On Board: Deep Space Nine

Simon & Schuster is gearing up to take gamers to the dark world of Star Trek Deep Space Nine: The Fallen. The game, which will ship next spring, is being developed by Laguna Beach, Calif.-based The Collective. While we've seen Star Trek games come and go, The Fallen may be just what Deep Space Nine fans need to keep their favorite show alive now that the series is over.

Built on the now-famous Unreal engine, The Fallen takes place between the sixth and seventh seasons of the series and thankfully keeps the TV series' dark overtones and functional light cues. For research, the team dredged up countless episodes to make sure the game re-creates the areas best known by DS9 fans, as well as fills in areas viewers only heard about. You take control of one of three characters - Sisko, Kira, or Worf; the cast members who played these characters on the show will lend their voices to the game. And while the team talked about giving gamers the chance to use Odo (the changeling) as a character, altering his pacifistic nature to a more aggressive one may not have sat well with hard-core fans of the show.

In Half-Life style, the developers have chosen to leave the game fairly open. If you want to run through the game as an action shooter, you can. If you want to uncover the storyline behind your journey, you can speak to the various ensigns and other characters. The storyline is fairly simple, an ancient group of aliens called the Pah Wraiths are coming back and they can be controlled by three archaic Red Orbs. Whatever character holds the three orbs when the Pah Wraiths return will be able to harness and unleash the Wraiths' power. In your quest to find the orbs first before the Cardassians, you'll travel through 30 of DS9's environments - from the USS Defiant, through Bajoran's holiest of halls, and all the way to a massive Jem'Hadar starship.

Players will also appreciate the game's minimalist approach to its interface, all of which are decorated in Federation fashion. You'll also have a functional tricorder with three modes of scanning: bio, met, and geo. Bio lets you scan organic matter or other creatures, as met mode lets you scan metals and other substances you may need to complete a mission. And rather than place power-ups all over the levels, geo mode helps players scan for areas that allow items to be beamed down to you.

For weapons, you'll begin with a character-appropriate weapon, such as a phaser, to begin with. Later on, you'll find up to ten weapons including the Klingons' finest melee weapons. The Fallen changes its objectives depending on the character you choose to play - Kira is stealthier, Sisko is balanced, and Worf is as aggressive as ever. And there's multiplayer options as well, although the development team admits that it is heavily focused on the single-player mode, the game will use the latest version of the Unreal Tournament code to bring multiplayer gaming to players. During matches, players will be able to choose from the standard list of characters, a few standard ensigns, or the dreaded Cardassians.

Admittedly, even in its early stages, the game looks great and lacks the standard "Unreal" look of other Unreal engine-based titles. For now, gamers will have to wait until next spring for Star Trek Deep Space Nine: The Fallen.