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Not the flaccid
Not
the flaccid, power plug-looking version of the newer series, nor even the sleek,
needle-barreled weapons of the late-Shatner seasons. No, I wanted the original
phaser that looked like an oversized nine-volt battery.
There
was something decidedly cool about all that destructive power coming from a
black box so small that you knew Kirk never bothered changing the power setting.
He just left it on ‘kill’ permanently, and hoped that he didn’t leave it
in his pants when he did the laundry. I had the opportunity to nearly satisfy my
desire with the Trek game Elite Force.
Unfortunately, that ended up not working out because I wasn’t fast enough in
the pool here at GameZone to snag it. And, since I rarely leave my apartment for
anything other than Digiorno pizzas (you see, it’s not
delivery) and toothpaste, I didn’t pick it up at the store either. I
experienced a brief, nearly religious, moment of hope when one of my friends,
whose father works for NASA, informed me that a military-grade laser could be
constructed in mere days, shopping only at Radio Shack. I still had half a tube
of toothpaste left though, so I never tried it.
But
now my chance has arrived. For not only does Star
Trek Deep Space 9: The Fallen (DS9:TF) have phasers, they also let
you use a tricorder! This has to be some sort of geek nirvana, as I’ve heard
that some gamers have actually dropped dead
from the excitement of controlling a bat’leth laden Worf and scanning for
life-forms. I am told I qualify to judge the volume of ‘geekness’ due to my
collection of Batman figures (or as my girlfriend calls them; boy-dolls) being still
in their boxes. This is apparently some sort of loser litmus test I
was previously unaware of.
While
you try to estimate where you fall in this spectrum of children’s toys to
muscle car ratios, I’ll give you a brief run-down of the game.
DS9:TF
is a third-person action game in the vein of Tomb Raider. It appears to expand
on storylines that had existed within the series, so those who followed the
trials of the Deep Space Nine crew will be rewarded for their loyalty. I assume,
anyway, because I rarely watched the show, so had no clue what in the world was
going on for the first hour of play. Kind of like a Fellini film, but with
transporters.
I’ll
give you the basics. Some bad people want to get their hands on three incredibly
powerful items so that they can make a super-weapon. You are a member of an
eclectic group of scientists and warriors who discover their plans and attempt
to obtain the items first. This would be a very captivating premise if it
weren’t also a word-for-word description of the GI Joe series premiere. The
guys at Collective Studios do add a few ‘adult’ themes like conflicting
ideologies and political terrorists, all intertwined with talismans that are
overflowing with both untapped physical power and religious significance, but
it’s still a ‘stop these guys
from making that weapon before this
happens’ regurgitated sci-fi yarn. Typical Star Trek fare, but
since they actually have enough time to develop the story, it ends up being a
decent show, if sometimes a bit predictable.
Now,
this is where I was going to begin my recount of the three-sided storytelling of
DS9:TF due largely to my preference for diplomacy before I let loose the dogs
of...well, chastisement. They’re not as tough as the dogs of war,
but they have pretty good taste and are generally better company. Today though,
I feel like getting some things off my chest.
I’ve
had a problem recently with a lot of action oriented games on my PC.
Specifically, how dark they are. I know all the cliché justifications for mood
lighting, and I do realize that certain effects and emotions can’t be achieved
with the sun at high blazing down to expose every last nook and cranny of a
level. But should I have to play all my games after midnight, hunched under a
comforter in the corner of a darkroom just so I can see what the hell is going
on? That would be no. What makes
me want to force-feed a few people copies of Stage
Lighting: Step-by-Step is the fact that they go one step beyond
encouraging you to play in the dark, but actively take steps to leave you no
other choice. Maybe it’s just me, but I believe that the highest setting for
brightness in a game should be... oh, I don’t know...bright, and the opposite end of this sliding scale something
that isn’t. Not only is this not
the case, but the brightest I could get DS9:TF still left much of it unplayable
with anything more luminous than street lights gently illuminating drawn shades.
Why does this distress me? Probably because of the fact that anyone with enough
brain cells functioning to know that when they put their nametag on, they
shouldn’t be able to read it, is aware that staring at a CRT in poor light
conditions is a fast track to eyesight degradation. And many of these games
actually tell you to play in
complete darkness! Perhaps I’m not up to date on ocular medicine. Perhaps
I’m not seeing the hidden genius within their art. Perhaps they’re all
morons. Whatever the reason, the fact remains that brightly-lit games can still
create mood, and not being able to play DS9:TF during the day definitely created
my mood. They would probably call it ‘unbridled homicidal rage’ when
describing it to the jury, but that’s for history to decide. Do you hear me
Mr. Spector? I’m talking to you.
I’m
not saying that I wasn’t able to appreciate the visual artistry. Not by a long
shot. I found that the game was acceptably attractive, and many of the details,
with the exception of the unrelenting light-sourcing, were very nice. Things
like the glowing buttons on pressure suits and the static interference when
zooming in with the phaser rifle were items of note. The fact that the character
models reacted well to variations in surface height also gave me more enjoyment
than is probably warranted. I spent fifteen minutes having Kira pose with one
leg propped up on a fountain while holding a rifle until I realized there was no
way to get a look at her from the front. Intentional attempt by the developer to
draw the gamer almost, but not quite into a realistic world, or a strange
inability on my part to keep my attention focused?
Who
cares? It’s cool.
Another
great bit is the fact that you can actually descend ladders. Pressing the crouch
button while in the vicinity of the top of said ladders automatically places you
on it. After unending struggles with the concept in first-person shooters over
the years, this is a very warm
fuzzy indeed. Yes, I know this isn’t a first-person shooter, so don’t bother
scanning through the beginning of the review to fact check me. I’m just saying
that I like not falling, regardless of the perspective used. Falling = bad,
therefore, automatic ladder use = all kinds of not bad.
It
appears that we have drifted into the land of ‘Nice Things to Say’ without
any fun remarks to commemorate the transfer. I’m too tired for wit right now,
so maybe I’ll come back later and insert something humorous about beating
seals or something. In the meantime, I suppose I should finish the enjoyable
aspects of DS9:TF. I would like to clarify before we take this plunge that, even
though it sounds like the best things this game has to offer are still slightly
less entertaining than clubbing seals, that is simply not the case. I just
really like those kinds of jokes.
Sliding
back on track, I was able to derive some pleasure from DS9:TF for a few reasons,
especially the tricorder. I know this is a minor and admittedly lame item to
place at the top of my list, but it’s the first thing that comes to mind when
I think about this game. The tricorder performs a few rudimentary but vital
functions for you, including:
·
Pinpointing
the location of enemies, switches (whether hidden or in plain view), pick-up
items, mines and various other significant nouns.
·
Displaying
the frequency modulation of force fields, allowing you to fire through them by
altering your phaser to match.
·
Displaying
the direction and location of areas that allow for transporter use.
I
really can’t tell you how nice it was not to have to search every last inch of
a level for that single switch/lever/indestructible orb of death/keycard that
opens the next area. Particularly since this game is obviously geared to be an
action title. With the burden of solving uselessly complex hide-and-seek games
for items whose only purpose is to keep you here
and out of there, you are able to
enjoy more of the scenery, and, in particular, making enemies a part of it.
The
second place on my list holds the comm-badge. Allowing you to talk to various
members of the crew at any time, and also receive vital information at key
points in a manner more believable than reams of top secret documents laying
around in the mess hall, there really isn’t much about this gadget that
isn’t likable. I would have enjoyed some useless but friendly banter on
occasion instead of the ‘Nothing to report.’ response I frequently received,
but this omission is outweighed by the excellent ability to have items beamed to
your location. It only happens in ‘designated areas’, but it’s an
excellent use of a Star Trek staple.
Which
brings me to another relentlessly high-performing aspect of this franchise; the
music. As ever, the soundtrack is not only suited perfectly to the concept of
science fiction adventuring, but this time it’s use as situational scoring is
flawless. Even the incidental music often gave me chills. To be perfectly
honest, I tried playing the game without sound and found my enjoyment was significantly
decreased. I was quite amazed.
Of
course, all of this visual and aural excellence is for naught if the game
isn’t worth playing. I’m pretty sure I read that somewhere. Well, as long as
you enjoy extra-long story arcs, limited brainwork and much shooting of weapons,
it is. In fact, there is so much action going on that you will often wonder why
they didn’t opt for a first-person view, since it would have made aiming at
enemies far easier. Instead, they compensate by providing automatic targeting,
which is quite useful, but between that and the tricorder there isn’t much
left to the ‘gaming’ except timing a few jumps and pressing fire at the
right time. Even the ‘hidden’ gravitic mines wind up being one more press of
a button between you and that extra ammo clip when Sisko can lock onto them from
sixty feet away while running sideways and dodging heavy fire.
But
Sisko won’t be the only one performing these feats of incredible dexterity.
You are presented with the opportunity to explore the quest for the Pah-Wraiths
orbs from three different perspectives; Kira, Worf and Sisko. Unsurprisingly
each one has an inherent difficulty (which isn’t stated, but likely goes, from
easiest to hardest: Kira, Sisko, Worf) but they also experience the events
differently. Though much of their individual mission content and objectives
begin to overlap as the game progresses, it is a nice way to extend the life of
the game. This becomes even more important since the game is for one player
only, which is increasingly becoming the exception.
What
we have, in the end, is an engaging Star Trek game that delivers more story and
replay than Elite Force, but lacks
the visceral intensity and multiplayer capability. Should it be added to your
collection? If you’re a Trekkie, then without hesitation I tell you yes.
If you lack that sci-fi bent, then I don’t know why you read this far, but I
can say that Deep Space Nine: The Fallen is a very interesting show with some
difficult and action-filled sequences, but you may want to look elsewhere if
you’re searching for your next Half-Life or No One Lives Forever.
Install: Easy
Not a single hiccup, and you can actually skip the opening
sequences.
Gameplay: 7
It was very easy to control, but there was little skill
required to accomplish most of the tasks. The enemies were little challenge,
leaving their sheer numbers and the platform jumping as the main reason to save
your game.
Graphics: 8
It looks really good, if not the pinnacle of visual splendor.
Smooth textures, good frame rate, superb details (feed the fish on the
mezzanine) and excellent, if excessive, light-sourcing.
Sound: 10
As usual, the most immersive aspect of a Star
Trek game. The score was perfect, and the ambient sounds always
suited the situation.
Difficulty: 8
There were often far too many enemies and far too little ammo
for the stronger weapons, leaving you in the unenviable position of trying to
run and dodge incredibly accurate unfriendly fire. The reload/recharge rate was
far too often the true enemy. Worf has to use a bat’leth... ‘nuff said.
Concept: 7
The story was perhaps a touch contrived at times, and the
idea of a using the Star Trek license far from new (sadly) but the story was
often intriguing enough to drive you to play the next level. Though more
scripted sequences and alternative consequences would have been nice. The
separate storylines weren’t often separate enough.
Multiplayer: N/A
Overall: 7.5
Not a perfect game, but it has enough quality to keep Trek
fans very happy. Non-fans wouldn’t need to return this if it were a gift, but
would find their action needs satisfied better elsewhere.
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