In any event, there are numerous points in the game where the two protagonists must work together, regardless of whether you're playing solo or with a friend. When I started up a game with the wife – me as Kirk, she as Spock – we couldn't just pick up where I'd left off in single-player, we had to start over from the beginning. The offline split-screen version, however, is clumsily implemented. One of Star Trek's key selling points is that you can invite a friend in to play co-op online at any point, which is kind of neat. Not that it matters, because they game plays largely the same regardless of who you choose. In single-player mode, you're asked at the start to play as either Kirk or Spock, who have minor ability differences. This time, though, the lizard people aren't just actors in cheesy costumes, they're full-on creepy crawlies who can climb walls and leap long distances. Kirk, Spock and the rest of the crew learn that a new doomsday device has been hijacked by the villainous Gorn, whom you may remember from the classic sixties TV show. Abrams's 2009 franchise reboot and before his upcoming follow-up Star Trek Into Darkness, which hits theatres in May. At best it's a mess that looks and feels dated, and at worst it is frustrating and unplayable. It's evident that some serious effort went into parts of Star Trek, but some of the key elements – like how the game looks and plays – got short shrift. I tried to like the game, both because I'm something of a fan of the series and out of patriotism for London, Ont.-based developer Digital Extremes. If that's true, it's hard to understand why Star Trek – the video game – got released. To hear game publishers talk about it, there's simply no room in the rapidly changing marketplace for mediocre titles.

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