Star Trek: Shattered Universe Review

First, so that I don’t offend anyone, I am not a Star Trek fan. This is the main reason why Shattered Universe really wasn’t all that interesting for me from the beginning. Put my partisanship aside and we can be in agreement; this game’s graphics, controls, and missions are all horrible. Shattered Universe takes place in a “Mirror Universe�, in which things that are good are bad. You pilot the USS Excelsior, under the command of Captain Sulu. Throughout the game, you will confront former friends and enemies alike, and have to battle them.

Whether you are a Trek fan or not, this game was definitely meant for hardcore fans, but the game is so flawed in nearly all aspects, that not even the biggest fans would find this “game� enjoyable. Shattered Universe is a game that is in shambles; only one aspect of the game was above average, the cut scenes, which were nearly television quality.

The controls in Shattered Universe are inverted for up and down; the ship is controlled with the left analog stick. X is used for shooting your laser and circle to fire secondary weapons. R1 is used for a right barrel roll and L1 is used for a left barrel roll. L2 is used to go in reverse, while the R2 button is used to give you a speed boost. Red arrows and targets on-screen are enemies.

The biggest gameplay flaw, was the length of each mission; some missions could last over 20 minutes, without any checkpoints. Unintelligent AI doesn’t help the game’s lackluster performance; some will bang against your main ship’s shield. Even worse than the game’s play mechanics are the graphics. The backgrounds look painted; the quality is actually pretty good, at least if it had been on the N64. Particles are the only effects that are somewhat realistic, other than they will sometimes go through your ship. I have a question for Take-Two’s CEO; what in the world were you thinking when you purchased TDK?