"That famous Shatner humor is still in high gear!" That's what fellow QJ-er Chris Coker said about William Shatner, the actor who played James Tiberius Kirk on Star Trek.

GameSpy interviewed him about what it was like to voice Kirk in the Bethesda Softwork Star Trek games: Star Trek: Legacy (for Xbox 360 and PC), Star Trek: Encounters, and Star Trek: Tactical Assault (for DS and PSP).

How did Bethesda manage to convince Shatner? "I didn't want to do it," Shatner said, "But they kept coming back to me... It was the groveling that got me. It broke my heart." Although Star Trek: Legacy impressed him ("cool" was how he described the game, and with the best graphics among Star Trek games, yeah it's cool).

Is it hard work to do voicing for a game?

GS: Have you ever been doing a voice for something and had the director say you're sounding too Kirk-like?

Shatner: No. But you have to explain that to me: What's Kirk-like?

GS: Well, Kirk is very commanding, very authoritative…

Shatner: No, there's no such thing. I just say the words. "NO!" Was that Kirk-like?

GS: Yeah.

Shatner: But that's also how I ordered dinner last night.

Anyway, Legacy is coming out on November 21, while Tactical Assault has already been released. Shatner said, "Star Trek is coming back, you can feel it in the air." We QJ Trekkers and Trekkies agree.

Great news to all hardcore trekkers out there, Bethesda has just announced that Star Trek: Tactical Assault for DS is now currently shipping to your nearby retail stores in NA!

You can now take command over your very own warship and dodge enemy attacks while protecting your own stellar crew. Assess your enemies' weakness to outmaneuver them and save your warship from attacks coming at you left and right.

And since this won't be an easy task, the game will also feature Skirmish and Wireless Multiplayer modes so you won't go out into battle alone. The Skirmish mode will allow users to test their commanding skills against the AI while the Wireless Multiplayer allows you to battle it out Star Trek-style with your friends. Live out your trekkie fantasies by taking command over the featured ships from the Federation, Klingon, Romulan, Gorn, and Orion fleets.

Developed by Quicksilver Software and rated E by ESRB, the PSP version of Star Trek: Tactical Assault is set to hit shelves on the week of November 13th.

Buy: [Star Trek: Tactical Assault for DS]
Pre-order: [Star Trek: Tactical Assault for PSP]

We'll dispense with the "To boldly go where no man has gone before" nonsense because someone's probably gone that way before. Instead, let's make a reference to the Kobayashi Maru battle simulation.

Imagine that Ubisoft and Bethesda are the incoming warships, the Star Trek fans and game players represent the captains and the ships who are trying to save the Kobayashi Maru, and my fractured sanity represents the damaged ship we're trying to save.

Unfortunately, the combined forces of Bethesda, who are developing three different Star Trek games across the various game platforms, and Ubisoft, who will be publishing the three games, are irresistible. Nothing will stop them from destroying my sanity and making sure you buy at least one version of their upcoming Star Trek games.

Yeah, you lose the scenario, but you were meant to lose it (unless you cheat like Kirk). Luckily for you, this kind of loss doesn't seem so bad since you still get Star Trek goodness on your favorite console. In addition to the already released Star Trek: Encounters for the PS2, you can also wreck some warp cores in Star Trek: Tactical Assault for Sony's PSP (released October 24) and Nintendo's DS (October 26). Lastly, you can surely wait till November 21 (yeah, it's a delay) for the coolest version of them all, the one with the original cast members playing their voices, in Star Trek: Legacy for the Xbox 360 and PC. Just one question: Kirk or Picard?

New Zealand: Is it just us, or it's getting a little Trekky in here?
Australia: No, we're feeling it too.
New Zealand: What are we going to do about it?
Australia: I do not know but resistance is futile...

Okay, that was geeky. Just to keep records straight, no such conversation took place. Thank God. It is true though that Star Trek fans from New Zealand and Australia will soon be getting their version of Star Trek: Tactical Assault (PSP, DS). Publisher Ubisoft announced today that they just signed an agreement with Bethesda Softworks, developer of the game for the handhelds.

Ubisoft also added that Tactical Assault will also see action on X360 for the said markets. Since no further details were given regarding the game, we wonder how the Klingon and the other races would look like in next-gen. All versions of the game are expected by December. We hope Captain Kirk's already landed in New Zealand and Australia to give us all an update by then.

Hmmm... it seems that Star Trek: Tactical Assault will be speaking a new language, and it's definitely not Klingon.

Well, if you're talking about firmware speak, that is. 0okm reported that this game will run on 2.81 firmware, which makes this it the first UMD game to make use of the latest firmware.

Now, the question is: Will it run on DevHook? Let's quote PSP Hacks' take on it:

Although its been reported that many 2.8x titles function fine under DevHook v0.46; this apparently is the first UMD to utilize 2.81-specific PRX modules. “libfont.prx” is the module in question, thus missing fonts if attempted to emulate via DevHook.

Some guys claim that it worked on them, some say it didn't. You can always give it a try, but do so with extreme caution. After all, you don't want to accidentally brick your PSP or anything, right?

Anyway, we're guessing that if you're a hardcore Trekkie or a Trekker, you won't let mere firmware numbers deter you. After all, Bethesda's spaceship shoot 'em up game has been on shelves since last week, so you're probably hooked to it by now.

Holiday season is fast approaching and it won't be long before store shelves get flooded with a deluge of game titles for different consoles. Gamespot has posted a list for October and there are a lot of titles for the PC and GBA. Of course, there are some PSP and DS games on the list.

First is a video game from THQ that was based on the 2006 movie Alex Rider: Stormbreakerr. In this game, player will be immersed in the world of spying as its gameplay needs not only sheer fighting ability but also stealth and strategy. The game hit the shelves October 2. EA's football simulator video game FIFA 07 is just about to hit the stores. If you're not into sports, you can grab a copy of Gangs of London, which features new PSP-specific content.

Other game titles that are expected this month:

October 3

• Stacked with Daniel Negreanu (PSP)
• Mercury Meltdown (PSP)
• Bubble Bobble Revolution (DS)
• Rainbow Islands Revolution (DS)
• Uno 52 (DS)
• Star Trek: Tactical Assault (PSP)

October 4

• ProStroke Golf - World Tour 2007 (PSP)

October 5

• Hannah Montana (DS)

The strategy/ action real-time spaceship shoot 'em up game, Star Trek: Tactical Assault, is beginning to show its goods with these latest batch of screenshots. The Bethesda Softwork creation is bound to hit your friendly neighborhood store shelves this coming October 6, so these screens might help you decide if you're going to pass on it or you're gonna try it out.

Some of the screens may seem to be a bit older than others, well let's just say that we're picking up from the unwanted downtime we experienced in the last few days. With all that mentioned, we'll keep the chit-chats short so as you could gaze at the game's screens.

More screens to look at after the jump!

Pre-Order: [Star Trek: Tactical Assault]

Yeah yeah, we've given you screenshots, info, and even a preview of Star Trek: Tactical Assault in previous articles. So how is this article any different from those previous ones? Hmmm, not that different really, as we're giving you screens (once again, yes), BUT, we do have something new for you guys this time, we now have the...*drumroll*...Star Trek boxart for the PSP! Weehoo!

The strategy/action real-time spaceship combat game will have all things you love about the show, and will allow you to engage in a wide range of interstellar warship combat. The game also features a total of 30 game scenes.

And as we've mentioned in the preview, Star Trek: Tactical Assault will be based on the original series, which means Kirk is still in command in battling it out with the Klingons. Your ability as captain of the ship will be put to the test as you try to protect your own ship and destroy enemy ships.

The game will also feature starships from the Star Trek movies for you to wage wars with the Romulans, Gorn, and Orions in skirmish mode. Trekkies will also be glad to know that the Star Trek game will have Wi-Fi multiplayer mode.

Rated E by the ESRB, Bethesda's Star Trek: Tactical Assault will be released for both the PSP and the DS on October 6. Now that we've already given you the game's boxart for the PSP, get a fill of these stellar screenshots of the game while you wait for its release next month.

Pre-Order: [Star Trek: Tactical Assault]

News have been rather slow for Bethesda Softwork's Star Trek offering for the PSP. But today, silence is broken as two new screenshots for this strategy/action real time spaceship combat battle game.

Rated as Pending still by the ESRB, Tactical Assault is set to feature starships from the Star Trek movies for you to battle it out against the Romulans, Gorn, and Orions in skirmish mode. Of course, you can't fight galaxy-loads of villains alone, so you can also promote crew members. It will also have Wi-fi multiplayer mode, plus multiple outcomes.

Star Trek: Technical Assault will be released on October 6.

 

Bethesda Softworks announced a couple days ago (August 4, in fact) that the famous Dorothy "DC" Fontana is writing the scripts for its upcoming Star Trek: Legacy (for Microsoft's Xbox 360 and for Windows / PC) and Star Trek: Tactical Assault (being developed for Sony's PSP and for the Nintendo DS).

This is big news because DC Fontana is one big writer: she wrote for the original Star Trek series and kept on writing until Star Trek: Deep Space 9. She wrote Star Trek: The Next Generation's first episode (the two-part Encounter at Farpoint) and she also wrote for Babylon 5 and Earth: Final Conflict.

And did we mention that she was inducted into the American Screenwriters Association Hall of Fame?

Star Trek computer games don't seem to do as well as Star Trek movies, but Trekkers and Trekkies are hoping that DC Fontana has crafted wonderful plotlines for both Star Trek: Legacy and Star Trek: Tactical Assault.

Bethesda Softworks was behind the successful Elder Scrolls series, it might be fair to have high expectations for their upcoming Star Trek games. Both games will be released on October 3, 2006.