Not quite the "late summer 2009" we were promised earlier this year, but at least it's coming. And, according to an update from Paramount, the late ports will be even better.

Star Trek D-A-C for the PlayStation Network and PC will offer patient Star Trek space combat fans two new ship classes, a new game mode, new pick-ups, a new map for Assault Mode and "more." PC fans have it even better, as the top-down shooter will offer a 3D stereoscopic viewing option, should they have Nvidia 3D Vision compatible hardware.

The DVD and Blu-ray release of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek also hits in November, so you'll probably have ample reminder that D-A-C is coming back around.

That is according to a news release, but it couldn't get any more specific about the release date than "late summer 2009." The release also said it's on the way "later this year" for the PC.

Fahey didn't review the XBLA game well, so, I'm not sure that any additions it plans for the PSN version will be enough to pump up a basic top-down space shooter.

Star Trek D-A-C PS3 Version Confirmed and Screens [Gamers Hell]

Lacking the time to create a full-fledged movie tie-in for the new Star Trek film, Naked Sky Entertainment instead decided to create a quick and dirty online shooter set in the Star Trek universe, much like Auran did when they created the Live Arcade version of Battlestar Galactica. D-A-C stands for the game's three modes - Deathmatch, Assault, and Conquest - each of which is playable either offline using artificially intelligent bots or online with real human beings of varying levels of intelligence.

Is Star Trek D-A-C enough to keep fans entertained long after the movie credits have finished rolling, or is it a Star Trek game in name alone?

Loved
Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad: While the straight player-versus-player gameplay in Star Trek D-A-C is relatively bland, things get a bit spicier in the title's slightly more involved modes, Conquest and Assault. Capturing and defending points can be a great deal of fun, adding a bit of strategy and depth to an otherwise shallow experience, provided you can find enough players online to get a match going.

Hated
There Isn't Much Here: Star Trek D-A-C doesn't have a whole lot of substance to it. It features two factions - Romulans and Federation - each with three ships to choose from. Bombers, fighters, and flagships handle exactly the same for both sides, and without any sort of story or plot there's really no reason to chose one faction over another aside from personal preference. A handful of maps are shared between each of the game's three modes, and while they certainly are lovely to look at, the lovely soon fades when the overall lack of variety sets in.

An Overall Lack Of Star Trek: I debated whether or not to list the abuse of the Star Trek license in the hated column, ultimately determining that in this day and age, fans have a right to expect more when a beloved license is attached to a video game. Slapping the Star Trek name on a generic shooter might have passed the muster back in the days of the Nintendo Entertainment System, but not today. The game comes across as a generic space shooter with Star Trek trappings tacked on in order to make a quick buck. Whether or not this was the developer's intention is a moot point; it's how the game feels.

Take away the license and Star Trek D-A-C presents gamers with an ultimately forgettable top-down space shooter, good for a couple of hours worth of entertainment before it begins to wear thin. Figure in the license and now you have a bland space shooter that seems to be attempting to hide its obvious shortcomings behind a Star Trek movie poster. It's quite reminiscent of Auran's Xbox Live Arcade game Battlestar Galactica, though that game might have had a better chance of standing on its own two feet once the license crutch was kicked out from under it.

I understand that Naked Sky Entertainment didn't have time to create a full-fledged tie-in with the new movie, but that's no reason to deliver a sub-par game with only the loosest of connections to the forty-three year-old science fiction franchise.

Star Trek D-A-C! was developed by Naked Sky Entertainment in conjunction with Bad Robot Interactive and published by Paramount Digital Entertainment for Xbox Live Arcade. Coming soon for PC and PlayStation Network. Released on May 13th. Retails for 800 Microsoft Points ($10). Played multiple rounds of each of the three game modes both online and offline in single player mode.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

Chris Plane over at UGO Games Blog reports that D-A-C developer Naked Sky Entertainment "also confirm a Red Shirt Achievement awarded to the first to die in a multiplayer game." Since the entire game is multiplayer, I'm pretty sure I'll unlock Red Shirt before I figure out the magic button combo to unlock Kobayashi Maru.

The game is a top-down space shooter where players can choose from three classes of ship to engage in several fierce multiplayer match modes. This mystery cheat code that unlocks Kobayashi Maru will supposedly improve your ship's offenses and defenses; which is ironic because the "point" of the Kobayashi Maru test in Star Trek lore is to teach pilots fear when faced with a no-win situation. Captain Kirk cheats and reprograms the test so that it is possible to win.

Check out our preview of the game here; and go see the movie, if you haven't yet.

Star Trek D-A-C to Feature First Achievement Unlocked Via Cheat Code [UGO Games Blog] [Image Credit]

Both Naked Sky Entertainment's Star Trek D-A-C and Wideload's Texas Cheat 'Em will set Xbox Live subscribers 800 Microsoft Points, offering top-down space combat and rule-bending, card-based mini-games, respectively. Let us know of your intent to pick either up in the comments.

We asked why.

Big movies get video game adaptations, most of the time. For better or worse.

But that's not happening with this weekend's Star Trek film, which is getting the spin-off space-combat game Star Trek D-A-C but no big-game adaptation.

The official reason for the lack of a game based on the events of J.J. Abrams' Kirk adventure is that there wasn't enough time to make a great full-sized game.

"We certainly wouldn't have done a better job telling the story than the filmmakers would," D-A-C producer Ben Hoyt told me as he demoed the game for Kotaku on a Paramount floor in a Times Square skyscraper this morning.

Hoyt said the D-A-C team deliberately tried to not re-tell the events of the film, focusing on making their top-down, multiplayer-centric space-combat game that has three modes, seven maps and no plot.

Hoyt's proud of the downloadable game and makes a strong case that going the D-A-C route can produce a good game and lessen the risk of making one of those bad movie games that players are sick of. "The amount of time it takes to do a full-scale [movie] game and to make a film don't line up well," he said. "I think there's a strong correlation between that and the fact that games based on films have a spotty track record."

That philosophy led to the creation of D-A-C instead.

Some other notable movies are not being adapted to games. This spring's Watchmen game took the same spin-off approach as Star Trek D-A-C does.

But the stakeholders behind some other big movies this season, including X-Men: Origins and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen — both of which are getting full-game adaptations — are moving ahead with full film-to-game adaptations.

Gamers and movie-goers alike can vote on which approach they prefer by choosing how to spend their money.

And that's probably for the best. Unless we're dogfighting in space—whether that be in real-time or in some Starfleet Battles turn-based geek out—or hacking up dishonorable cowards in a bat'leth-based Klingon fighting sim, I'm not so sure I want to spend that much time recreating the events of Star Trek. Rarely, if ever, do I feel the need to hang out on the bridge or shimmy through a Jefferies tube.

So space battles it is! This is the first Star Trek D-A-C trailer, one that you might've caught during last week's GameTrailers TV. If not, engage.

Rather than licensing a full-blown movie tie-in game for Star Trek's upcoming "reboot" film, publisher Paramount is pushing for a decent game with a smaller scope. Pretty much the only thing D-A-C the game has to do with the movie is music from the film's original score. Other than that, everything is pure top-down shooter tradition and familiar Star Trek franchise naming conventions.

What Is It?
Star Trek D-A-C is a top down space shooter made up of various online multiplayer modes that can be played alternately offline with AI. Players choose either the Star Fleet faction or the Romulan Empire faction and then pick one of three types of starship to control. The various game modes allow for up to six players per faction with AI-controlled units to flesh out the ranks. The different modes are team deathmatch, conquest and assault and each have a versus, co-op or solo variants. It's coming out for XBLA, PSN and later on for PC.

What We Saw
I sat in a room in the Westin St. Francis hotel for about 20 minutes, watching Producer Tarik Soliman play through quickmatch rounds of deathmatch and conquest against the AI on the XBLA version. Then I took a turn with assault mode for about 25 minutes before I lost and had to pass the controller to the next journalist.

How Far Along Is It?
The build looked pretty final. D-A-C will come out "around the same time" as the movie, Soliman, so start looking for it on XBLA and PSN the week of May 8.

What Needs Improvement?
Tutorial – What Tutorial?: Perhaps this is something Soliman skipped in during the demo in his rush to show off the game, but I didn't see a tutorial mode or any real expository text telling you how to play the game. Not that D-A-C is complicated – but in a game so focused on multiplayer, it might be nice to keep the learning curve shallow with a decent tutorial so you don't spend the first half our of your D-A-C experience getting slaughtered online.

Can't Control The AI: Soliman said the developer felt it would be too hectic in solo mode to give the lone human player control over all of the friendly AI units. Normally, I'd be okay with leaving the battle plans up to the AI – it's a computer, so it should be smarter than me, right? – but I found that the AI units on my team weren't team players... at least not where I was concerned. I had to tap Y to go into the map view just to find them whenever I respawned and unless I guessed what their tactic was, I couldn't really participate in whatever plan they'd cooked up. Solo feels particularly lonely when even the AI ditches you.

Limited Scope: Because this game relies on multiplayer (and is better played with more human than AI players), it's pretty limited for long term playability. Soliman said there would potentially be DLC for the title; but unless they add a compelling story-based singleplayer mode or some hot, new multiplayer mode, D-A-C might lose its appeal overtime instead of gaining a steady following – like a stick of gum losing its flavor instead of a fine wine aging.

What Should Stay The Same?
Sheild/Boost System: Your primary controls in the game are shoot and boost – pull the trigger for the former and press X for the latter. Both eat up an energy meter displayed at the bottom of the screen which regenerates slowly overtime or gets replenished through white orb pickups you can find on the map or score from blown-up enemy units. This, combined with a shield that also requires time to regenerate if it gets shot up, adds a nice layer of strategy to the gameplay that sets D-A-C.

Escape Pod Deaths: In D-A-C, you take damage from other ships shooting at you, enemy mines or enemy turrets (not from crashing into stuff). When your shield are gone, your ship can either take a few more hits before it explodes, or you can eject an escape pod. The escape pod can't shoot and has no shield to defend itself, but if you can steer it away from danger ‘til a timer runs out, the game rewards you with a quicker respawn time and by letting you keep a higher percentage of items you picked up before you got shot down.

Different Things Actually Feel Different: Three game modes and three ship classes doesn't sound like a lot in the way of gameplay, but each mode and each ship feels different enough to create a sense of depth. The ship classes work like rock-paper-scissors: speedy fighters can't last long against bombs, the slow flagships pack a wallop and take forever to get anywhere, while the bombers can't last long against a barrage of lasers. The strategies you develop around the different fighters then adapt depending on which mode you play: for conquest, you're better off with a bomber-flagship mix – but for assault mode (which sounds similar to conquest because it's about capturing points on the map), you need to switch it up between bombers and fighters depending on how far through the map you've progressed.

It's Fun: I didn't even notice 25 minutes had passed during my assault match. I must've died at least half a dozen times, but rather than being frustrated, I was always eager to get back to the game.

Final Thoughts
Only one thing bugs me about D-A-C: nobody will tell me what the acronym stands for. My best guess is that it stands for Deathmatch-Assault-Conquest, but Soliman was hinting at movie spoilers or something. Whatever; I had fun playing it, so what difference does the acronym make? They could have called it Obligatory Star Trek Tie-In and it'd still be a fun game to play.

If you're not convinced, just sit tight for the demo that's due out the same day as the game; it'll include multiplayer (because it kind of has to) and give you a good idea of what you'll be getting for $10. All in all, for me D-A-C sounds like it's exactly what an XBLA/PSN game should be: quick and pretty with a healthy shot of multiplayer.

The official announcement for Star Trek D-A-C doesn't really offer anything new in the way of game information. From McWhertor's report at GDC we learned that it was a top-down shooter with a strong emphasis on online multiplayer, with single player, online co-op, and online competitive modes. We also knew it was coming in May, though now we know that the Xbox 360 version drops that month, with the PlayStation Network and PC versions coming soon after.

THat leaves these new screenshots, though lookig through them we managed to find at least two we've already seen. It's just one of the perils of working with a 43-year-old science fiction franchise. It's all been done before.

So far, it's been described as "the most surreal event in the world" by Quinto. It's also fairly well organized chaos. We're in Home now, ready to ask a handful of nerdy questions, questions that are just as nerdy as any of the other questions being lobbed at the trio. You can watch the thrill of avatars speaking to more famous avatars in almost real-time with the online stream.

Then watch as we body pop in front of world famous directors and movie stars. It promises to be magical.

Star Trek Filmmaker Q&A In PlayStation Home [Star Trek]

It'll be hitting the PlayStation Network sometime after the May LIVE release. To hopefully hold you over until the game's out, Paramount has released a couple DAC screens. Well... whaddaya think?

Star Trek: DAC is "focused on fun, not a retelling of the story" of JJ Abram's upcoming Star Trek reboot, according to Ben Hoyt, senior producer at Paramount Games. Hoyt namechecked games like Subspace and Geometry Wars when describing the game, due to be released in May alongside the film, but also adding that the game has "strategic depth."

And David Baranoff, associate producer on Abrams' Star Trek and Bad Robot GDC representation, says that the game offers "no barriers to entry" nor is it "steeped in Star Trek canon," opting for arcade-style multiplayer action. But he wouldn't explain the DAC acronym, saying only that Trekkers will find out during the course of the game. That's the Abrams style, I suppose...

Developed by Roboblitz creators Naked Sky Entertainment, Star Trek: DAC will support 12-person multiplayer, with two teams of six. AI bots will fill in the blanks, should your federation of online friends be unavailable.

Three modes, including solo play, cooperative play and a versus mode

To hear Paramount and Bad Robot folks tell it, Naked Sky was on a very short list of developers the film's producers were interested in bringing on board to work on Star Trek: DAC. The Los Angeles-based dev team has had full access to the film's art assets, sound effects and even Michael Giacchino's musical score, with Bad Robot folks checking in throughout the development cycle.

The game design, however, was born of the Naked Sky team, who presented Paramount and Bad Robot with a handful of options, ultimately settling on the tried and true space combat. Like the film, Star Trek: DAC will be packed with shorter session Romulans versus Federation battles, giving players command of the U.S.S. Enterprise.

Star Trek: DAC is due to hit Xbox Live Arcade in May, on or near the release of the movie. The PlayStation Network version is due later, "for a couple of reasons," according to Hoyt, but not necessarily for adhering to platform exclusivity. Both the XBLA and PSN versions will get demos, so you can see if the full version is something worth... beaming down.

While the movie studio hasn't officially announced the game, the promotional insert tucked inside the Blu-ray release of Star Trek Season One has. Trek Movie got its hands on the artwork for the home video release, which is more Star Trek (2009) than Star Trek (1996), which also promotes the Star Trek Scene It? DVD game. Nerd alert!

Development duties on Star Trek D·A·C will be handled by Roboblitz creators Naked Sky Entertainment. As employees of the company list an "unannounced PSN/XBLA title" on their resumes, we're guessing this is not going to hit retail, but the PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace later this Spring.

There's not much in the way of new details, as the Paramount Pictures Games web site redirects elsewhere.

In even better news, a trio of Star Trek-scented colognes will be released later this year, giving the odorous Trekker a chance to reek of Red Shirt.

ST09 Tidbits (T-59 days): Heroes Preview?, New Game?, Spock Fu?, Nero Wart? + more? [TrekMovie]