STAR TREK: D-A-C for Windows

Come in peace, shoot to kill

'Inspired' by the fantastic 2009 movie, Star Trek: D-A-C is a top down arcade shoot 'em up, like Asteroids with a multiplayer mode.

This demo gives you a good feel for the game, featuring a one player survival mode, and a versus mode which is a multiplayer online mode. With both modes, first you choose the class of ship you want, from small fast fighters, to slow but powerful flagships. This will affect how you play the game. The game itself puts you in a very pretty enclosed space arena.

The backdrops look like they've bee taken from Hubble telescope, and are impressive. Over this are 3D structures of space debris, which are also very well rendered. In this arena, you fly your craft around using the WASD keys, aiming and firing with the mouse. There are power-ups to collect, which are necessary if you want to succeed, as your basic weapon will be about as useful as a peashooter.

The enclosed arenas are a shame, as they aren't so big. While this makes for tighter battles, claustrophobia isn't a feeling associated with the final frontier. The single player mode is fairly dull, despite the attractiveness of the graphics. It's little more than Asteroids on steroids, and unfortunately, the developers have opted not to use a thrust control system - in Star Trek: D-A-C, when you hit left, you fly in that direction. This is simple, but doesn't feel right.

Multiplayer is much better. You can play a team death match game, and they're fast and competitive. They are also simple, but for a quick arcade blast it's good fun.

Star Trek: D-A-C looks right, but doesn't feel like part of the Star Trek universe, and the single player game is boring.