If you ask most people what they think of when you say Science Fiction, the majority of them will answer Star Trek. Now of course you'll get the occasional Star Wars or Matrix from the youngsters, but over the last 30 some odd years, THE name when you speak of starships, phasers and scoring with extra terrestrials simply has to be Star Trek. That said, the good people at Interplay and 14 East have decided to help bring that rich SCI-FI heritage to the Dreamcast with their newest foray into the real-time strategy genre; Star Trek: New Worlds

In a twist that strays far away from the conventional Star Trek setting, New Worlds takes place almost entirely on the surface of different planets. You are able to choose from among three of the series most famous factions: the Klingon Imperial Task Force, The Romulan Star Empire, and of course the United Federation of Planets in a struggle for control of newly discovered country. All the usual takes on terrain differences like volcanic lands, Ice planets, and sandy desert worlds have been included, and will surely possess their own pros, cons, and up to 10 different resources for your aspiring leader to deal with.

Each of the three clans bring their own set of standards and practices to the table, making each mission unique from the others, even if it takes place on the same planet. Klingons for example, will be presented with a more aggressive objective-set, but be bound by their code of honor. Meaning that if they accidentally kill an group on unarmed people, it will shame not only their name, but their clan's as well. The Federation player is the goody-two-shoes of the bunch and must always keep their composure and follow their Prime Directive and similar rules to keep diplomacy and ethics at attention. Players with a wild side are sure to dig the Romulans, who don't have to do anything but meet their mission requirements anyhow they see fit. Don't like the way that Federation slime is smiling at you? Go ahead and vaporize him, no biggie.

The game uses a unique 3D engine more similar to first-person shooters than most real-time strategy games. So far, the detailed eye-candy is definitely up to par with the TV show's high-tech special effects, and looks almost as good as the otherworldly scenes from last weeks Voyager. The camera can be controlled and maneuvered to just about anywhere you'd like to put it for the best possible view, and frees up a lot of the questionable space most RTS games have when it comes to structure placement. For fans of the genre, you'll recognize that this type of presentation is sort of a slower, Treked out version of Activision's Battlezone.

Star Trek purists will be happy to know that those classic phaser and communicator sounds will be included, with most sound effects and architecture lifted straight from the vault that was Gene Rodenberry's imagination. I say most, not all however, because the developers over at 14 East have implemented their own brand of Trekker vehicles, items, units, and sounds to help suit the ground-based play, which should expand the already deep universe of Star Trek even further.

The new stuff is pretty cool too. Cloaking Disruptor Tanks can use their power of invisibility to sneak up onto an enemy base, and position themselves for the kill without ever being spotted. There are Photon Artillery launchers, which are huge laser guns that pound your opposition into submission from a safe distance, and there's even a handy Hydroponics bay to keep your fleet happy with full stomachs. Make sure you can adapt to each planet's hostile environments though, some of them you cannot survive without the assistance of a Gravitational or an Ionic Jamming Fields. As you can see by the brief description of units above, the scope of the game looks to be quite vast.

There will be, without a doubt, multi-player options, but the extent of which have yet to be divulged. Whether or not it will be hot seat or Internet play is also up in the air, but either way, being able to go head to head (or perhaps even team up) with a friend and kick some alien ass is always an advantage. According to plans layed out by Sega prior to this year's Autumn TGS, new Worlds will be one of the system's first multi-player online titles, and Interplay has hinted that they are quite interested in developing a format that will support PC to Dreamcast online play. Nothing is set in stone at present, but this is certainly one area we'll be keeping a close eye on in the future.

The same could be said for the game's release date, where concrete information is about as plentiful as Ferengi charity events, but if the developers stay true to their goal of a concurrent release with the PC version, Star Trek: New Worlds may boldly make it's way to your Dreamcast some time in the year 2000. Engage!

-- Jeremy Dunham, Contributor