Star Trek games have not had much success over the years as for every Elite Force and Bridge Commander there have been at least 10 Trek titled games that failed to live up to fans expectations like Armada 2, Legacy, Klingon Academy, New Worlds, and many more. The latest effort was the MMORPG Star Trek Online which while showing promise has still yet to meet the expectations of fans.
A new game in development looks to resolve this by building on the strength of the reimagined film series. Based on what we saw at E3 the game has the look and action that fans have long asked for and thanks to the talented writing staff, may have the storyline to match the graphics.
Star Trek casts players for the first time ever as Kirk and Spock in an original co-op experience worthy of gamers and fans. The game, which continues the adventure that director and producer J.J. Abrams’ envisioned with Star Trek (2009), boasts an original stand alone story filled with action-packed combat as Kirk and Spock work together to stop a legendary enemy race bent on conquering the galaxy.
Star Trek features an original story by BAFTA award winner and God of War writer, Marianne Krawczyk, in collaboration with the writer/producers of the 2009 Star Trek films, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman.
The game is under development by acclaimed Ontario based Digital Extremes (Bioshock 2, Unreal Tournament, Dark Sector, The Darkness II), working closely with Bad Robot, K/O Paper Products and Damon Lindelof.
Star Trek is in development for console and PC for release in 2012.
ULTIMATE CO-OP – Built from the ground up as a co-op experience, Star Trek packs two vastly different gameplay styles with unique abilities into one game. The result: the most fully realized, and fully varied, co-op experience of this console generation.
KIRK AND SPOCK REBORN – Play for the first time as two of the most well known characters in science fiction, as only this new Star Trek universe could allow. With the fate of the galaxy on the line, players must rely on each other to create a kick-ass team.
EPIC ADVENTURE – Set after the events of the Star Trek (2009), the game continues the sweeping journey through the new universe with a completely original story and the discovery of a legendary alien race bent on conquering the galaxy.
SCOPE AND VARIETY –Epic set pieces and ever-changing gameplay underscore the adventure in Star Trek. Swim through subterranean waterways, hijack enemy battleships, and jump precariously through zero G onto moving spaceships.
23rd Century Weapons – Star Trek employs a wide variety of weapons and gear, putting you in complete control of a huge load out of 23rd Century tech, including unique signature weapons for Kirk and Spock. Combined with your character’s special skills, every puzzle, every encounter, every no-win situation will turn out differently based on who, how and what you play with.
A very early first look at the game, including never-before seen pre-Alpha gameplay. In development for more than a year and a half, and not shipping for another year, Digital Extremes is working in close collaboration with the 2009 Star Trek filmmaking team – Bad Robot, writing team Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci (K/O Paper Products) and Damon Lindelof. Star Trek features an original story by BAFTA award winner and God of War writer, Marianne Krawczyk, in collaboration with the writer/producers of the 2009 Star Trek films, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. DNA of the game is co-op, every design decision made during the development was made with co-op in mind.
The demo was shown with two screens to highlight the depth of asymmetrical co-op gameplay, and began with Kirk and Spock making a dramatic shuttle jump to reboard the Enterprise that is under attack. Navigating deadly mines, players control the breakneck jump, complete with a near-crash landing by Kirk (while Spock managed a near-perfect landing).
Once aboard, Kirk and Spock make their way through the Enterprise using their tricorders to unlock doors and scan fallen red shirts to try and figure out what’s captured the Enterprise and what caused it to go into Command Lockout. After receiving a distress call from a crew member, they head to the nearest turbo lift to make their way to the Shuttle Bay.
As they find the source of the transmission, they discover it’s a trap, and are ambushed by a group of enemies, triggering a playable cut scene. Kirk and Spock see the event from two different points of views through cinematic camera cuts, and each dives for cover in a scripted event where both players keep full control of their weapons.
Eventually Kirk is knocked down and paralyzed by an enemy nerve toxin and Spock needs to get him up to Med Bay. As Kirk drags himself behind some crates for cover, more enemies beam into the shuttle bay deck, pinning them down. Using one hand Kirk must provide cover fire for two of them as Spock cannot use his weapon while dragging Kirk.
In Med Bay, Spock lays Kirk on a gurney and begins an interactive sequence using the medical laser to kill the alien parasites invading Kirk’s body. As this happens Kirk provides cover fire for Spock. The difficulty of this sequence is based on how may red shirts you scanned and data you collected; it becomes easier the more data you collect. After the parasites are neutralized, a firefight breaks out and Kirk grabs a Federation rifle. While pinned down, Kirk uses his tricorder to deploy a Federation shield, giving him extra cover and mobility. He also uses his tricorder to overload a panel, killing a nearby enemy with the explosion. Using the Federation rifle’s secondary fire mode—a shield—Kirk instructs Spock to fire into the shield, which stores the energy as a charge. As more enemies rush in, Kirk uses the giant blast as a charged attack. Just when they thought they were safe, a more powerful enemy teleports in, and after a brief firefight, Kirk is incapacitated by the enemies powerful attacks.
