races can be befriended by the player and can eventually become part of their empire (either by joining peacefully or by conquest). There are 30 minor races in the game. Each minor race adds a unique ability to the empire that controls them, for example the Bolians allow the player to construct a building which increases the effectiveness of spies in the game, and the Betazoids (with their telepathy) boost the effectiveness of counterintelligence. Production MicroProse had developed similar games such as Civilization (1991) and had been involved in the publishing of the Simtex games Master of Orion (1993), Master of Magic (1994) and Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares (1996). Simtex itself closed in 1997, but Birth of the Federation had been described by critics as an unofficial sequel to the Orion games, and was in the mold of Civilization and Master of Magic. Microprose had the rights to create games based on Star Trek: The Next Generation, but did not hold the rights to Star Trek: The Original Series which were held by Interplay Entertainment. The 3D battle sequences used the Falcon 4.0 engine, with each vessel rendered fully. In addition to being called Star Trek: The Next Generation: Birth of the Federation, it was also referred to as Star Trek: Birth of the Federation. Microprose previewed the game alongside Star Trek: Klingon Honour Guard at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Atlanta, Georgia, in May 1998. The release of Birth of the Federation was intended to coincide with the theatrical release of the film Star Trek: Insurrection. Birth of the Federation was released on May 25, 1999, in the United States, and on May 28, in the United Kingdom. Reception The game received average reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. Peter Suciu reviewed the game for CNN, and criticised the computer AI as it didn't portray the races in the same manner as in the television series. For example, the Klingon faction will seek peace agreements when they begin to lose a war, and the Federation will request tributes in order to prevent that faction from attacking the player. He was also disappointed that the earlier ships were still from Star Trek: The Next Generation rather than Star Trek: The Original Series. Suciu felt that the game was on-par with both Master of Orion and Master of Orion II, and said that knowledge of the