'Star Trek' actors head for videogame frontier

LOS ANGELES - Agence France-Presse

Mr. Spock, Star Trek

The actors who played Captain James T. Kirk and Spock in the 2009 film reboot of "Star Trek" will give voice to those characters in a videogame based on the beloved science fiction franchise.
 
Paramount Pictures and game publisher NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. announced on Tuesday that Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto will reprise their roles from the "Star Trek" film directed by J.J. Abrams.
 
"We are thrilled to have these incredible actors lending their voice to the legendary characters of Kirk and Spock in the videogame realm," said LeeAnne Stables, head of Paramount's videogame unit.
 
"Players are in for a truly authentic experience." The "Star Trek" videogame is scheduled for release early next year, with versions tailored for play on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 videogame consoles as well as on personal computers powered by Windows software.
 
"There are certain elements at the core of Star Trek -- insurmountable odds, exploration, villains like the Gorn and heroes like Kirk and Spock," said NAMCO vice president of marketing Carlson Choi.
 
"Our goal is to pull gamers as deep into the Star Trek universe as possible and an integral part of that is the talent that makes these characters their own." An original storyline for the game was being created by Marianne Krawczyk, a writer known for her work on the hit "God of War" videogame franchise, and people working on an upcoming "Star Trek" film, according to Paramount.
 
"The Gorn are among the most iconic villains in the Star Trek universe and their role in this game certainly lives up to that persona," said Paramount lead game producer Brian Miller.
 
"Kirk and Spock find themselves in an incredibly challenging amount of mayhem as they confront the Gorn throughout the game." The game is being developed by Canada-based studio Digital Extremes, according to NAMCO.