GameSpot's Star Trek: Hidden Evil Preview

Developer:
Presto Studios

Publisher:
Activision

Target Release Date:
November 1999
By Stephen Poole
10/25/99

Page 1 of 6

Given that there are millions of Star Trek fans hungry for anything related to their favorite alternate universe, you'd think the upcoming arrival of a new Star Trek game would have a lot of gamers jumping up and down for joy. But over the years, serious game fans have begun to grow a bit leery of any game carrying the Star Trek name. Oh, there have been several good ones, but for every title that fulfilled the admittedly high expectations of folks who are both Star Trek fans and serious gamers, there have been two that were either disappointingly mediocre or out-and-out dogs.

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Strange creatures await you in the Undercity, where the aliens who know the true secret of Ba'ku once thrived.
But things are looking much brighter for Trek gamers. Star Trek: The Next Generation - Birth of the Federation and Starfleet Command were both solid strategy games that delivered a true Trek feel, and a host of other impressive titles are on the horizon. Activision is one of the major players in this Star Trek deluge: It has a first-person shooter (Voyager: Elite Force) and an RTS (Star Trek: Armada) in the works, and both are grabbing the attention of the gaming press in a big way. But before those titles hit shelves, Activision will deliver the action-adventure title Star Trek: Hidden Evil. This game will feature the voice talents of Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner, a plot that is inspired by the film Star Trek: Insurrection (and which also draws loosely from a couple of classic TV episodes), and a blend of puzzles and combat, which Activision and Presto Studios hope will draw in casual Trek fans while still managing to satisfy hard-core gamers.

Coming up with a game that truly appeals to both crowds is sort of like pursuing a philosopher's stone for any publisher lucky enough (and whose pockets are deep enough) to use the Star Trek license. "With Hidden Evil, we really wanted to appeal to the widest spectrum of Star Trek fans," says Eric Dallaire, Presto Studios' lead writer on Hidden Evil. "We knew that truly fanatical Star Trek fans would probably play Hidden Evil. We also wanted to appeal to the Star Trek fan who doesn't necessarily play all the hard-core games."

One thing is certain: If you want to create such a game, there's probably no better way to go than with an action-adventure, especially if you use territory that's immediately familiar to Trekkers as your starting point.





Next: The digital sequel