by @NicoleWakelin

When I saw the tweet from @geekgirls asking if anyone might want to try out the Star Trek Online Beta and write a review, I thought, “Hell Yes!” 

It’s not that I’m a huge MMO player, although I’ve dabbled.  I played Star Wars Galaxies and almost played WoW once. But when the “cool thing” my brother-in-law had to show me about the game turned out to be a dancing bear, I completely checked out.  And I’m not really a gamer geek, although I’ve got an XBox 360 and have spent a few hours slaying dragons, shooting aliens and racing cars.  One thing I definitely am, however, is a huge Star Trek Geek.

GGN says: So are the developers. The guys and gals over at Cryptic Studios are hard core Trekkers and have gone to great lengths to maintain the integrity of the Star Trek Universe.
 
I watched repeats when I was a kid and the only Star Trek was Classic.  I watched The Next Generation and alternately wanted to smack Wesley upside the head and swoon because I thought Wil Wheaton was cute (aw, come on, he was a cutie and you know it).  I watched Deep Space Nine and Voyager and Enterprise and Wrath of Khaaaan!!! And, well, all of it.  So getting a chance to play STO while it’s still in beta, before the gamer guys I know have managed to give it a go?  Sign me up!

GGN says: STO takes place 30 years after the last Star Trek Movie (not the JJ Abrams one). This is an episodic layout so it’s like getting 40 new episodes of Star Trek!

First up, character creation, which took longer than I expected because there were so many wonderful choices.  As a Trekkie (Trekker) I loved that it reflected the races in the Star Trek Universe so well.  There are thin slanty eyebrows and pointy ears so you can be Vulcan and a whole variety of facial features that let you create exactly the look you want for your character.  You can even make yourself into a blue-skinned Andorian hottie if you want to appeal to the Captain Kirks out there. 

GGN says: Woah, there are seriously a ton of choices…57 to be exact, not including the color palet!

I was hoping to get the same level of customization for my ship, but initially all you can do is pick a name.  I tried to name her the USS Enterprise, but apparently they don’t let you pick that name.  Humph.  So instead I took the USS Quadrotriticale out for a spin.

GGN says: Once you have chosen your character and ship, you submit an “application” before the game play.

Now, technically when you start it’s not your ship, you’re just a crew member, but you quickly become the commanding officer during the heat of battle.  The fate of the Federation rests on your very inexperienced shoulders, but you can totally handle the responsibility.  This is Starfleet people! 

I began doing missions and found that it didn’t take long to get the hang of firing weapons and maneuvering whether on planet with an away team or while in command of a starship.  Especially if you’ve played a lot of PC games in the past, it’s pretty standard stuff.  Away missions can be all about fighting off enemies, or they can be political and require that you talk with colonists and understand their problems in order to complete the mission.  And you do need to pay attention to what the colonists say, because there really is a quiz at the end.  You must remember that they are worried about their safety, concerned about long hours and frustrated by what they see as the Federation’s unconcerned attitude.  I did and I passed the quiz and completed my mission successfully!
 
Although away missions are fun, my favorite parts of the game were the ones with starships and torpedoes and Borg cubes.  Yeah, bring it you assimilating freaks!  During battles you can vary the strength between your shields and maneuver your ship while firing on the enemy to avoid being blown to bits.  Although, when you are blown to bits your ship makes a fantastic explosion.  Your phasers and torpedoes have firing arcs that will only allow you to shoot weapons that are actually pointing at your target.  Turning your aft shields to the enemy gives your forward shields time to recover, but you’ve only got phasers as a weapon until you turn the ship back around and bring torpedoes to bear.  Your crew selection also comes into play during battles.  My Tactical Officer could boost my shields, so in dire situations I used her skills to keep the ship alive.  And since you get to pick key crew members, you can stack this deck however you choose.
 
Crew selection happens at Starbase and is a significant element in creating a unique game experience for each player.  Your skills and abilities increase as you play, and so do those of the officers available to you.  It’s more complicated than just saying you want a Tactical Officer.  When you add crew members you are given a roster of people to chose from, and each candidate possesses a different skill set.  It’s up to you to determine which Tactical Officer has the attributes you want most, balancing the skills of your crew along with your own.  You are the Captain, after all.  And while at Starbase, selecting crew and roaming the halls, you finally get the chance to customize your ship.  Again, there is an impressive amount of detail and variety in ship configuration.  You can chose the colors of the exterior, including the windows as well as configure the nacelles and saucer until it’s just right.
 
As you’d expect with an MMO, the best parts of the game happen when you are working with other players.  Throughout the game you are given various missions which you can choose to accept or decline.  Some are just you and your ship along with the crew you’ve personally selected.  Others are you and a few additional players with their ships for support.  And some are you and a whole heck of a lot of Starfleet vessels all trying to take out the enemy together.  Coming out of warp and orbiting above a planet with more ships than you can count, both allies and enemies, was amazing.  It pulled me into the game and made me feel like I was working as part of a team.  There’s nothing quite like firing all weapons on an enemy, along with other players commanding their ships, watching the enemy blow up, and then turning as one to attack the next target.
 
I found this game to be genuinely immersive.  You really do get to feel like you’re spending time in the Star Trek Universe.  The graphics are good and the missions are fun to play through, but it’s the details that make the universe and the game come to life.  The heads up displays look right out of The Next Generation.  The sounds of phasers and torpedoes and communicators are perfect.  The alien races that you already know are brought to life with amazing accuracy. 

Now if like me you’re a fan of Star Trek, you’ll likely have a list of things you’d like to see that aren’t included just yet.  But it’s a darn big Star Trek Universe out there, and what they’ve created so far is worth your time.  Engage!

Listen to Nicole’s interview of the lead writter for Cryptic Studios on the D6 Generation (2 hours, 31 min):

GGN says: Check out the Official STO Website or their Facebook FanPage. And you can purchase this awesome game at Gamestop on the Feb 2, 2010 Release Date!