14 DAY TRIAL // Publisher Namco Bandai and developer Digital Extremes have gone all out when it comes to their new Star Trek video game at E3 2012, with a full two-screen 3D experience designed to show off the gameplay of the cooperative third-person game and reveal the main enemies that players will face in the single-player title.
The game is still in pre-alpha state and that means that the two companies are not yet willing to allow gamers to get their hands on it, but the core gameplay elements seem interesting and there’s a real sense that having both Captain Kirk and First Officer Spock adds something to the story.
The Star Trek demo started with a cinematic that looked very solid in 3D, with the two characters interacting with the crew on the bridge before moving to the transporter room, where they get to choose their weapons and equipment before heading to their mission on New Vulcan.
The events in the game will bridge the gap between the first Star Trek reboot and the story of the second installment and will allow gamers to see how the Vulcans are doing and who is threatening their existence.
Unfortunately, the big enemy reveal is somewhat underwhelming as the Digital Extremes team and Namco Bandai have chosen to throw the Gorn against the player.
The lizard-like species has been expanded from its humble origins on the original television show, so there are at least 4 types of enemies to fight and the team will probably add many more before the Star Trek game launches.
The combat was pretty smooth, despite the alpha status, and there was a real sense that Spock and Kirk were collaborating, with the former using his tricorder to expose weaknesses on the elite enemies while Kirk, in usual daredevil fashion, was drawing their fire and attention.
There were a few inconsistencies here and there, like photon torpedoes fired very close to Kirk and Spock, but so far the Star Trek game seems like one of the first titles to make cooperative play truly interesting.