with numerous interactive live action (full motion video) scenes that can affect crew performance, and a storyline involving the Vanguard, a fictional terrorist group that appears only in this game. These scenes feature William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, Walter Koenig as Pavel Chekov, and George Takei as Captain Hikaru Sulu, as celebrity guest instructors at the school. The motion sequence director, Martin Denning, pioneered the use of green-screen filming to enable the camera to be moved freely in synch with the 3D CGI backgrounds - the first time this had ever been done. Interplay contracted Ron Jones, composer for several Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes, for the game's soundtrack, a CD of which was included in some versions of the game. Other versions came with an exclusive 3" metal miniature figure of the female Andorian cadet, Vanda M'Giia. Pocket Books released a novelization by Diane Carey. The PC game received an expansion pack called Chekov's Lost Missions in 1998 that features seven new missions, two new multiplayer games, and various improvements to the game interface. Walter Koenig and George Takei make return appearances in the introductions to several of the new missions. Interplay also announced a PlayStation version of the game, but it was not released. Reception Reviews were generally middling. Pelits Niko Nirvi criticized that the PC version is unfinished and the flight model doesn't resemble Star Trek but is instead too similar to Wing Commander. Next Generation likewise opined that the simulation has the overall feel of flying a tiny fighter rather than commanding the large starships of the Star Trek universe, making it feel like just another Wing Commander clone, albeit a well-made one with high production values. GamePro also praised the game's high production values, noting the detailed texture maps, musical score, and use of sound effects from the television shows, but concluded that while Star Trek fans would enjoy the game, all others would be better off with Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter. Chris Gregson of GameSpot said the game suffered from having been put on hold while the producer worked on other projects, resulting in outdated gameplay and visuals at the time of release. He also felt the reliance on full motion video gave the sequences at the academy a non-interactive feel, and that while making the actual simulator portion a Wing Commander clone may have been a good idea,