Star Trek Online is an MMORPG being produced by Atari subsidiary, Cryptic Entertainment, the makers of the highly successful game, Champions Online. This title was previously held by Perpetual Entertainment, until the company went bankrupt in 2008. This game has been bogged down by budget pitfalls and production issues. It is now on track for a release date of February 2nd, 2010, ground hogs day in the US.

 

 

 

STO is only limited by the power of your gaming rig. The systems and scenic’s are comparable to the best Sci-Fi Graphics of any film or television media. The areas of Nebulas and Asteroid Fields give the player the sense of actually being there. The level of detail has been painstakingly created to represent a Starfleet that has advanced between ST: Nemesis and this game. I find the overall presentation and appearance of the game outstanding.

 

 

 

Written on the similar engine that is used in Champions Online, Cryptic has modified it abit to give the game a genuine Star Trek feel and flow. The Space Combat seems to have taken the best of the previous titles, Starfleet Command 3 and Star Trek: Bridge Commander, and combined the two into a new, flowing, dynamic and compelling space battles.

 

Become immersed in Space battles, while micromanaging that which make it that much more, and many welcome, why it brings that which allows one to immerse oneself into the game by having to give attention to your bridge officers, shields, evasive maneuvers to simply deploying an high yield photon torpedo. Taking your friends, clan mates with you into game, working as a team to face some of the enemies of the sector that you’re in which grabbing loot from those ships blowing up. While all this is happening you can visit some of those places in which many have always wanted to go and have never seen them on TV nor on the big screen. Visiting places such as Deep Space Nine and enter the worm hole, while also visiting Bajor, to other Worlds such as Andoria, Vulcan and even to visit one of the most notable fights against the Borg, Worf 359 to the Dominion War battlefield for, to see wrecks of starships and much more.

 

 

 

The immersion is so great, that when you get to ground combat you are like wow! Saving an individual, or making diplomatic mission, to even racing against time itself by going back in time to rescue and kill your enemy while returning to your own timeline, hoping your actions didn’t mess up that timeline like Captain Kirk might have done several times.

 

The Graphical User Interface is not too encumber some and not too elusive or transparent. It provides all the necessary functions needed in a space battle.

The Bridge Officers in STO are your player’s primary crew. They can be selectable and can come in various classes: Engineering, Tactical, Science or Medical. As a player advances in rank, he/she can spend points to upgrade the capabilities of each Bridge Officer, from the Tactical Officer ability to lock on Photon Torpedoes and Phasers on multiple targets to The Medical Officer reviving a fallen player to near max health. The Bridge Officers are a Prime Asset to any player. Care and Feeding of the Bridge Officers will be a serious task in order to be successful in the game.

 

In Cryptic’s earlier title, Champions Online, the Character Creation for your champion was lauded as a principle breakthrough in User Customization. With STO, Cryptic kicked it up 5 notches! The amount of customization capabilities available to the player is only limited by one’s imagination. Most canon Star Trek Races are represented in the Creator, depending on the faction you join. There is even an “Unknown” race option, which allows the player the ability to create a “hybrid” race, with multiple facial/anatomical traits from any other Star Trek race. The database holds hundreds, if not thousands of possible combinations that allow the player to create his or her own custom race and character.

 

 

 

Star Trek Online offers everything for those of the old trekkie communities to a new generation of players that will be exposed to one of the greatest Genre IP in the world, while creating that fantasy inside of Star Trek Online MMO, by simply being able to customize your ship, characters and different setups. While you can stand on the bridge of your starship, to beaming down to the planet’s surface and running around exploring new life and new civilization, to boldly go where no man has gone before.