Firebird's Elite, released in 1984 for British computers and quickly ported to the major platforms of the day--is the greatest videogame ever made. It is to videogames what the movie Citizen Kane is to film--a Mozart standing boldly against the Saliere's of his day. It was one of those rare games that was able to accomplish two feats simultaneously: One, introducing a new kind of game that would last, and two, doing so well enough to itself remain a classic of that genre. Whenever we get frustrated with game shelves laden with "me-too" games and sequels of sequels, it's useful to go back to such games as Elite and ponder what made them so great. For Elite, that greatness stems from its staggering vision; an arrogance matched only by the genius of its coders, who were able to deliver where lesser developers cried "impossible."

Here's exciting news for Star Trek TOS fans: Shatner himself will be voicing Kirk in Bethesda's upcoming Star Trek Legacy. Furthermore, he's already out publicizing the game and drumming up enthusiasm for it, mainly because he feels that the Star Trek franchise has dropped to impulse and needs a good game to buck it back up to warp speed. Although Shatner apparently doesn't play videogames (his grandson will teach him, he says), it's nice to see a TV and movie star of his stature really stepping in to the videogame scene. The game itself sounds interesting enough. From what I'm able to gather, it's a massive space strategy game that covers all eras of Trek, starting with TOS and carrying all the way through to Enterprise. There will also be support for Xbox Live, and I assume PC players will be able to join in as well. That's exactly the kind of game that would've had me bouncing off the walls with glee back in 88.