During a recent press event, FiringSquad got a chance to play near-final versions of both the PSP and DS ports of Star Trek: Tactical Assault, the upcoming space based tactical action game from developer Quicksilver and publisher Bethesda Softworks. While the two games have basically the same content, we discovered in our brief time with the game that the PSP and DS versions have some rather radical gameplay differences.

The upcoming PC-Xbox 360 game Star Trek: Legacy and the just released PS2 title Star Trek Encounters span the entire Trek timeline. Tactical Assault, however, is set firmly in the original series timeline (To be more accurate, Tactical Assault is set during the Trek movie timelines for the original Enterprise crew. Think Wrath of Khan and you get the idea). Also you are not playing as Captain James T. Kirk in the game but rather as new and rather green Starfleet captain on his first mission. In our brief play test of both versions you basically pilot your starship from a over-the-head third person viewpoint where you get text messages from your crew along with communications from other vessels. Both the PSP and DS allow you to pilot the ships through the D-pad or buttons but the DS version should appeal to the Sulu in all of us as you can actually control the ship in the game on the second touch screen using the stylus. From movement to raising power to raising the shields on your ship, the DS's touch screen UI was a blast to play around with.

We didn't get too far in the Federation single player campaign in Tactical Assault but it's clear that the storyline (co-scripted by original Trek writer DC Fontana) will remain true to the spirit of the sci-fi franchise. Once the 15 mission Federation campaign is over with, players will have access to the separate Klingon campaign as well. In terms of the game's space combat, Tactical Assault remains true to Trek's style which is steady and methodical (bringing down the shields) rather than just blasting away. One interesting feature in the game is that while you switch ships during your campaign, your crew actually remains loyal to you and sticks around for the length of the campaign. As you progress you actually can promote your crew which also affects how different ship systems improve in the game. For example, you might decided to promote your engineer in order to quicken repairing your ship (because, as Scotty knows, those engines just canna take any more....oh, sorry abou that..again).

Both versions of Tactical Assault will support two player head to head wireless multiplayer (sadly no Internet support) and in both multiplayer and in the game's skirmish mode you will get the choice of not just Federation and Klingon ships but also the sneaky Romulans (those darn cloaking devices!) the Orions (hey, gotta love those green women) and the Gorn (those tough reptile aliens Kirk had to deal with in the original series episode "Arena). There are several modes available which can be used for both quick and extended combat modes. All in all, it looks very much like the game will be able to give Star Trek fans and gamers the best Wrath of Khan type of combat available.

Besides the DS stylus mode of gameplay, the big difference between the PSP and DS game is in the visuals. While it is fun to play with the UI on the DS side it has to be said that the visuals are a bit blocky and old-fashioned on the ships. It's the PSP version that will have Trek fans very happy if they like a great looking game. With widescreen looks, some detailed ship models and impressive visual effects, it's quite frankly one of the few PSP games we have seen that really tries to use the console's hardware to its fullest.

So, paraphrasing Howie Mandel, PSP or DS? While we only got a taste of both versions at the press event, we can honestly say that it will be up to the individual player to decide for themselves (assuming they have both a PSP and DS console). The DS version is much more hands-on while the PSP port is clearly the prettier game. There aren't too many games for either platform that's like Star Trek: Tactical Assault anyway so people will be in for some unique gameplay no matter what version they pick. Look for the game to ship to stores for both platforms later in October.

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