Star Trek: Invasion Preview

Activision's PlayStation Star Trek game will be based on the Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series and is defined as a "space shooter" and will focus on action-packed gameplay with intense space battles. Spanning 30 missions, Star Trek places you in control of the Federation's pilot fighters and challenges you to explore worlds and defend the Federation, as well as investigate the cause of a rift in the Beta Quadrant. During play, players will come across such characters as the Borg, the Klingons, and, according to Activision, an alien race new to the Star Trek universe. The game will also take place almost two years after the last movie, to basically coincide with the movies.

We got our hands on a current build of Activision's Colony Wars-inspired shooter and saw a lot of good things. Developed by Warthog, which includes the former lead programmer and artist from Psygnosis' Colony Wars team, Star Trek: Invasion looks very similar to the CW series, but much nicer, with asteroids flying around with reckless abandon, and other ambient touches that replicate the feeling of deep-space. In one scene, a huge model of the Enterprise strolled on by, and it looked fantastic, with none of the texture-warping usually associated with large on-screen objects on the PlayStation. Special effects are amazing as well, with some weapons offering light shows and explosions never seen before in the Colony Wars games. The game attempts to take new steps from its origins by adding new dodge maneuvers, which lets ships dart sideways and backwards with unnerving agility. Dogfights are also a lot more intense than the usual few AI-drones that take half-hearted pot-shots at you in other games. In ST: Invasion, the enemy is downright ruthless, unloading salvo after salvo of high-powered laser fire. Agile fingers are needed to dodge an early funeral here.

From what we've seen, Star Trek: Invasion looks to leap past Colony Wars series in terms of graphics and gameplay both. Warthog's ambitions are impressive, but not as impressive as their actual accomplishments thus far. We'll have more on Invasion as we get it, but take a peek at the screenshots to get a taste of what's coming.