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As often happens with most A-list titles when a beta version reaches the press, Simon and Schuster's Deep Space Nine: The Fallen has inspired a flood of previews and screen shot galleries for your perusal. This title is due for PC quite soon, and for Mac OS by December. Initial press reactions to the title have been very positive, with much praise in particular for the stellar graphics (powered by a modified version of the Unreal engine) and smooth handling of the third-person perspective.

Gamer's Pulse has posted a detailed preview of the title, which includes information on the 'backstory,' descriptions of the solo play and features several new screen shots. One issue that is critical in real-time games, and doubly so in third-person titles, is how approachable and usable the controls are. Many gamers have bad memories of the stiff camera in the Tomb Raider series which often seemed to leave you staring at a wall in tight quarters, and thus are skeptical that this 'removed' perspective can provide a good action-game experience. Here's an excerpt from the preview dealing with the interactivity and controls of the game:

The control interface to use the weapons and movement is simple and very familiar. Using the typical WASD for movement, and the left and right clicks of the mouse to complete 90% of the normal movement and interaction on the station, and control couldn’t be easier. Phaser rifles will also support the ability to zoom in on targets for aimed shots against enemy forces. As far as onscreen interfaces in DS9: The Fallen are concerned, they are nearly non-existent and by no means detract from gameplay. The largest interface you will see throughout the game will be the circular radar map that appears when you are wielding the tricorder.

Speaking of screen shots, those sites that haven't had time to crank out their own previews yet have flooded the Web with dozens of images from the game in various resolutions.

Evil Avatar has appropriately posted nine screen shots of the game in action, with several taken from in-engine cinematics from the game. There are three more on their main news page.

Computer Games Online has posted an even dozen shots, complete with humorous 'alt' text. These seem to suffer from some degree of horizontal banding that we have not seen with other shots from the game; it looks like a Voodoo2 SLI setup.

GA-Source has posted their own screen shot gallery, which also includes shots of the in-engine cinematic screen shots. These shots are of very high quality and are 800x600 resolution.

And if you are curious as to how this game will sound, as well as it will look, the official DS9 web site has been updated with a music track from the game in MP3 format. If this isn't enough to satisfy your curiosity about this title, we're sure even more details and images will be released soon -- some of them right here on the pages of IMG.

DS9 Shots at Evil Avatar

DS9 Shots at CGOnline

DS9: The Fallen Preview at Gamer's Pulse

DS9 Shots at GA-Source

Deep Space Nine: The Fallen

Simon & Schuster (add to watch list)

The Collective (add to watch list)

DS9: The Fallen (add to watch list)

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