'Deep Space Nine:' Best 'Star Trek' Game?

[Reuters]

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Reuter) - It's one of those days in the
24th century when you could use a few old-fashioned aspirins.
Marauding robots, who have already attacked your space
station once, are getting reinforcements and regrouping for a
new assault. A severe ion storm has cut off all hope of calling
for help. Your boss, the ambassador, has just been murdered,
turned into green protoplasmic mush in his quarters.
If that isn't enough, the space station's constable suspects
that you may be the next target of the murderer.
Better make the aspirin extra strength. You'll need it for
the challenge of playing ``Deep Space Nine -- Harbinger''
(Viacom New Media, DOS, $60), the newest computer game to come
from the lucrative ``Star Trek'' franchise.
Players are put in the role of a Tirrion diplomat called to
the DS-9 space station to help deal with an alien race that says
things like ``citadel show danger'' and expects you to know
exactly what they're talking about.
The first part of ``DS-9'' plays, in many ways, like a
stereotypical murder mystery, only this one takes place in an
evacuated space station, instead of a deserted mansion, where
one of the two dozen remaining creatures is probably the killer.
There are also characters who have something to hide, and
spooky doors that seem to open and close by themselves.
Eventually, the game's theme evolves into the standard
science fiction scenario of technology run amok, and you have to
correct the problem.
As with most of these games, there's the usual assortment of
puzzles and arcade-style games to master; none appear likely to
slow down an experienced computer game player for very long, at
least in the first half of the game. When the robots first
attack, for example, you're thrust into the job of playing
phaser gunner to protect the station, one of several nice arcade
simulations.
Fortunately, if you find things moving too swiftly and you
want more of a challenge, you can switch from the ``Ensign''
level all the way up to ``Captain.''
Don't get too excited about this game until you've taken it
home and played it for an hour or so. On my high-end computer
with a Pentium chip, ``Deep Space Nine'' was a deep
disappointment. The game turned out to be unplayable because it
wouldn't properly respond to the movements of my mouse.
When I played it on a slower 486 machine, however, ``DS-9''
worked properly. Make sure you buy from a store that will refund
your money if the same flaw pops up on your machine.
It's nice to hear the voices of the cast, the sounds of the
series and to be able to walk through a recreation of parts of
the space station, including the operations center and the two
levels of the promenade.
But ``DS-9'' won't impress you with its speed. The
cyberpuppets of Sisco, Dax, Quark and the others move
unnaturally slowly and awkwardly, and their lips don't always
move in synchronization with their voices.
Several software companies have come out with ``Star Trek,''
games but none have had the quality to match the original
series. Spectrum-Holobyte's ``Star Trek: The Next Generation,''
the last ``Star Trek'' game out, was sometimes cumbersome and
clunky.
By making the game player the equivalent of a guest star,
''Deep Space Nine'' avoids some of the problems of its ``Star
Trek'' predecessors. If your computer can run it, this is the
best ``Star Trek'' game so far.
It's also clear that the genre, on computer at least, still
has many more lightyears to travel.
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Some new and notable software in the stores this week:
``The Muppet CD-ROM: Muppets Inside'' (Starwave, Windows 95,
$40) has the Muppets trapped in your computer, and the only way
to get them out is to play games like ``The Swedish Chef's
Kitchen DOOM'' and keep the spendthrift Miss Piggy away from the
electronic Cache Machine.
``Double Switch: The Cinematic Mystery'' (Digital Pictures,
Windows 95, $50) -- In the stately Edward Arms mansion, you need
to build a security system and figure out which of the 20 or so
characters to capture, and which to protect. The realistic
violence makes this for ages 13 and over.
``Spycraft: The Great Game'' (Activision, DOS/Windows95,
$50) marks the collaboration between former CIA director William
Colby and former KGB major general Oleg Kalugin, who have small
roles in this game, which requires you to play a spy trying to
thwart an assassination plot.
``Ripper'' (Take 2, DOS, $60) stars Christopher Walken,
Karen Allen, Burgess Meredith, Jimmie Walker and Tahnee Welch in
a role-playing game on six CD-ROMs where you play New York City
crime reporter Jack Quinlan on the trail of Jack the Ripper in
the year 2040. The strong language and realistic blood make it
suitable for ages 17 and older.
``Living with HIV'' (IVI Publishing, Windows, $19) -- An
in-depth primer produced for the Henry K. Kaiser Family
Foundation on everything you need to know about the virus
responsible for AIDS and how it affects people. It can be
ordered by phone: 800-432-1332.
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(Gene Emery is a columnist who covers science and
technology. His Internet address is gene.emery(at)prodigy.com.
Any opinions in the column are his alone.)