Borg Invasion Attractive For 'Star Trek' Fans

You're going to have to be patient with me. Although I am familiar with the concept of "Star Trek," I am in no way well-versed in the lore of the popular television series and movies, so if I confuse a tribble with a Klingon you're just going to have to deal with it.

Actually it scares me a little that I actually know what a tribble and a Klingon are.

Many years ago, the upscale and buttoned down Las Vegas Hilton boldly went in a direction nobody expected by opening a "Star Trek" themed attraction, complete with a motion simulator ride, museum, bar, stores and its own space-age casino. While it often seemed to be that these areas were virtual ghost towns, apparently they did well enough to warrant adding a new attraction, in the form of "Borg Invasion 4D."

Let's start with the 4D part. There is a 3D film component to the attraction (complete with those wacky glasses) but then they add live actors and special effects to juice things up, presumably fulfilling the 4D requirement.

The experience starts as you and a couple dozen of your new best friends are ushered aboard a 24th century research facility where you are greeted, via video, by the doctor from the "Voyager" series (played by Robert Picardo). He lets you know that you're there to help them out with ISS (important space stuff) and that you shouldn't worry because everything is completely safe. Famous last words, right?

Suddenly the facility is under attack by the notorious Borg, which are half human, half robot killing machines that take over people and turn them into one of them through a process known as assimilation. True "Star Trek" fans reading this are groaning and pounding their fists on the desks, but if you're one of them you have to trust me that what I just wrote is close enough for the rest of us.

The floor shakes, the lights flicker, gunfire erupts and all manner of space-hell breaks loose as you and the group are guided through a warren of hallways. Things jump out at you and the Borg horde generally kicks the crew's assimilation, if you know what I mean. Lucky for you, there is a route to salvation through an escape vehicle.

The group is seated in a large, high-tech theater where 3D goggles are donned and the real fun stuff begins. As you try to escape the Borg, the theater bucks and jerks, water and bursts of air spray out at you, and things seem to jump out of the screen toward you as you are eventually returned to safety.

Darn. Sorry. I hope I didn't ruin the ending for you. I always forget to put spoiler alerts on my reviews of these things.

If it seems I'm being a bit snarky about the whole thing, it's a really good-natured snarky. This is actually a very well done attraction, with credible acting and special effects, a fun theater experience, and enough stuff going on constantly that you certainly won't get bored.

Even better news is it manages to tread the fine line between taking it seriously enough to not offend the die hard Star Trek fans but with enough nods and winks along the way to keep the rest of us from pointing and laughing. Does that mean you have to be a "Star Trek" fan to enjoy this? No. But it probably helps.

The hardest part to swallow is the price. True, the $35 adult admission allows you unlimited access for a full day to both the Borg and original Klingon Encounter portions of the attraction, but I think you'd have to be a serious, serious Trekkie (Trekker? to want to do this more than once.

For the rest of us, it comes down to looking at the best ways to get $35 worth of entertainment value. Personally, I'd prefer to add a couple of bucks to that and go see "Second City" or "Forbidden Vegas," but that's strictly my opinion.

If you love "Star Trek," go. If you like "Star Trek," consider going. If you don't like "Star Trek," spend your $35 elsewhere.

Vegas4Visitors Grade: B

Borg Invasion 4D
Las Vegas Hilton
3000 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(800) 732-7117

Adults, $35; children 12 and under and seniors, $32.
Open Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. until 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

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