Star Trek actors take series’ first VR game for a spin

It looks like the trippiest episode of “Star Trek” ever created. On the bridge of a starship resembling the Enterprise from director J.J. Abrams' “Trek” films, that series' Dr. McCoy is at the engineering station frantically beaming up survivors of an attack, while former Borg tinkerer Seven of Nine from “Star Trek: Voyager” is firing torpedoes at a Klingon vessel. They're both taking orders from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” chief engineer Geordi La Forge. He's sitting in the captain's chair, but he looks like a woman.

“Keep us in range of that Klingon,” orders La Forge. “I'm trying to phaser him!” barks Seven. “Do you need some engine power for that ” asks McCoy.

The out-of-this-world “Trek” mash-up isn't occurring on a soundstage. The actors - Karl Urban, Jeri Ryan and LeVar Burton - are playing a mission from “Star Trek: Bridge Crew,” the sci-fi franchise's first-ever virtual reality game being created by publisher Ubisoft and developer Red Storm Entertainment. The interactive four-player experience casts players as the captain or either a tactical, engineering or helm officer aboard the starship Aegis. “This wasn't anything like you see on the show,” said Ryan, a cast member on “Voyager” for four seasons.

“When we were shooting it, the bridge set was all plywood and plastic. When you're looking at the ship's monitors, they were either green screens or just big openings in the walls. This was incredible. It's what it would be like if it were real.”

The stars from various “Trek” editions gathered earlier this month to don Oculus Rift headsets and play in front of cameras for a promotional video for the game's unveiling Monday at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the interactive industry's annual trade show. Burton, who portrayed visor-clad La Forge in seven TV seasons and four films, lit up when he realized he could not only sit in the captain's chair but that his avatar could be female.