Developer: Digital Extremes
Platform: PS3, Xbox 360, Windows
Genre: Third person shooter
Cert: 16+
This had SO much going for it! A revitalized movie franchise had just sprung up in 2009, with the exciting sequel due this May. The game makers had gotten permission from director JJ Abrams and the movie writers with their story bridging game, and on top of that, they had the actual actors do the voice work of their characters, as well as give their likenesses to the characters. This was a sure bet! But, just like this year's Aliens: Colonial Marines, just because it's got the blessings of the movie makers, doesn't necessarily mean it'll be anything more than a cheap cash-in. And that's exactly what Star Trek The Video Game is; cheap.
Starting off with the visuals, the characters look like they're real life counterparts... until they open their mouths. Any required movement makes everyone look like a creepy polygon mannequin, their bodies and facial features moving in ways that humans shouldn't be physically capable of. The surroundings the characters are dropped into aren't any better, flitting between the bland interiors of the Enterprise, to the dark and ugly alien locales. The sound effects are slightly better, borrowed wholesale from the movie, but that's a very small saving grace.
The story consists of you either playing as Kirk or Spock (practically identical in gameplay, so it doesn't make a difference who you pick), and you are in search of a world destroying weapon, which bad guy aliens The Gorn (who appeared in a single episode of the original Star Trek TV series) are also after. That's pretty much it. Gameplay consists of a lot of third person shooting, some platforming, some puzzle games, some mini-shooting games... nothing you haven't seen before, but nothing you've ever seen constructed with as little effort or love.
Between the jerky controls, the endless glitches (bad guys appear from nowhere, you'll be endlessly disappearing into walls, some of your own guns will explode in your hands for no apparent reason), the god-awful artificial intelligence (both your computer controlled team-mate and the bad guys are a unique shade of stupid) and the complete lack of originality, Star Trek The Video Game is to be avoided like a space plague. Somebody transport every last copy of this on to the surface of the sun, it'd be doing us all a massive favour.
Rent Or Buy: Neither
Presentation: 2 out of 5
Gameplay: 1 out of 5
Replay: 1 out of 5
Overall: 1 out of 5