine their knowledge and tactical skills to complete each mission while exploring The Trench. According to publisher Ubisoft, “communication, trust, and close crew coordination are the keys to victory.”
Star Trek: Bridge Crew offers dynamic missions along with an “Ongoing Missions” mode. This mode provides procedurally generated missions for both single play and co-op multiplayer Star Trek experiences.
“Ubisoft and Red Storm have made a huge commitment to bring AAA gaming to virtual reality and the Vive,” said Daniel O’Brien, general manager, U.S., for the HTC Vive. “We couldn’t be more excited to bundle copies of Star Trek: Bridge Crew with Vive purchases to celebrate the launch, and at the same time offer different PC bundles to bring more people into the experience.”
The game is also available now on the Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR headsets.
