Star Trek Deep Space Nine: The Fallen Review

It seems that the Star Trek license owner finally sought help of a soothsayer that managed to lift the curse off the Star Trek computer games, or perhaps they just realized that they had to put some effort into the damn stuff. Whichever way, we now face the second Star Trek game that is actually playable (previous games were only used as collector items for maniacs who would hold them next to their pair of kitchen gloves with Uhura printed on them).

The Collective Studios' programmers were inspired by the crew of Deep Space 9 space station, but even though the station itself is quite lively, most missions will take place on nearby planets, satellites, and spaceships. The story begins somewhat before the Federation takes control over the Deep Space Nine Station. Its former residents, the Cardassians, experimented with some powerful orbs in their want to create a super weapon. These orbs are, according to Bejoran legends, keys to Fire Caves, which serve as prisons to the Pah-Wraiths, Bejoran evil deities. The Cardassians did not destroy the lab whilst retreating, they just cunningly disguised it, hoping to return one day and continue their experiments. Much later, a friend of Major Kira, the leader of the forbidden sect that worships Pah-Wraiths turned to the federation requesting help in finding the Orbs and proving the legends that say that Pah - Wraiths are actually good. This is where the bodies of two Cardassian soldiers appear under mysterious circumstances. The investigation revealed the hidden lab, and a couple of high Cardassian officer landed on Deep Space Nine offering their help with the investigation. Now you have to choose if you want to play the role of Captain Benjamin L. Cisco, Major Kira Nerys or Lieutenant Commander Worf, and pass the twenty-five levels and a couple of sub-levels in order to find the orbs and destroy them.

Depending on your choice of character, you will have to perform different tasks and pass through different levels. The authors decided to present the plot from three different points of view in order to make the game less monotonous and to prolong the playing time. Cisco will have to deal with rescuing and evacuation of the scientists from a science vessel, while Worf takes care of the pirates attacking the mother ship, and Kira will have to help her friend defend his stronghold from the fanatics of the opposing cult. All these events seem to have nothing in common, but as you advance through the game you'll see they form a coherent storyline. You will only get a clear picture of what has transpired when you complete all three campaigns.

Missions have interesting concepts. Each one will end with a scripted sequence from the engine. The script is good enough to serve as a script for one of the future episodes. The locations are interesting and the game will give you a great experience you could never feel while just watching a TV episode. You will get to explore a crashed Federation vessel, USS Defiant, walk on Bejor, and of course, enjoy the interior of Deep Space 9 and its command bridge.

The Fallen is actually an arcade adventure. With the third person view it looks pretty much like Tomb Raider with a lot more fighting included. The classical puzzles like find-key, use-on-proper-door or pull-lever-to-open-door will present no real challenge, and the levels have been designed in a way to prevent you from getting lost. The simplicity of the puzzles and the number of enemies (who can simply turn out of the blue) will make levels resemble each other a bit too much. The fact that only the scenery changes as you advance through the game is a bit disappointing. This problem is present in most games of this genre, but as you're already familiar with the main characters of the Fallen the main motivation for continuing the game would mostly have to come down to that anyway.