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You can't talk about Star Trek's most beloved enemies without giving credit to the reptilian Gorn first glimpsed in a fist-fight with the original Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner). But far from a man in a rubber suit, the version of the species on hand for Digital Extremes' new game has been built with gameplay in mind.
The newest trailer shows how the species is being diversified to offer players more variety, and provides even more gameplay footage of Kirk and Spock doing what each does best. Sadly, not as much fist-fighting as we might've hoped.
Unsurprisingly, adapting a classic enemy to a third-person shooter like Star Trek apparently means dividing the Gorn up into standard 'rushing' enemies, 'stealth' lieutenants, 'brutes,' and 'leaders.' The cynic in us tends to think that such a formula is getting a bit tired as we approach the end of this console generation, but honestly, the version of the reptilian species seen in the original Star Trek (1967) probably wouldn't make a very intimidating game enemy.
With apparently fifteen different variations, it's possible that the developers still have a few surprises up their sleeves (if the first ever female Gorn are any indication). But perhaps the most surprising aspect of the making-of trailer is the clarification that it will be the Gorn who are not only the central antagonists to Kirk and Spock - voiced by their live-action counterparts - but are bent on taking over all of Federation Space.
That's a far cry from beating a Starfleet officer with their claws on some dusty world, so it's nice to see how far the bipedal reptilian humanoids have come in just a few decades' time. But all enemies aside, the true attraction for Star Trek fans is not a chance to fight opponents that bear little resemblance to the source material, but the chance to play the game differently depending on their character.
Kirk and Spock aren't known for dealing with issues in the same ways, and the developers haven't just acknowledged that fact, but built their co-op around it. The decision is one that holds plenty of promise for fans, so in case anyone missed it, have a look at the studio's take on 'the ultimate co-op experience':
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We still remain optimistic after our experience with the game, so hopefully the enemy encounters - Gorn or otherwise - will offer enough of a challenge to make the asymmetrical co-op worthwhile.
What are your hopes for Star Trek? Are you interested in a dose of series fiction, or just a solid game that delivers something new for cooperative mission design? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
Star Trek: The Video Game releases on April 23, 2013 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.
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