Disclaimer: Remember this is only a beta impression.
With the story taking place thirty years after Star Trek Nemesis, you start the game by making your character. Of course you do. As required in any MMO. In the beta you start off as the Federation to start your off with your characters. The character creator is probably one of the bests one out there. From cranial shape to neck width, you get to control almost every aspect on your character. If you are wondering how I made with my character, all I am going to say is my character was a female Vulcan name Houka.
After my character was completed, it was time to take reigns of our starship. Which, unlike Eve-Online, space travel in Star Trek Online is flat. Which is fine for those who have never played a space MMO before, but for those who wanted the full range of space, it is a little disappointing. You don’t get to explore all of outer space.
The craft movement takes a bit to get used to, but once you do it is second nature. While it is not your typical WASD controls used in space battles, you do use them for ground missions. With "E" to increase your speed, "Q" to decrease. If you are feeling saucy, "R" will send you to full speed and a second press brings you to a full stop. This button configuration makes the space battles much more interesting and fun to get into.
For the ground missions, the button configuration is just as if you are playing a FPS or 3rd person shooter. The only except is that you can use "C" to crouch. In another words it is like focus fire which is really effective.
After learning the controls, the next trick you will need to learn is the combat system for both space and ground. There is a wide range of weapons. From phaser banks to photon-torpedo canon to phasers rifles and so on. But it doesn’t end there. For your character and starship you will need to learn the different consoles, shields and others, so you will know how to keep your fleet alive. If you think weapons are all you need in order to survive in the universe, then you are dead wrong. Just like any other MMO there are skill points. Their use not only on yourself but also on your officers so they can assist you in space and ground battles.
The Sound is dead on when it comes to phaser fire, ship movement and console use. But the voice acting is a little off, except if you’re Leonard Nimoy. The music is very memorable. From tunes that should be recognizable to Star Trek fans all over.
My Take
The Star Trek Online beta was a lot more fun than I realize it would be. After dealing with the bugs and many patches everyone had to deal with, it became stable enough to be enjoyable. Is it an MMO that you should get? For Trekkies and those who is looking for something new to play to replace World of Warcraft? Then this MMO is worth checking out. Star Trek Online is due to beam down on February 2nd but for those who already pre-order it they will be able to start roaming around the neutral zone this Friday, January 27, 2010.
Check back for our full review some time after the game's official launch. Until then, enjoy the following video clips from Mr. Nemoy and Mr. Quinto of Spock fame.
