Video Game Review: Star Trek Online

Are you a Trekkie? Have you seen every episode ever at least 7 times? Do you have fights with friends over how long a red shirt can survive in an episode? If you can't answer those questions, fear not because Star Trek Online does not require that kind of fan devotion.

Star Trek Online is a Massively Multiplayer Online game (MMO) that will be officially opening on Feb 2, 2010. Those that have pre-ordered the game will be able to play from Friday on through. Given the number of fans the universe of Star Trek inhabits, expectations are high.

The first question you might ask is the first thing I addressed here. Is it a uber-fan targeted game. And the answer is no. It is not focused on any 1 Star Trek series or movie, nor is it restricted to information and actions that only the ultimate fan might know. The MMO is actually more casual gamer based, and something anyone could enjoy from die hard fans to those with even no knowledge of Star Trek, if such a thing were possible.

With that main question out of the way, what is STO like? Is it similar to other MMO's? Is it worth the time? Is it a complete fiasco like Star Wars Online?

I would say that STO (Star Trek Online) is a decent MMO. In a way it's kind of like jumping into an episode of Star Trek, any of them, for a while. You really get the feeling that you are part of the Star Trek universe.

STO is similar to most MMO's in that you can modify characters in a dozen differnt ways. You can have aliens of your own creation, make a 8' gaint Vulcan female character, or a tiny Bajoran for that matter. You can select from a host of clothes and hairstyles, even adjust the length of fingers and/or scars and skin color if you wish.

There are 2 main character races in the game, Klingons and Federation. If you have pre-ordered the game and taken the option to sign up for the lifetime subscription (a limited time offer as of now) you also have the option to create a Borg character - so expect that to be an option in the future along with Romulans I expect. So far I have only played the Federation side of the game.

Once you create a character you go through a tutorial that places you right in the middle of the action. In STO you are told up front that this is the universe outside of the latest revisioned movie, you are in the original universe where Jame T. Kirk is Shatner and all the television shows are derived from. (We are told this by Leonard Nimoy's Spock no less) Thus you are in the middle of another Klingon-Federation war, with the Dominion, Romulans, Borg, and everyone else involved as well.

Within minutes of starting the game you get to become a Captain of your own starship. Don't worry that you are starting as a Ensign (the lowest rank officer) since whoever is in command is automatically Captain. The logic of this upgrade in position makes sense and feels organic.

The initial battles, on ship and in space, are pretty easy. Just enough to keep you busy enough to pay attention to what is the next button you want to mash. The ground game, where you get to roam with an away team and fight phaser to phaser or hand-to-hand, is decent but hardly the kind of battles you get in say WoW. Then again, the focus of the game is really not the ground game. It's primarily about space.

Focusing on the ground play for a bit, you get an away team that is initially just 1 other character. The character is similar to pets in other MMO's or NPC characters you have limited control over. They can heal you in battle, set up turrets and provide additional firepower, and other similar background tasks. So far the ground game is decent but not thrilling.

Space on the other hand is what it's all about. That is where the game excells. Even in the initial levels of the game you get the feel of running around and fighting the good fight just like James T. himself. The controls do take a bit of getting used to as a fight in space is 3-dimensional. So you can fly over, around, and under other ships in space. I only did it onece, but you can also bump inot another ship, though other space items like asteroids are not collidable.

There a lots of GUI controls when you are in space, but they are organic in that their use is logical, the size is not too large to interfere with the game, and the information is easily understood at a glance.

The graphics of flying through space are superb. You get a feeling of really being out there. That space is huge. And you get to do this via an over the shoulder view of your ship. It really works well. That alone would make this game worth the money.

But like any new MMO there are detractions. They aren't so much in the gameplay as in other places. The pacing of some missions are slow. Flying through space takes time (when you are in a planetary system or in the Warp zone to another galaxy). You don't just instantly pop up against whatever, you need to find it. When in a planetary system with gas and asteroids, it can take a couple of minutes to find what you are looking for if you are moving at less than top speed.

Another issue is the specializations. There are 3 - Tactical officer (warrior class), Science (magic user class), and Engineering (support/ranged class). You can be any of the 3 and you will have a set of bridge officers that will have at least one of each of these titles. This allows you to focus and enhance certain aspects of your ship and crew on the ground. But at least early on, you don't get a feel for what effect that really has on your ship or in ground battles. Yes there are buffs and weapon specializations, but the need for one or the other isn't clear early on.

The biggest issue I had is the rank and promotion system. You get skill trees instead of skill levels used in most MMO's. That system was a fiasco in Star Wars Online. In STO it's not too clear exactly what you want to take on as a skill, how high you should make it go, and what benefit you are getting from choosing one option over another. But you must take on new skills becuase your characters rank, and thus ability to gain more ships, better crew, improved weapons, ect are based on rank.

Overall playing STO is kind of like being the star of your own television show. You are the Captain in charge, you set the course to travel thru space and fight the good fight. It's the kind of game that I would not want to play for 3 days in a row (but likely would like all MMO's I own), but surely would play 3x a week for a few hours each time.

These are just the early impressions of playing the game for about 8 hours. This is very early in any MMO and so there is much more to evaluate. But as MMO's go, this is a great start and an indication of a solid game that is worth the time investment any MMO player knows goes with building a good character.

Star Trek Online

As many know, I love Massively Multiplayer Online games (MMO). I have played almost every single major title that has ever been released. I got hooked with Everquest, and have been playing them all since. The last I had is Warhammer Online, but it's time for something new.

Star Trek Online will be coming out in February 2010. There is a lot of anticipation on the game. Here is one of the latest videos on the gameplay.



As you can see from the images the space battles look like it was the emphasis of the graphics and game design. In other videos you will notice the lower level of graphics for characters even more. So the question that comes to my mind is if the game will live up to even most of the hype?

Another game that had a lot of hype and was somewhat inferior in graphics was Star Wars Online. As I recall there were a few question about the graphics, and the level tree that was being used. As well as the whole resource decay issue. The game was a failure even accounting for the hype that nothing could live up to.

Star Trek Online (STO) also cannot possibly live up to the hype that its source material has created. Even if this game runs perfectly smooth at launch and had no bugs (neither of which will happen) it could not live up to expectations. So that may save it to some degree among fans.

But is the game worth it? Well the general word out is that the game is decent. That there is content and diversity. But until there is a community playing, who knows.

I hate to guess about video games. There are so many unknowns to try to figure out. Actual gameplay can often be deceiving, and critical elements of the game may never be even hinted at in a preview. World of Warcraft had no hype and stormed the MMO community. It created fans that ranged from casual gamers to the very hardcore. And its kept them. But before the launch there really was not clue how good it would be.

I want STO to be a good game. I want to join up and have a Klingon cruiser blasting away at the Federation, Romulans, and the Borg (yep they are in the game - though not as playable characters). But I'm just not sure.

Lesser graphics are never an indication of how a game might turn out by themselves. But like with the Matrix Online (now defunct) it's one part of many potential problems that can spell the doom of a game.

Currently the game is in closed Beta. Lot's of things are likely being tweaked and added. No word has leaked on how good or bad things might be. so the question remains, is this being put out to cash in on the hype or is it what the fans have been waiting for?

We only have 2 1/2 months to go to find out.

When the MMO joy ends

For all the fans of MMO’s (Massively Multiplayer Online) out there, some potentially bad news. The same can be said to fans of all things Star Trek. Of course this means that I can only be speaking about Star Trek Online.

It’s been reported that there are going to be massive changes to the up-coming MMO, and the end to the equally in development Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising. The creators of Star Trek Online, Perpetual has been sold to new owners and they want a new focus on the game. Those changes include a move to become a more casual gamer friendly format. I would call that a horrible move.

In addition there is the rumor that the subscription based fees will be removed. Now most games that do this tend to instead offer perks to the game that can only be gained by purchasing those perks in real cash. While that has been a huge hit in some games (like Second Life as I recall) it’s not something I like. Then again most Americans I would say are against that format. But in Korea this is a very popular idea.

In my opinion, the game is dead. Any potential that might have been there has been hit by a full force phaser blast. So it’s warp speed onto another MMO. That means Conan. So far expectations are that we can see the game out in 2008.

As for Tabula Raza, which you may recall I reviewed recently, the joy has subsided a bit. My review covered the first 5 levels to the game. The initial feeling of constant action and improvement has lasted beyond level 5. But it seems to be waning fast.

Now at level 15, I have to honestly say that this is not a long term MMO. At least not for me. While I still maintain it’s a nice change from WoW (World of Warcraft) it is not a keeper. The higher level stats and abilities are only slightly different than early levels. Weapon strengths do improve, but not quite as quickly as most opponents. The scenery of post-early stage lands are still well detailed and inviting, but somewhat still the same.

I’m playing the game as a solo character, no guild or groups. That makes most of the instances very difficult. Sadly that’s where the best gear is of course. Still several can be beaten by one character (at substantially higher levels and better gear). But the meat and potatoes of the game still leave me less than enthused.

Bugs are still present, and the latest patch was a while ago (pre-Thanksgiving).

And the difference in ability between my newbie and my level 15 ranger is sparse. The different abilities just don’t seem too relevant. And the logos still make little sense.

Probably the main thing keeping me going is the desire to reach Sniper at level 30.

So if you have a month or 2 to kill, or want to blow off some steam from work, Tabula Raza is ok. Otherwise, look for Conan in March 08.

**this can also be found at Video Gaming Blog where I am a contributing author.**