Hello there!

I recently had the wonderful chance to participate in the open beta of the up and coming game, Star Trek Online. So I’ve decided to write my impressions. Please keep in mind I only had a limited time to play the game (I’m also studying for classes) and naturally it was a beta so there were bugs and limitations imposed. So my review probably won’t be as thorough as it might be if I had played a full game for a longer period.

First thing is first! The story!

The game takes place some decades after the events in Star Trek the Next Generation. So the technology is about the same level and recognizable. There has been improvements to ships, and they’ve introduced some new technology like transwarp. (This is mostly so you don’t spend half your game waiting to get from one place to another, as even at warp travel would take hours)

Some major things have changed though. The federation is once again at war with the klingons. And the borg are changing, although what -exactly- is going on has been left a mystery for now.

You start out playing an ensign, who quickly gets promoted to a lieutenant first grade after your first mission in game (a ‘how to play the game’ sort of thing mostly). You are also in command of your ship. Because of the war, and the quick loss of life, the federation has taken to the old navel tradition. A person who is in command of the ship is captain, even if they do not actually have the rank of captain.

You also are able to take on and use bridge officers. This is much like Next Generation, were you would have a Worf for tactical/security, Laforge for Engineering needs, and say.. Data for science needs. Each officer has their own specialty and abilities. And they come with you away missions, level up as you do, and gain new abilities and so on.

And you have of course, star ships. You start out with a small basic star ship. Average in speed, weapons, and shields. When you’ve gained enough rank, (lieutenant commander, captain, admiral) you are given access to new ships, and three types of ships in the end.

You have escorts:
These ships are small, fast, and packed with weapons. In MMO terms, they are your DPS ship class. In Star Trek terms.. think the Defiant from Deep Space Nine. Do alot of damage quickly, but not alot of options outside that.

You have science vessels:
What it sounds like, these ships specialize in science stuff. They’re the only ones that can detect cloaked ships, and can actually repair other ships. MMO terms, think healer/cleric/assist what have you. Star Trek, you might think of the U.S.S. Pasteur from the last episode of Next Generation.

And Cruiser ships.
These are the largest ships, able to use their warp core for greater shielding, hold the most crew and cargo, and while they don’t carry the most powerful weapons (escorts do) they have the most weapon slots. Think the Enterprise from Next Generation.

So what about the controls? Well when you go on away missions, controls are very similar to most MMOs. You have quick actions (phasers, hand to hand combat etc.) movement, inventory items, switch out armor and weapons. At times it’s somewhat sluggish and a little stunted. Sort of like Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. You also command your away team, but these commands are very simple. Attack him, use your abilities, be a medic. Your bridge officers accompany you, and if you don’t have enough or decide not to bring them, “red shirts” do instead, who can die.

In Ship mode… well the controls are still somewhat clunky. You can either use WASD to control your ship, which makes going up and down very slow, or you can use your mouse by holding both buttons and moving it. Which is very uncomfortable. I’m not a huge fan of either scheme and I hope this improves. Actual dogfights are relatively fun, but consist of alot of… circling each other and trying to keep your shields up while blasting away. Actually here the game succeeds well. As you can push your power towards shields, or weapons, or tractor beams, etc. Very Star Trek like.

The missions themselves are fairly fun. They can consist of away missions on a new world, or missions on your ship such as fetch this, go fight that, escort this person/ship to X. What is nice is, unlike most games, you do not have to return all the way to your starting point when you finish a mission. You simply hail star fleet and report in when it’s done.

Federation isn’t the only faction in the game. Once you’ve reached level five, klingons open up and you can play their side. Things work much the same there, ranks, ships, etc.(all klignon themed of course) but the emphasis is less on exploration and more on battle… y’know like a klignon would be. This would be Player vs. Player.. go and attack federation ships! Win the war! There’s also hinting at more factions opening up eventually as well, such as the romulans.

Now the most important aspect. How is the Star Trek Feel?

I have good news. The game NAILS it. I -really- felt like the captain of a star trek vessel. The look, the feel, the exhiliration of a space battle.. it’s all there. I was well immersed into the game. If I had to describe it… I’d say it was as though Captain Kirk was on Picard’s Enterprise, blasting away like he would. And that’s just made of AWESOME.

I think the controls can be improved. And I don’t think the game brings anything truly ‘new’ to the online game. If you don’t love Star Trek, this would be an iffy game for you. But if you are a Star Trek fan and like to play online games… this is a MUST PLAY game.

Did I miss anything? Feel free to ask me questions in the comment area.

Oh and sadly, the game is not available for mac. Which is just a pity.

Canterrain