Jonah Falcon got to check out the new Star Trek game based on JJ Abrams' film at E3

Love or hate the J.J. Abrams Star Trek reboot from 2009, it's here to stay. With Star Trek 2 coming out in 2012, what better time to get a new licensed videogame of the series?

Unlike most licensed films, the Star Trek videogame is being given a full development cycle; movie license games tend to be quick knockoffs with developers expected to make a game after the film's finished production. Star Trek will have no such issues. It's being given the attention a major AAA title is getting, developed by DIgital Extremes (who are also responsible for the upcoming The Darkness II) with assistance from with Bad Robot, K/O Paper Products and Damon Lindelof, and featuring an original story by God of War writer Marianne Krawczyk, in collaboration with the writer/producers of the 2009 Star Trek film, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman.

Spock = blue, Kirk = red.

Star Trek will be a co-op third person shooter, with Capt. James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock as the twin protagonists. Part of the fun comes from the fact that Kirk and Spock will have very distinct play styles, which seems to be a new trend with games like Hunter: The Demon's Forge and the upcoming The Lord of the Rings: War in the North.



The differences in play styles between Kirk and Spock are as you might expect: Kirk tends toward brute force, while Spock gravitates towards finesse and stealth. The differences are even reflected in the more subtle ways. At the beginning of the demo, Kirk and Spock are using the jets in their exosuits to navigate a minefield while trying to reach a hijacked U.S.S. Enterprise. While Kirk clumsily crashes into the ship, Spock makes a perfect two point landing.

While on board, the duo discovered dead redshirts, and use the tricorder to scan each one; the tricorder is a catchall tool in the game, and players will find themselves relying on it throughout the entire game, according to the devs. One of the side tasks is scanning as many or all of the dead redshirts on the ship; the more data collected, the easier it is for the medbay to help cure the ailment that the strange weapons inflict on Kirk later in the game.

When a group of enemies ambush the pair, the differences between the two is evident as well. Spock's phaser, for instance, can be set to "Stasis" instead of "Stun", which will encase its victim in a paralyzing field. Meanwhile, Kirk's phaser can be set to "Kill", which basically disintegrates the enemy.

Kirk's idea of increasing the UV in the suntan machine goes horribly wrong.

A special notice must be made of the graphics - they are truly beautiful, even in the early build we were treated to. The animation is very well done in particular - the slight movements and mannerisms of Kirk and Spock are perfectly imagined. It'll be quite a treat to see what the game looks - and sounds, since the sound effects were also high quality - like when the game has gone into gold master status.

We were only given a glimpse of it, but the game is not just an action title. It'll also feature some puzzles to figure out, giving the player(s) a chance to stretch their brain a bit. The puzzles are even solved in multiple ways, depending on which character is doing it and with what means.

Star Trek will be released in 2012 for PC and consoles, presumably to coincide with Star Trek 2. For the Star Trek fan - even those not enamored with the reboot - the game looks like it'll be made with the love and care that ardent Trekkers will appreciate. Look out for this one.