New Star Trek (Abrams Universe) Coming Out

posted on June 8th, 2011, 8:08 am

what about wii which has sold more consoles than 360 and ps3.

From my understanding Wii is more a child and fitness platform, serious gamers normally go for one of the competitors (360 and PS3).

That said we (my wife and I) have plans of getting a Wii soon (probably this Christmas) as there is nothing wrong with some of those classic remake games like Mario, but if I was looking for some more sophisticated games, I wouldn't buy a wii or wii game but a 360 of PS3 that is more aimed at mature audiences.

posted on June 8th, 2011, 11:51 am

From my understanding Wii is more a child and fitness platform, serious gamers normally go for one of the competitors (360 and PS3).

That said we (my wife and I) have plans of getting a Wii soon (probably this Christmas) as there is nothing wrong with some of those classic remake games like Mario, but if I was looking for some more sophisticated games, I wouldn't buy a wii or wii game but a 360 of PS3 that is more aimed at mature audiences.

thats a trend, but no an absolute. there are childish games for ps3 and adult games (like metroid, or hack and slash with wii remote) for wii. but i agree there is a trend.

personally i dont think there is anything childish about mario kart (for example) its awesome, loads of fun even for straight men. and its awesome multiplayer. its the sort of thing you play with friends. there are also games like fifa on wii, and the wii has a classic controller (like ps3/360 controllers) to play those sorts of games with.

and i agree hardcore gamers are more likely to go for ps3/360, but these gamers have to accept that they arent actually normal gamers, more people buy wii than ps3/360, more gamers are casual and not hardcore gamers. that was the greatest strength of the wii, it took non gamers and made them want a wii. while ps3/360 only made people who were already gamers salivate.

a lot of women complain their husbands play too much games (like blops) and they dont interact. but if u and your wife play wii together she cant complain then . buy a wii, save your marriage

also its dirt cheap, meaning i can afford one. coincidentally my wii just arrived today

[Zulnak]

posted on June 8th, 2011, 12:32 pm

Last edited by Zulnak on June 8th, 2011, 12:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

The footage looks like Mass Effect -- isn't it? Just change Shepard with James T. Kirk. Don't get me wrong -- it would be a honest comparison.

posted on June 8th, 2011, 12:38 pm

mass effect + star trek + load of nothing = wrong investment

posted on June 9th, 2011, 12:01 am

Uh, Skyrim?

Most meaning, not all but a majority.  Skyrim is great though, I assume they actually had a working demo out for E3, correct?

More news on the Star Trek game, this time it's what's going to be offered as a Sony PS3 exclusive.
http://www.startrek.com/article/new-deets-about-upcoming-star-trek-game
Video auto plays and sucks graphics wise and, well, you already saw it here on a much better, cleaner youtube version.  But down the page (once you stop that awful video) you can see pics on the left hand of what the article itself primarily talks about.  A phaser controller!  The first image kind of sucks, but the second one of it all together looks cool as hell.  Even more like a TOS phaser than a Abrams Universe one.  Which is a huge plus as far as I'm concerned.  So I guess PS3 fans get a cool, I'm playing Duck Hunt on a future gen console with a 60's Star Trek phaser set in a Abrams reboot.  Something about saying that is so messed up it makes me think Doctor Who!  But if I owned a PS3, I'd probably consider this gold if it works great, and something about the way it sounds from the article makes it seem like it would be ideal for shooters.  Hopefully I get a chance to use it once, somehow...

posted on June 9th, 2011, 2:49 am

thats a trend, but no an absolute. there are childish games for ps3 and adult games (like metroid, or hack and slash with wii remote) for wii. but i agree there is a trend.

personally i dont think there is anything childish about mario kart (for example) its awesome, loads of fun even for straight men. and its awesome multiplayer. its the sort of thing you play with friends. there are also games like fifa on wii, and the wii has a classic controller (like ps3/360 controllers) to play those sorts of games with.

and i agree hardcore gamers are more likely to go for ps3/360, but these gamers have to accept that they arent actually normal gamers, more people buy wii than ps3/360, more gamers are casual and not hardcore gamers. that was the greatest strength of the wii, it took non gamers and made them want a wii. while ps3/360 only made people who were already gamers salivate.

a lot of women complain their husbands play too much games (like blops) and they dont interact. but if u and your wife play wii together she cant complain then . buy a wii, save your marriage

also its dirt cheap, meaning i can afford one. coincidentally my wii just arrived today

I only meant that there are more games aimed at Children. I sometimes say things wrong, sorry about that. But we will most likely be getting a Wii, when the new one comes out, the new one seen at E3.

Oh and my wife and I play lots of games together already, Halo Reach, AOE3 etc.

posted on June 9th, 2011, 6:30 am

Most meaning, not all but a majority.  Skyrim is great though, I assume they actually had a working demo out for E3, correct?

Except that you said all, and bolded it 

But yeah Skyrim looks awesome, been playing Oblivion again to get myself ready for it 

posted on June 9th, 2011, 10:03 am

I only meant that there are more games aimed at Children. I sometimes say things wrong, sorry about that. But we will most likely be getting a Wii, when the new one comes out, the new one seen at E3.

Oh and my wife and I play lots of games together already, Halo Reach, AOE3 etc.

no need to apologise.

the new one, the wii u, wont be out til late next year i think.

posted on June 9th, 2011, 3:18 pm

Psh, consoles.  You can buy the PC version and hook up a USB Xbox controller if your hardware is good enough (which I can't say now because my hardware is no longer good enough )

My friends and I are "hardcore" gamers in that we're willing to play just about anything and we know how to have fun with it.  A few months back I set up Battletanx Global Assault on my PC using an N64 emulator and we played 3-player with one keyboard.  That was hilarious fun.  Unfortunately, the keyboard couldn't process more than 4 keystrokes at a time so every once in a while it would stop responding for a few seconds 

posted on June 9th, 2011, 3:40 pm

Except that you said all, and bolded it 

But yeah Skyrim looks awesome, been playing Oblivion again to get myself ready for it 

Sigh*

To quote someone else quoting me (because that's were I pulled it from):
"since all of E3's big titles were pretty much FPS..." -Me

I may have made the 'all' word in bold, but I'm pretty sure I covered myself with the 'were pretty much'-part.  Come on people, don't get so hung up on stuff!  I know what I'm saying and not just spewing nonsense, now am I?!?!

^^Don't answer that, it's a rhetorical question.

posted on June 10th, 2011, 2:42 pm

Psh, consoles.  You can buy the PC version and hook up a USB Xbox controller if your hardware is good enough (which I can't say now because my hardware is no longer good enough )

My friends and I are "hardcore" gamers in that we're willing to play just about anything and we know how to have fun with it.  A few months back I set up Battletanx Global Assault on my PC using an N64 emulator and we played 3-player with one keyboard.  That was hilarious fun.  Unfortunately, the keyboard couldn't process more than 4 keystrokes at a time so every once in a while it would stop responding for a few seconds  

LOL, I loved that game back in the day on the N64 an also have downloaded it on my emulator. Goldeneye splitscreen still rules!

And on the whole Wii front, its now the only console I still own, fact is its got some great first pary games on it that I still love, and one of my all time favorite games Super Smash Brothers on it. Thats an epic game when played with friends.

posted on June 13th, 2011, 10:38 pm

Here's a bit of a review of it from IGN. This just keeps sounding better and better.

Star Trek boldly goes where no game has gone before. It's fast, intense and filled with action. It's delightfully innovative, full of moments so surprisingly fun and unique that you'll wonder why no other game ever thought of them.

And, maybe more important than anything else, it's built on the foundation of one of the strongest character friendships pop culture's ever seen.

Little was known about Paramount Digital's upcoming Star Trek title going into this year's E3. The game had only just been announced shortly before the show opened, and it wasn't presented out in the open of the show floor for everyone to see. But a key point that was announced, up front, was that the game would be a two-player cooperative experience. And those two players would become Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock.

That's a bold move right there. Kirk and Spock are the core of all things Trek -- their relationship, the interplay of their friendship and the differences in human and Vulcan worldviews they brought to every situation was the cornerstone of the franchise's original series. Without it, without the banter back and forth between them, without their heartfelt comradery and the entrance it provided for audiences to step into this futuristic vision of spaceships, interstellar exploration and green-skinned women, Star Trek might never have become anything more than a footnote in the pages of sci-fi history.

And now Paramount's seeking to capture that very friendship and make it playable. It's incredibly bold -- and, even more incredibly, it looks like they've done it.

In this year's E3 demo, I witnessed Kirk and Spock trade wisecracks back and forth as they jumped straight out into space and used jetpack-equipped suits to soar from their away mission shuttle back to the stranded Starship Enterprise, which has been left abandoned and adrift while mysteriously trapped in gigantic strands of alien energy. They dodged flaming debris along the way and made their high-velocity landings inside an open airlock -- where Spock landed lightly on his feet, and Kirk laughingly tumbled head-over-heels to crash into a stack of boxes.

Logic then dictated that Spock deliver a snide comment, of course. And the stage was set for what I knew would be a great Trek spectacle to behold.

The differences between the two characters' perspectives is key, as Paramount ran its demo on two side-by-side televisions to show us the action from both characters' vantage points. It's a striking dynamic. And with both it and the characters' sense of humor firmly established, great gameplay moments emerged.

The two men left the airlock and began to explore the interior of the Enterprise, where they quickly came across -- what else -- a dead, red-shirted ensign. Kirk and Spock gave him just as much attention as he deserved (nearly none) and quickly moved on after scanning his lifeless body and discovering he'd been infected with an unknown disease. The plot thickens.

The action then got going in earnest as Kirk and Spock arrived in the Enterprise's shuttle bay, where a horde of unknown aliens appeared to ambush them. Star Trek's combat system is superb -- it's got a cover mechanic to facilitate ducking and protecting yourself behind physical barriers, and you can also trigger on-the-spot force fields in certain positions to create shields of pure energy to hide behind. The characters both have classic Trek tricorders with them, which have inventive new applications in battle -- they can be used in the middle of a firefight to activate those shields I mentioned, operate machinery or even overload the conduits running through a bulkhead to make it explode and take out foes nearby in the moment.

Then Kirk and Spock each have custom, character-specific phasers. The Captain's has the classic Kill and Stun settings from the shows and films, but fires blasts of energy that are much more impactful, satisfying and video-game-appropriate than the tight, focused laser beams of old Trek. Mr. Vulcan's is different, though. He's got a Stasis mode on his weapon, usable for effectively tranquilizing a foe on the spot. Both men gain experience as they defeat more and more enemies, and then "level up" in a way as new phaser abilities unlock -- offering more powerful blasts, more efficient energy consumption and the like.

There's more. Spock was described as the "ninja of Star Trek" as our demonstration continued, and the blue-suited first officer then made his way behind a foe and triggered an on-the-spot Vulcan mind meld. A very quick mini-game played out on the Spock player's screen and the enemy then fell under Spock's mental control. He lost his aggression toward our heroes, had a total change of heart, and instantly became an A.I.-controlled ally who then turned around and began firing on his former friends. Totally freaking sweet.

This, again, was all playing out from two perspectives at once, on two television screens. And the differences between the two displays were about to become much more pronounced than just one camera trailing behind each character.

Kirk got hurt. One last alien enemy got the drop on him as the firefight came to a close, and the Captain's leg was crippled. Spock quickly mopped up the rest of the enemies and came to Jim's aid, but then things got worse -- Kirk's vision began to blur. It seems that, in addition to not being able to walk, he'd also become infected by the same virus that had earlier claimed the life of that nameless, red-shirted ensign.

The sequence that followed was the highlight of the entire demo. Kirk commanded Spock to leave him behind, to carry on without him. Spock very logically ignored the order and then, like an honorable soldier on the battlefield, leaned down and picked his friend up. He helped Kirk to his feet, then stayed with him, holding him up, to help the Captain hobble to the ship's medical bay.

The gameplay changed in an instant. Suddeningly the characters became a joint entity, each with their own function -- the Spock player controlled their movement, walking out of the shuttle bay and navigating corridors. The Kirk player's perspective shifted entirely. His vision was blurred with a wavy, red graphical effect on the screen simulating his diseased condition -- but he still had one good arm. So he got a targeting reticule in the middle of his screen, and he was the one to protect the pair from any further ambushes while Spock was fully occupied with holding them both upright.

Finally, when the pair reached the medbay, the gameplay kept throwing in more surprises. Spock laid Kirk on an examination table and the Captain continued to target and blast foes barging in to assault them. Spock's gameplay switched to a medical mini-game, where he used scanning equipment to isolate the infection inside Kirk's body and eliminate it. After a few tense moments, he was successful. The Captain was healed, both characters were restored to full action status with phasers held at the ready and I was already mentally reviewing my checking account balance to make sure I had enough funds to go home and pre-order this game right away.

Paramount Digital's Star Trek is one ambitious undertaking. It's trying to be the biggest, boldest, best vision of the Trek universe ever made in interactive form. And from what I saw here at the show, these developers are succeeding so far. They've got the look. They've got the action. And they've got the critical brotherly dynamic of Kirk and Spock absolutely locked down.

This is far from the first co-op action game on the market -- gamers have been blasting the Locust hordes as Marcus and Dom for years and EA's Army of Two franchise is even named after the idea. But here in Star Trek, it's Kirk and Spock. Established characters with years of history between them, a well-documented bond that audiences have seen built across various media for decades on end now. That foundational friendship -- that relationship between two men literally from different worlds who come to understand, respect and rely on one another -- is the core of what the Star Trek franchise is. And it's also going to be the core of what this new Trek game is, too.

E3 2011: Star Trek's Brothers in Arms, Kirk and Spock -
Xbox 360
Preview at IGN

[_Zap_]

posted on June 14th, 2011, 6:06 am

Last edited by _Zap_ on June 14th, 2011, 6:19 am, edited 1 time in total.

reading this preview, one could believe they have decided to finally kill trek and get their last couple thousend dollars out of the franchise with a mindless zombie-shooter.

Not that I'm against a ST-FPS (or a ST game at all now >.> ), but as i remember Kirk and Spock didn't run around guns blazing. splattering aliens were something we had already in elite force 2.


aaaaargh! I want a good game! Now! >:(

posted on June 15th, 2011, 9:14 am

Zap, there is something called Fleet Operations you know...

Looks a bit like Star Trek Kane and Lynch  . I love Koop games, my brother and I are searching for games like that for the PS3 every now and then. And there are rarely good ones. Or the good ones are forbidden in Germany(like Army of two). I'm looking forward to this.

posted on July 8th, 2011, 8:58 pm

It will tie in with the second movie so playing this game will make watching the second movie even better just like reading countdown did for the first. Also Bob Orci explains how this could easily be considered canon much like Countdown.

Kat: We’re both Star Trek fans. What do you think goes into the perfect Trek story?

Orci: I think all fans know that one of the perfect stories is Wrath of Kahn . It was a perfect Trek story because it had a great science fiction plot but it also maximized the friendship and the family feeling among all the characters.

That was the first movie I saw. It was the perfect Trek story because, to meet everyone at the height of their friendship, and the height of their knowing each other and loving each other. To me the perfect story has a great sci-fi concept, but also covers the personality of the characters that we know in the most real way. Whether it’s Spock as Mr. Logic, Kirk as Mister Leader, or Sulu as Mr. Help the Crew, everyone is their best self. It’s good sci-fi and good family.

Kat: So if Wrath of Khan is the perfect Trek story, does this mean that you’re going to kill Spock in the game?

Orci: In the game? Maybe. Both in the game and in the sequel that we’re doing – and by the way we consider them both very seriously together – we know that audiences are thinking of it as Star Trek II of the new universe, so we are aware that of preconceptions about who might die and what the sacrifices are. And we’re aware of those things as we generate the story for both the game and the movie.

Orci: So I would say that what’s going to be different about this game is that it’s going to fit into our new universe. It’s going to fit into the Star Trek that we were lucky enough to generate, and it’s going to be a story that happens within that universe and that story is not going to be fan fiction. It’s going to be a story that fits into our movies, and fits into between the first two movies. The things that we are thinking about for this game very much fall into what can happen between the two movies, and that’s exciting for me as a fan.

Kat: So when I watch the second movie. will I be rewarded in some way for having played the game?

Orci: Absolutely, that’s exactly the point. We would not allow a game to go out if it was not somehow a part of the continuity.

Orci: True fans will tell you that canon is only what’s filmed. I’m not an authority on what is canon. However, I will tell you that this may be the first game that falls within the parameters of the people who are in charge of canon for now; the “supreme court,” as we call ourselves because we are the ones in charge of Star Trek for now. We won’t be in charge forever, but for right now we’re deciding what canon is, so I can tell you this is the first time where the game itself is generated by the people who are deciding canon and we generated the game to fit within canon.

Roberto Orci Explains How Star Trek Videogame Fits With 2012 Sequel | TrekMovie.com