A high-ranking Cardassian military science officer, examines one of the mysterious red Orbs while barking orders to her underlings. As they scan the orb, something goes horribly wrong... a wormhole is created within the lab. Running to the orb to recalibrate a sensor, one of the techs is disintegrated along with two security guards. The "live again to fight another day" response takes over and the officer and last technician make a hasty retreat from the lab. The game uses the Unreal Tournament Engine, and the graphics are amazing and very smooth (on my PIII 550). The textures and lighting are really exciting and realistic. After I figured out how to activate my wrist beacon, it lit up the corridor quite nicely. That is great, especially when the alien robots burst through and start raising havoc. The environment is superb, and it is almost as if you are really there. The character models are very cool.  Worf's signature broad shoulders and walk are emulated wonderfully. I haven't played Sisko nor Kira yet, but will know more about them when I do (Like Kira's skintight uniform, but I digress). The funny thing about Sisko is that many state he looks like Ice Cube when in the EVA suit. We shall see. 

The soundtrack (on which I disabled the music as I do with all games) is TREK all the way, and the voices are done by the actors with the exception of Sisko. Avery Brooks must have been too busy with all his IBM commercials {Still love ya Avery ;) }. Deep Space Nine: The Fallen let's you play as Captain Sisko, Major Kira or my personal favorite, Worf. As Worf you battle aliens aboard the U.S.S. Defiant. As Sisko you start on DS9, etc... and other locations which are vibrant and as authentic as I've seen in a Trek game. The weapons and equipment that you are afforded are varied, and you even get Worf's betleH (or Bat'leth for all you tera`ghans out there). A grenade launcher, gravitic mines, and a shock blade (which is a combination beam/blade weapon) are found along the way as well. There are a few medkits here and there, and hypo-sprays offer healing when needed. The combadge and the tricorder are new and are great additions. Using the combadge you can contact crew members including Odo, Chief O'Brien, and Doctor Bashir. The tricorder rocks as it lets you scan for items, life forms, etc... It also lets you scan for shield frequencies with which you can calibrate your phaser to punch through. The game controls take a bit of getting used to, but once you've done so, they are simple to operate. The P.A.D.D. is new as well and gives you good information, but you have to use it to find the info. This feature didn't work at first with my PC and I had to reboot to get the game running smoothly again (My PC, not the game, was the problem). All in all, there are some new screens that let you navigate and give a little more needed information than in previous TREK game incarnations. 

Unlike STVOY: Elite Forces this game has, as of yet, not let me beat it. The alien spawn are difficult to defeat and I have yet to get past the large robots onboard the Defiant. They just kick Worf's hiney to no end. I like the game, I like the fact that it is tougher than the last one, (thank Kahless!) and it looks to me to be one of the best that has come out so far.

by Scott