Star Trek: Shattered Universe

"PS2: The Final Frontier--Original Star Trek Makes it to Playstation 2!"

Flying games are not particularly my favorite kind of games to play when I sit down in front of my PS2, so it was safe to say I had my own personal reservations about Star Trek: Shattered Universe. To me, most games in which you fly some form of aircraft/spacecraft never truly offer easy-to-control controller configurations that react the way you want them to during battle, and I had yet to see one that included some sort of gauge that could allow you to locate enemies, allys, and other objects, as well as figure out their positions as quickly as if you were looking out the window of/or in the rear-view mirror of your car. My prayers were answered with Star Trek: Shattered Universe.
The in-flight controls are laid out in easily usable formats that react splendidly during the various missions you will embark on, and the two Heads-Up-Displays (HUD) that appear on both sides of and at the top of your screen relay every bit of information you need to combat enemies and complete your missions, such as your target ship's distance, hull strength, shield strength, and type of ship your target happens to be, as well as the target ship's name, not to mention your own fighter's status. The 3D spherical radar in the HUD and 2D on-screen radar truly allow the player to become fully absorbed into the game's surroundings, and rarely will the words, ''Where the heck did he come from?!'' find themselves forming on your lips.
There are six different fighter ships you can choose from, all with different weapons and attributes specific to themselves, although not all of them are available at the start of the game and can be unlocked. Several difficulty settings are available, with one unlockable setting, giving this game hours of replay value.
The basic storyline and most the game's missions follow episodes of the original Star Trek television show and stays accurate to the original movies' storylines (as far as ships and characters as well as their ranks and duties in Starfleet). George Takei (Sulu) and Walter Keoning (Chekov) from the original cast of Star Trek have lent their voices to this game and, in my opinion, greatly enhance the story's cutscenes (after all, who wants to defend a starship for or watch cutscenes about starship Captain ''John Doe'' played by some nobody voice actor when you can have Captain Sulu of the U.S.S. Excelsior?--someone we've been cheering for since the 1960's!).
The graphics are colorful, realistic, and quite pleasing to the eye, and the music and sound effects live up to any Star Trek fan's expectations.

In short, Star Trek: Shattered Universe is the best single-player flying/action game I have played to date with excellent in-flight controls, superior HUD, and hours of replayability. Definitely a ''must-have'' for any Star Trek fan, as well as for gamers who love flying/action video games. A 10 out of 10!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/24/04