E3 2016: ‘Star Trek: Bridge Crew’ Is VR, Jim, But Not Ad We Know It

  You know how it goes with new gaming tech. It’s got to be ripped off, shoehorned in where it doesn’t belong, all of that good stuff. Whether we’re talking touchscreen gaming, motion controls or whatever else, this is the way of the world.  

The Next Big Thing In Video Games(tm), you’ve no doubt noticed, is VR. We’re up to our ‘nads in Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and the upcoming PlayStation VR right now. All of this still being spangly new and all, a lot of what we’re seeing tends to be experimental tech demos.

You’ve probably seen it all by now. There’s a ‘game’ that sees you cruising through an IKEA kitchen and arranging furniture, which probably tells you all you need to know. What we really need from this sort of stuff is to be impressed, to really see virtual reality’s potential to enhance gaming. Any fancy-ass company exec can stand on a stage and spout buzzwords like ‘revolutionary’ and ‘ground-breaking,’ but you’ve got to walk the walk.

So, what really impressed in the VR arena at E3 2016? Star Trek: Bridge Crew sure did. It’s a co-op title in which you and your buddies take a different role on the crew, and pulling your damn weight is vital.

Here are Star Trek has-beens Jeri Rynn, Levar Burton and, y’know, that other dude giving it a go.