Dominion Wars Preview

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Luckily for those of us stuck in the 21st century, where the low-budget International Space Station represents the summit of our space exploration thus far, a relatively new software developer named Gizmo Industries is aiming to deliver the action and feel of Star Trek tactical starship combat on desktop PCs this summer.

Set in and around the events that took place during the two-year war between the Federation and the Dominion, Deep Space Nine: Dominion Wars will give you the ability to command up to six authentically re-created starships from the Federation, Klingon, Cardassian, or Dominion Star Trek races. And while you may already have gotten a taste of what it's like to command highly advanced combat vessels in previous games such as Star Trek Armanda and Starfleet Command I and II, Dominion Wars sets itself apart by focusing squarely on the action portions of space combat that gamers crave.

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To achieve this goal, the design team behind Dominion Wars has tried to place the gamer within Star Trek Deep Space Nine's environment as much as possible. Ship hull designs are instantly recognizable to anyone who's seen more than a few episodes of the show, as are the accurate representations of the traditional control screens and interfaces that the Deep Space Nine, Next Generation, and Voyager command bridges have all used on TV and the big screen. Right away, you'll feel as if you're a part of the Star Trek universe, thanks to all the work the artists and designers have put into less-critical areas of the game, like the prerendered intro and menu selection screens that make up the game's interface. But all the glamorous parts of the game won't add up to a hill of beans if the actual gameplay is lackluster, and this area has correctly garnered the most attention of Gizmo's staff over the past year and a half of Dominion Wars' development. You will assume the role of a Flagship Captain for either the Federation/Klingon or Dominion/Cardassian sides and will be expected to personally control the actions of a six-ship fleet across a variety of missions toward the end goal of destroying your opponent's war-making ability.

To aid you in your quest, each of the ships under your control has a captain assigned to it, and each has specific abilities and talents. You'll be able to designate this captain out of a host of candidates while the fleet is still in spacedock. Some of the selectable captains are recognizable to fans of the show, like Captain Benjamin Sisko or Commander Worf, while others are new to the universe. The captains' skill sets vary across certain variables, including the commendations they've been awarded for exemplary effort or knowledge, their tactical combat proficiency, and overall command rating.