Jack Emmert, chief creative officer of Cryptic Studios… to the Star Trek Online community:
Star Trek® was never about a single character, ship or even planet; Star Trek was always about an entire universe. And MMORPGs are uniquely suited to create such a thing and allow players to explore every inch.
With Executive Producer Craig Zinkievich at the helm, Star Trek Online went live on March 1st, 2010 and Cryptic Studios appears to be doing a bang-up job (that means “good”) of providing an awesome Star Trek gaming experience in an MMO setting. Despite the relatively high requirements in terms of computer hardware, my experience during beta testing was absolutely amazing. Since the initial launch, they have continued to add new content to further the storyline and to tweak gameplay to make sure that everyone from casual gamers to hardcore fanatics get what they want from the game.
Graphics are solid and the interface is quite intuitive. But what about the quests? Cryptic calls them “episodes” and I must say that they have done a wonderful job (at least in the beginning) of ensuring you feel like you are a significant part of the story line. As the game begins, you may feel like a young Kirk, Picard, or Janeway just beginning to make your mark in the Universe.
That sounds good, but how does an episode work? Generally, you receive your orders directly from Starfleet (either while visiting Spacedock or via Subspace Radio). Once accepted you pilot your starship to the region of space where your mission is to take place. Sometimes your mission can be completed in space. However, most of the time you will be required to assemble an Away-Team and beam down to a planet or a spacestation to accomplish mission objectives.
What about factions and playable races? There are two available factions; Federation and Klingon. In the beginning, you are restricted to playing an officer in the Federation. Your character creation, available missions and ship choices will be limited to Federation only. However, once you’ve reached a certain point in the game you are allowed to create a new character and take command of a Bird of Prey as part of the Klingon Defense Force.
Conclusion? Star Trek Online is well thought out and expertly executed. It is a game created by Trek fans for Trek fans, yet it is extremely accessible to non-Trekkies as well. STO is the Star Trek game I’ve been waiting for.
For more information about Star Trek Online please visit their website at http://www.startrekonline.com/
