So, there we were, ensconced within the air conditioned comfort of Bethesda Softwork's E3 booth, waiting for the demo to begin. The game? Star Trek: Legacy, developed by Mad Doc Software. As the lights dimmed, I really did try to push aside my excitement- after all, as a long-time gaming and Trek fan, I've seen my fair share of disappointments when one of my favorite TV universes was ‘ported to the game space.

But this was Bethesda, man- purveyors of the Elder Scrolls games- they'd never let me down before. I was willing to give them a little slack, even if the publisher seems to have swallowed the entire hook, line, sinker and fishing pole offered up by Big Franchise tie-in money (to give you an idea: their other notable demo in their booth at this year's Expo was their Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow game).

Honestly, I'm glad I gave them the chance to impress me, because Legacy really does look, and play, fantastic.

Legacy is being developed for the PC and the Xbox 360, and the publisher hopes to have it on store shelves in the Fall of '06. The single-player storyline spans every incarnation of the TV show's 40-year run, from the earliest adventures in Enterprise, through the original series and films, and into The Next Generation, DS9, Voyager and even the Next Gen movies.

In the demo, Mad Doc's Parker Davis ran us through a scenario replicating the classic Kirk-vs-Khan showdown in the Mutara nebula, complete with voice clips from the Wrath of Khan (note: the developer is working on securing access to the original voice actors' talents to record original dialogue, but for now all voices from the films and shows were just placeholders- good luck, Mad Doc- I'm pulling for you!) The Trek universe that's depicted in the game, to use a hackneyed cliché, has never looked better, as the majestic starships turned and banked, launching volleys of photon torpedos or raking phaser strikes at one another.

Damage is recreated faithfully, with salvos leaving behind burn marks, wounded ships shedding debris and trailing sparks as the punishment increases.  Smart maneuvering is essential, in order to present an undamaged face to the enemy. This aspect seems to promise a greater tactical depth to Legacy than we've seen in many non-FPS titles.  No wonder- Legacy's developer previously worked on the classic Star Trek Armada II with Activision (the game that many Trek purists- myself among them- feel is the pinnacle of the franchise's previous gaming achievements), as well as other titles a dedicated PC gamer might recognize such as the Empire Earth series and Jane's Attack Squadron.

So, we've validated the developer's pedigree, but what about the game itself?  Besides its obvious physical charms (I actually got a shiver watching a cinematic flyby of the original series' Enterprise in space-dock, backlit by the rising sun), the game looks like it will offer up a wealth of game play options. The single player game will allow players to take the helm of ships from all points within the Trek franchise's timeline, although how this story will actually play out is still a secret. Even better, players can engage in multiplayer battles over the internet or Xbox Live, at either the per-ship or per-fleet level- in the demo, we saw the developer build a "dream fleet" of three different Enterprises from the films and TV series, along with DS9's Defiant, then saw that dev take their fantasy fleet into a huge battle alongside Klingon allies against a Romulan attack on DS9. 

The game features a tactical screen that offers a "birds'eye" overview of the chaos, allowing would-be Admirals the ability to issue commands to multiple ships and monitor the progression of a battle. The player can also choose to jump right into any ship they control, assuming direct control of its maneuvering and weapons. Ships perform faithfully in homage to their big-screen counterparts- heavy ships like the Next Gen Enterprise are slow and stately, yet pack overwhelming firepower, while ships like the Defiant are nimble, darting in to bite with their pulse phasers before dancing out of range. The devs also borrowed a page from the classic starship combat games X-Wing and Tie Fighter, and have crafted an energy management system that recalls those stellar titles- players can use a "Tri Ball" to dynamically re-allocate energy between their ships' systems, diverting power from, say, weapons to shields as needed then back again with a simple, intuitive command.

In the midst of the battle, just as it seemed as if the Federation had the advantage, several Borg ships warped into the system, and all hostilities were put aside in the face of the greater threat. Mad Doc tells us that, while the player will be limited to Federation ships in the single-player campaign, over 60 different ships from the Federation, Klingon, Romulan and Borg races will be available in multiplayer.  If Mad Doc can build in the Holy Grail of all Trek fans, namely a custom ship creator, then the game's place in the Trek pantheon looks assured.

We know that it takes more than a pretty face to make a game good, and Star Trek Legacy did look fantastic (it had us drooling to see more, in fact), but when you factor in Mad Doc's previous high-quality work with Bethesda's uncompromising quality, you end up with a game that we dearly hope will live up to its potential. Either way, this will definitely be a game that we'll be keeping an eye on in the months to come.

Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!