While you may have to wait a while to find out who the antagonist is in J.J. Abrams' upcoming Star Trek sequel, Star Trek the video game has put its villains front and center.  The Gorn, a lizard-like race of alien warriors Hell-bent on conquering the galaxy, will terrorize Captain James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock in the Paramount Pictures and Namco Bandai game.  The cast of Star Trek, including Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, John Cho and Anton Yelchin will lend their voices to the game.  The standalone co-op is based on Abrams' original Star Trek and continues the adventures of the iconic heroes.  Players will control Kirk and Spock as they traverse across unexplored planets and alien battleships in an attempt to stop the Gorn in an original story written by BAFTA award-winner, Marianne Krawczyk (God of War) with Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman.  Plenty of new images and concept art await you, along with the fully detailed press release, after the jump.  As this announcement was made as part of the ongoing Electronic Entertainment Expo, catch up on all of our previous coverage of E3 here. Check out the full press release below, followed by new images and concept art from the Star Trek video game, coming to consoles early 2013.  If you missed the game trailer, we've posted that below as well:

LOS ANGELES,

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CA (June 5, 2012) – Paramount Pictures and leading video game publisher and developer NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. today gave fans the first look at the key villain to be featured in the upcoming Star Trek™ video game inspired by J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek (2009) film reboot. The announcement made at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), revealed that a legendary lizard-like race known in Trek lore as “The Gorn” will play the destructive and villainous role in the video game releasing in early 2013. The co-op game is based on a standalone storyline that continues the adventure of iconic characters Captain James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock as they work together to stop the Gorn, an enemy race bent on conquering the galaxy.

“The Gorn are among

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the most iconic villians in the Star Trekuniverse and their role in this game certainly lives up to that persona ,” said Brian Miller, Senior Vice President at Paramount Pictures and lead game producer.  “Kirk and Spock find themselves in an incredibly challenging amount of mayhem as they confront the Gorn throughout the game.”

More than just lizard-skinned foes, the Gorn are a blood-thirsty race determined to conquer the galaxy. A true military dictatorship, the Gorn are made up of billions of self-sacrificing warriors across thousands of colonies, each focused on the conquest of alien races. By utilizing their chaos-causing infectious venom, the Gorn seed mayhem and destruction as they destroy populations and deplete planets of their resources.

"Great villains give our

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favorite characters a chance to become heroes in the process of attempting to eliminate a powerful threat, and Star Trek fans have been eagerly anticipating the moment when the antagonists of the game would be revealed," said Carlson Choi, VP of Marketing at NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. “This is one of those moments and we couldn’t be more excited to give gamers a glimpse at the challenges that lie ahead for Kirk and Spock.”

The Gorn range in size and abilities, infecting their foes with venom that can poison, cause hallucinations, and even kill. From the smaller infantry Gorn Rushers, to the larger Gorn Warriors and the massive Gorn Brutes, the Gorn provides a serious direct threat, while the wall-climbing Gorn females showcase the cunning for which this race is feared. Technologically capable and possessing the antithesis of Federation ideals, the Gorn pose a devastating threat to Starfleet, the Enterprise, and its crew.

With a storyline occurring

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after the events of J.J. Abram’s 2009 Star Trek reboot, the Star Trek video game puts players in the shoes of seminal heroes Captain James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock, inviting them to work together to take on the ferocious Gorn in this epic action adventure.  Built from the ground up as the ultimate co-op experience, players are set on a journey of immense proportions across unexplored planets and enemy battleships with the latest 23rd century weapons and gear. Kirk and Spock’s complementary personalities result in the most fully realized and varied co-op experience for this console generation.

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