It is certainly not a good day to die. If you happened to do so, you'd be missing out on one fantastic game. Klingon Honor Guard is the latest 3D shooter to hit the market, based on the engine of the award-winning game, Unreal. While the architecture will be very familiar to Unreal fans, this is a totally new game with unique characters, weapons, levels, and storyline.
Honor. Duty. Tradition.
The Klingon Honor Guard is an elite group of warriors that have been trained to protect the leaders of the Klingon High Council. The introduction movie, which is played manually from the Game CD, explains the history of the Honor Guard and its founders. The narration for the intro movie is very well done, but the visual scenes consist mostly of lava splashing around. However, it does tell the story well and gives the player a better respect for the ideas behind the game.
You are a new inductee into the Honor Guard, and the game starts with a simulated training mission to help you get started. However, during the training mission, word comes in that an assassination attempt had been made against Gowran, leader of the Klingon people, and the High Council. Since the Honor Guard had to stand by the leader and protect him after the failed attempt, you are called upon to track down the villains and "fulfill the blood oath against them".
Avenge the Assassins
This mission takes you through 19 levels spanning over 7 unique 3D worlds. Many surprises are encountered along the way, and you're assisted by Captain Kurn, who gives you directions and information through a communications device. These movie cutscenes are extremely well-crafted and narrated. Pure emotion can be heard in the voice of this enraged Klingon (and they do get really mad). The in-game music is fantastic, and adds a dramatic feel to the game that enhances its appeal.
Your weapons and tools are your lifeline; you couldn't get anywhere without them. You start the game with a d'k tahg, which is a standard blade that can be slashed or thrown, and a disrupter pistol. Additional weapons, such as the ceremonial Bat'leth blade, can be picked up along the way. This curved weapon is a powerful addition to your selection and really gets the blood flying after it is used. (For parents concerned about excessive blood, there is a low gore option that turns off blood.) However, it's not as simple as whipping out your blade for a kill. Your enemies not only have weapons of their own, but they also use corners to hide around and side-rolling maneuvers to escape your wrath. Some enemies will even play dead on the ground, only to jump back up when you least expect it and start shooting again. Needless to say, even with 4 difficulty levels to choose from, it's no easy task.
If you want to see these beautiful 3D worlds and non-stop action in the best light, a 3D graphics accelerator is highly recommended. Klingon Honor Guard supports both Voodoo and RAVE acceleration, but my aging 4 MB Voodoo 1 card still produced choppy scenes with multiple enemies on screen or wide angle views. The game carries over all of Unrealšs massive system requirements, including at least a 180 MHz 603e processor, a whopping 270 MB of hard disk space (no alternatives) and a suggested 80 MB of RAM, but performs better with even more. Luckily, the game runs pretty well with virtual memory, but physical RAM is highly recommended over this alternative, as always.
The gameplay is fun, challenging, and presents a new obstacle at every turn. When you're not busy fending off a Klingon Guard Captain or Attack Droid, you'll be scrounging for powerups, digital imprints to gain access through doors and useful tools that will help you through the levels. Most powerups are found inside crates that can easily be broken open, and enemies often drop goodies as well. Everything from game controls to environmental concerns are covered in detail in the manual. For instance, various levels lead you outside the pressurized, normal gravity areas of a ship; here, you'll need a protective suit to keep you breathing and magnetic boots or anti-gravity belt to keep you on board. It's great fun to kill an enemy in these zero-G areas and watch their lifeless body float away from the ship, spilling blood across the dark depths of space.
Challenge Your Brethren
If the single player game frustrates you to no end and you're looking for a break, multiplayer action will provide that escape. Multiplayer games can be played over a LAN (8 player maximum) or the Internet (4 player maximum). They offer a multitude of options, such as the inclusion of bots and if so, how many bots there should be and how each of them will play against other players. A bot is a computer-generated enemy that moves and acts as if a real player were controlling it. These bots provide an excellent alternative if you don't have other players to go up against. In a Botmatch, it is simply you against any other bots in the level. The bots' only goal is to hunt you down and kill; your only goal is to stop them first with a pull of the trigger or a slash of the blade.
Klingon Honor Guard is an excellent plot-driven shooter that will keep you playing for hours on end and late into the night. The extravagant worlds are absolutely beautiful in hardware acceleration, and the gameplay is unique, surprising and fun. If your Mac can satisfy the high requirements, then don't hesitate: go out and satisfy your blood oath.
