Star Trek: The Video Game
Reviewed By Stephen Pastic
As someone who is largely unfamiliar with the Star Trek brand, I didn't know what to expect going into this game. Having seen some screenshots prior to release, I was of the opinion that the game seemed to at least look visually interesting. After a short time however, Star Trek's gameplay made it quite apparent that I was playing a licensed game based on a movie and/or television show. Draw what conclusion you will from that.
The basic plot of Star Trek revolves around a hostile alien race stealing a device with the potential to be catastrophically misused, hence the heroes must retrieve said device lest sh*t get real in space. As a basic framing method, this struck me as awfully cliche, but what is presented is at least functional with giving some context and moving the plot forward.
Players assume either the role of Kirk or Spock at the game's outset, and will be working with their unchosen partner over the course of the adventure. At this point, you might be thinking "hmm two characters working together...I smell a co-operative game here", and you would be right. Players can either choose to play alone with an AI controlled partner, or via Xbox Live with another human participant. More on this point later.
At its core, Star Trek is a third person shooter somewhat reminiscent of titles such as Mass Effect (minus the dialogue trees and choices). Most of the game involves fending off enemies via cover based shooting, and simple traversal of the environment towards the current objective. A light 'puzzle' element is also featured, with certain environmental obstacles requiring a 'hack' (which takes the form of some very simple minigames) in order to progress. Another frequently used tool throughout is the "tricorder" - a phone sized device which allows players to scan, hack and basically interact with features of the environment beyond shooting.
By holding LB, Kirk or Spock can slowly move and look around whilst notable features are highlighted in their vision as the rest of the screen becomes awash in a blueish grid pattern - for want of a better comparision, basically Star Trek's equivalent of "detective vision" from the Batman Arkham Asylum/City games. One odd inclusion is that of a jump function assigned to the A button; whilst there are some occasional segments requiring a small bit of platforming, for the rest of the game it seems to be of very questionable utility aside from vaulting over cover. Not neccessarily bad, it is just somewhat puzzling as to why the ability to jump is there at all.
Combat wise, Kirk and Spock have access to two weapons simultaneously, and each weapon also has a secondary function. For example, the basic phaser can either be fired normally or with RB to fire a non-lethal stun shot. There are a decent number of different weapons (both Starfleet and alien forms) available throughout, and most additional firearms will be scavenged off the bodies of defeated enemies. Various types of grenades also make an appearance and whilst they are pretty limited in number, they can definitely make certain encounters much easier if used intelligently.
For most encounters, players will ideally utilise nearby cover as they poke out to take shots at enemies in the vicinity. Whilst you can definitely eliminate opposition without the use of cover, things become much more difficult standing out in the open and not giving your shields a chance to recharge. Furthermore, players can move between cover points by aiming towards where they want to shift to and holding B, causing the character to take a direct path to the new cover point and hunker down automatically.
A light upgrade system is also available by trading in accumulated XP for particular upgrades to areas such as the tricorder, and stun or lethal kill effectiveness. Additional XP can be gained from scanning non essential environmental features bestowing some ancillary information upon the player. Completionists can also try their hand at achieving "commendations" - in particular segments, players may be given an additional optional objective (i.e. do not lethally eliminate any enemies) which they can elect to attempt if they are feeling particularly confident.
Star Trek's audiovisual presentation is something of a mixed bag. Graphically, the game alternates between looking okay and slightly dodgy quite regularly and the whole look of the game certainly isn't helped by a lot of artistically boring environs featured throughout. Sound wise, the backing musical score raises no massive issues, but the voice acting (much like the visuals) is somewhat scattershot. I'm not entirely sure of whether the occasional really hammy line of dialogue is intentional, given my unfamiliarity with the property, but there were more than a few jarring lines at least on my end of things.
As for online features, as far as I can ascertain, Star Trek is as vanilla as they come - basically you can either choose to play solo, or have someone else take the role of your co-op partner over Xbox Live. That's it. Whilst this inclusion seemed to work as it should, it just seems a little underwhelming in terms of online features when compared to, well, pretty much any other title out there.
The biggest issue with Star Trek is that whilst everything more or less works, what there is has been done before and far more elegantly by other titles. Functional, but somewhat clunky and dare I say it....boring. Combat quickly becomes a chore owing to clunky player movement and cover mechanics, and the whole experience is just very 'meh' throughout.
There really is not a single new idea on show here, and this point is further exacerbated by the fact that everything the game does has been pulled off far better elsewhere. Star Trek is a prime example of a licensed tie in game with nothing to offer players besides the licence itself.
If you're a die hard Trekkie, then at least I can say the game is functional. For everyone else, its tough to recommend a title like Star Trek when games like Mass Effect exist. Unless you absolutely must consume everything Star Trek, you can do a lot better than this uninspired effort.
Check out our review of the all new blockbuster film: Star Trek: Into Darkness.
Game: Star Trek: The Video Game
System: XBOX 360
Developer/Co-Developer: Digital Extremes
Publisher: Namco Bandai
