For fans of the forty-year-old Star Trek franchise, today's a red-letter day...or perhaps that should be a red-shirt day. Star Trek Online offers fans the chance to step into the Federation-issue shoes of a starship captain -- or the pointy metallic boots of a Klingon warlord -- in the latest virtual world to hit stores.
First star on the left, straight on 'till morning...
You won't find much in the way of professional reviews just yet -- most outlets prefer to let new online worlds settle down for a week or two before passing judgment. But there are still plenty of impressions and opinions out there, courtesy of the game's beta test that's been running since December.
And there's near-universal agreement on at least one point: the game's character generation is awesome. That'll be no big surprise to anyone who's followed its developer, Cryptic Studios, for any length of time: flexible, fascinating character design is practically their signature move. If you sit down with the game, expect to spend some considerable time poring over its options.
There's more disagreement over how the Trek faithful will react to the game. Common Sense Gamer chimes in favorably, saying "Cryptic nailed the Trek feeling in STO. If you are a Star Trek fan, then there is a very high possibility that you will love this game. Seriously."
On the other hand, MMORPG.com weighs in with more measured praise. "The bottom line here is that if you're a Trek fan, and you're going into Star Trek Online expecting it to be just like your favourite show, you're going to be disappointed...Star Trek Online is its own entity...it's not trying to be any of the series, and expecting it to be is only going to lead to disappointment."
So what's the deal? Looks like it depends on your expectations. If you're looking for the older, more character-driven Star Trek of the 1966 original, or the diplomatic, combat-wary world of Patrick Stewart's Picard, you'll likely be turned off by Star Trek Online's heavy focus on combat -- the game's set decades after any of the TV series and movies, where the Federation's at war, and most of the characters you'll know and love are dead or retired. (Twin Spocks Zachary Quinto and Leonard Nimoy provide voice-overs, though.)
"Star Trek Online is a simple combat game; the only non-combat interaction possible in the game is getting close to an object or person and pressing 'F'," says blogger Tobold. "There is nothing to do on the bridge (as of the beta), nobody to talk to, and if you want to sit in the captain's chair you need to stand on it and [type '/sit']."
The character creation possibilities are nearly endless.
Beta participant Aaron Sheppard agreed, to a point. "To see yourself on the bridge is really just a token," he told us. "It serves no purpose other than a screenshot -- but what it lacks in non-combat options the game makes up for with customization of uniforms, appearance and ship layout. Even with three types of ship with three options each, I was able to create a ship that was visually distinct from most every other player, and whether you go for the classic 'Enterprise' layout or something more obscure like the 'Defiant' you can customize the weaponry, shields, engine and crew of each ship so everyone's interaction is unique."
Like most other online worlds, the game charges a $14.99 monthly fee -- but the first hit's included in the game's $50 purchase price. And for that money, we'd certainly advise franchise fans to take it for a spin: after all, you can't get many dilithium crystals for that these days, and as with any online world it'll improve as the team has more time to tweak.
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