GAMETECH: Cash catch of free games

IT’S LIFE, Jim, but not as we know it. The world of gaming has changed since free-to-play took over the market. Beam me up, Scotty! The developers are the only ones beaming now, as they reel in unsuspecting casual gamers.

Star Trek Timelines is the latest app to feature the free-to-play model, and it bears all the hallmarks of this system. There are number of different ‘currencies’ you can earn by playing the game, along with special boosts and items, but each of those currencies can also be purchased with real money. In reality, unless you have the patience of a Vulcan, the only way to acquire the good stuff is by using a credit card.

Still, that doesn’t mean Star Trek Timelines isn’t worth your attention. In fact, at times it’s a tremendous tribute to the world of Star Trek, a kind of interactive trading card universe, one where you can recruit almost any significant character in the franchise to your crew. That’s because, in true Star Trek fashion, there has been a ‘temporal anomaly’, one that has thrown time into disarray. Characters and scenarios from multiple Trek universes have collided into one existence — which, in short, means you can have Kirk, Khan, Picard and Janeway on the same crew. In fact, you can have three different Picards on board if you’re really lucky with your ‘time portal’ packs.