Star Trek
-Ben
I'm going to let the Gorn out of the bag here -- see what I did there? :D -- when it came to the Star Trek vs. Star Wars rivalry, I was always on the latter's side. Not that I disliked Trek, but it wasn't a huge entertainment point while I was growing up. Sure, adults knew of it thanks to the original show and Next Generation; however, as a kid, I was more attracted to the myriad of books, movies and video games that were being released in the galaxy far, far away. There just wasn't that much content coming out of the final frontier.
That was until 2009. I was in high school when I began reading about a "reboot" of the hallowed universe. The first thing I remember hearing about it was that Zachary Quinto, the "new" Spock, had gotten the approval of Leonard Nimoy to take over the character. Other than that...yeah, Star Trek.
I had no idea what to expect when I went and saw the film. In fact, I can't even remember why I decided to go and see it but nevertheless, I did. My world was rocked when I absolutely loved the movie and couldn't wait for the sequel. I particularly loved Chris Pine as Kirk, Quinto as Spock and Karl Urban as Leonard "Bones" McCoy. The film made me a fan of Trek and I began keeping my eye out for anything within the rebooted universe. That's when, a couple years later, I saw a feature article of a game simply titled Star Trek.
That was until 2009. I was in high school when I began reading about a "reboot" of the hallowed universe. The first thing I remember hearing about it was that Zachary Quinto, the "new" Spock, had gotten the approval of Leonard Nimoy to take over the character. Other than that...yeah, Star Trek.
I had no idea what to expect when I went and saw the film. In fact, I can't even remember why I decided to go and see it but nevertheless, I did. My world was rocked when I absolutely loved the movie and couldn't wait for the sequel. I particularly loved Chris Pine as Kirk, Quinto as Spock and Karl Urban as Leonard "Bones" McCoy. The film made me a fan of Trek and I began keeping my eye out for anything within the rebooted universe. That's when, a couple years later, I saw a feature article of a game simply titled Star Trek.
The article boasted the likeness of both Pine as Kirk and Quinto as Spock (as well as the rest of the Enterprise crew from the film) and was revealed to be a co-op game set in between the 2009 film and it's upcoming sequel (Star Trek into Darkness, May 2013). I was sold already. Anything rebooted Trek I was into. The release date came and I played a Trek game for the first time in my life. And here's what I found...
The game was great.
On the day of release, before going to pick it up, I read several reviews that awarded the game low scores. I'll admit, I was a bit discouraged. Even so, I drove out, got it and put it in my drive as soon as I returned. A good eight hours later, I had finished it. While advertising for the game glorified co-op, I enjoyed the game quite well playing as Kirk, with the CPU-controlled Spock by my side. The characteristic humor of the two is still here; Kirk's one liners and friendly jabs he takes at Spock were enough to make me smirk. The performances of both leads were solid, though Quinto kind of relied on his Vulcan, devoid-of-emotion voice a little bit too much. As those who have seen the film know: Spock can get angry.
While we're on the subject of the cast, I must point out that not everyone brought their A-game; specifically, John Cho (Sulu) and Zoe Saldana (Uhura) were just flat out boring. It really made me feel like they took this job with a grain of salt, because it's one of those "computer simulation thingies." I thought they had replaced Saldana for the game because her monotonous delivery just didn't sound like Uhura from the film. And Simon Pegg (Scotty)? Meh, he was alright. Other than those three, the crew of Enterprise was back! I was particularly impressed with Karl Urban's performance. Just as sarcastic and bitter as ever as Dr. McCoy.
The game was great.
On the day of release, before going to pick it up, I read several reviews that awarded the game low scores. I'll admit, I was a bit discouraged. Even so, I drove out, got it and put it in my drive as soon as I returned. A good eight hours later, I had finished it. While advertising for the game glorified co-op, I enjoyed the game quite well playing as Kirk, with the CPU-controlled Spock by my side. The characteristic humor of the two is still here; Kirk's one liners and friendly jabs he takes at Spock were enough to make me smirk. The performances of both leads were solid, though Quinto kind of relied on his Vulcan, devoid-of-emotion voice a little bit too much. As those who have seen the film know: Spock can get angry.
While we're on the subject of the cast, I must point out that not everyone brought their A-game; specifically, John Cho (Sulu) and Zoe Saldana (Uhura) were just flat out boring. It really made me feel like they took this job with a grain of salt, because it's one of those "computer simulation thingies." I thought they had replaced Saldana for the game because her monotonous delivery just didn't sound like Uhura from the film. And Simon Pegg (Scotty)? Meh, he was alright. Other than those three, the crew of Enterprise was back! I was particularly impressed with Karl Urban's performance. Just as sarcastic and bitter as ever as Dr. McCoy.
The story of the game was satisfactory. Though it was a bit confusing at first (and sometimes later on), it was a plot that I felt the writers really took the time to brainstorm and work on. The introduction of the Gorn was a cool addition to the rebooted universe (most people would know the Gorn from the original Trek's infamous fight scene between William Shatner's Kirk and a member of the race); they were evil and especially fun to shoot. I was also happy that the story related to the events that took place in the 2009 film; it involves some remaining members of the Vulcan race finding a prime candidate to establish a new home world, dubbed New Vulcan, as the original planet (SPOILER!) was destroyed by Nero in the movie.
Thanks to my two favorite aspects being solid (the story and voice acting/writing) I enjoyed the game. The fact that the gameplay was also pretty fun was a bonus. It wasn't revolutionary; in fact, it took on some old school elements such as using experience to upgrade assets of your character, as well as stunning a target, THEN running up to melee him. Most games nowadays have a quick melee button. No sir, not here. It was enjoyable and gave the game a sort of unique Trek feel.
Thanks to my two favorite aspects being solid (the story and voice acting/writing) I enjoyed the game. The fact that the gameplay was also pretty fun was a bonus. It wasn't revolutionary; in fact, it took on some old school elements such as using experience to upgrade assets of your character, as well as stunning a target, THEN running up to melee him. Most games nowadays have a quick melee button. No sir, not here. It was enjoyable and gave the game a sort of unique Trek feel.
The only negative thing I can think of would be the lack of polish of the overall game. Camera angles would go into the wall, the graphics looked incredibly aged and some of the cutscenes seemed rushed at times. As a matter of fact, the game ended pretty quickly; seriously, the credits began rolling as if the last scene was that of a magician actually cutting the woman in half, then frantically calling for the curtains to be closed. "Well, that's all we have time for, folks! Thank you and goodnight!"
In conclusion, after becoming a fan of Trek after the reboot and being incredibly hyped for the sequel coming out this month, I really enjoyed the game. I know it won't be winning any Game of the Year awards anytime soon, but if you did enjoy the film, I would recommend you give it a shot. If you're scared, bring a friend along with you. Kirk and Spock await to "explore strange new worlds," fight giant lizard guys and "boldly go where no man has gone before." Let's hope they leave Saldana and Cho behind, though.
In conclusion, after becoming a fan of Trek after the reboot and being incredibly hyped for the sequel coming out this month, I really enjoyed the game. I know it won't be winning any Game of the Year awards anytime soon, but if you did enjoy the film, I would recommend you give it a shot. If you're scared, bring a friend along with you. Kirk and Spock await to "explore strange new worlds," fight giant lizard guys and "boldly go where no man has gone before." Let's hope they leave Saldana and Cho behind, though.