Star Trek games tend to be either terrible or spectacular, and Star Trek Klingon Honor Guard has the dubious distinction of being both. At its best it is one of the most entertaining first-person shooters ever made, faithful to its subject and good looking to boot. The worst levels are boring, contrived, and look terrible, and it is unfortunate that the majority of these bad missions are at the beginning of the game, when Klingon Honor Guard should be wowing us. As the title implies, in this game you are a member of the vaunted Klingon Honor Guard, tracking down the cowards who attempted to assassinate Klingon High Council leader Gowron. Even the weapons are familiar, from the gleaming curves of a Bat'leth blade to the pointed snout of a Klingon blaster.
If you can slog through the horrible first few missions, a grand adventure awaits. Our favorite mission takes place on a Klingon warship. Beginning on the inside, eventually we found ourselves using grav boots to clomp around the outer hull, shooting enemies and watching their bleeding bodies slowly spin away into the void. The game uses the Unreal graphics engine, which arguably is better at creating terrestrial otherworldly environments than the sterile metal walls of space stations and starships, but still works well for this game. The designers have packed the game with sights and sounds that will be familiar to any Star Trek fan, and populated the levels with enough enemies to sate action gamers who could care less about the Star Trek elements. If you do get this game, keep one thing in mind as you begin playing: it does get better. Much better. --T. Byrl Baker
Pros:
- Uses the good-looking Unreal graphics engine
- Star Trek atmosphere
- Later levels are a lot of fun
Cons: - Early levels really stink
- Uninspired gameplay doesn't really bring anything new to the first-person shooter genre
