Commander Keens Trek 96
Commander Keens Trek 96 is unique in the realm of Commander Keen fangames as, unlike any other fangame, Trek 96 is not related to Commander Keen in any way. Written by two Germans, programmer Oliver Lenzko, and graphics designer Jochen Burkhardt (calling themselves J&O Software, after their first initials), work on Commander Keens Trek 96 was completed on September 15, 1996 (based on the last-modified date found on the game files), and published on a boxed CD-ROM by CYBERDIGITAL sometime around 1997. Despite the misleading title and description on the box, Trek 96 has absolutely nothing to do with Commander Keen, and is actually a watered-down clone of the classic mainframe title, Star Trek. As there are no in-game references to Commander Keen (the splash-screen saying only Trek 96), it's entirely possible that CYBERDIGITAL added Commander Keen to the title, many years after the series' popularity had peaked, in some misguided attempt to increase market share. It is strange that Commander Keens Trek 96 was published at all, given that not only did it infringe on id Software's Commander Keen copyright, but also infringed on the Star Trek copyright, which Paramount Pictures is known to protect vigorously. It is also interesting that Trek 96 was published on CD-ROM, given that the game files could have easily fit on a single 3.5" floppy disk, still a popular format in 1997 (and undoubtably still cheaper to produce at the time).
Gameplay
The player controls the Starship Enterprise (viewed from an unusual perspective), searching the galaxy for enemies whilst balancing energy levels between offensive and defensive capabilities. When an enemy is encountered, the game shifts into "Red alert" mode, and combat can be begun. Your mission is complete when all enemies in the galaxy are destroyed.
Gallery
A lower-resolution screenshot showing additional gameplay.
A screenshot of the Game Over screen.
The box cover of Commander Keens Trek 96.
An alternative box design.
A picture of the game disc.
