Scotty needs to beam us up already…
Well trekkies, here it is, Star Trek D.A.C. on the Xbox Live Arcade. Based on the newly released J.J. Abrams movie, D.A.C. hopes to bring the experience home in an online multiplayer game.
Ok. So the game is not completely online, but if you want to have a little fun, it’s better with other players. Think of it like Unreal Tournament 3′s single player, it basically played out like a multiplayer match. It’s a top-down shooter much like Geometry Wars.
First I guess I should explain what D.A.C. stands for. It represents the three game modes that are in the game: Deathmatch, Assault, and Conquest. Although, it says “deathmatch” it should mean team deathmatch, Assault is where your team tries to capture points on the map, and Conquest is capturing those same points but doing so lowers the shields to the enemy base so you can take over that.
There are three ships you can pilot in the game both on the Federation’s side and the evil Romulan’s: fighter, bomber, and flagship. They each have a different way of attacking and have different stats for defense, speed, and power. You can switch ship types when you respawn during the game. One nice thing about it is the escape pod mechanic. If your ship blows up, you have a few seconds to eject your escape pod. Doing so will let you float around in space until you respawn plus, you get to keep all your weapon upgrades, but if the enemy blows up your escape pod, you have to wait an extra 7 seconds to respawn with no upgrades.
There are also weapon power-ups you can pick up on the map. These are essential for survival. There are also special pick ups that will grant you extra shields, a super bomb, invisibility, homing torpedoes, and a helper ship depending on what you pick up.
All in all, the package is OK. I wish there was a little more substance there, like maybe any kind of story? Unfortunately, you will only get your enjoyment out of it through online co-op against AI, or online competitive.
The Good: Visuals are nice and colorful, The escape pod is a nice mechanic, The Music is straight from the movie(which is good.)
The Bad: Not too much to do in the game, Single player is really lacking, Can become boring fast.
Bottom Line: If you like Star Trek, I guess you’d kinda like it. The game is not bad, it’s just not enough there to justify a purchase, but try out the demo just in case. I had fun with it for at least two hours. Plus, the achievements are not too hard to get.
Final Grade: 6.0
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