Star Trek Online

Game overview

Star Trek Online is an MMO developed by Cryptic Studios and inspired the eponymous television series.
Chronologically, it is set thirty years after the conclusion of the events of Star Trek: Nemesis and drops us in the middle of the rekindled conflict between the Federation and the Klingons, without forgetting about the Borg, always lurking in the background.
Character customization is very good and allows you to choose between three different factions, with numerous races for each, and three distinct classes between them.
Customization also extends to physical appearance and choice of skills.
During the game we will have the opportunity to complete assignments on foot or aboard our personal spaceship.
On foot, the game seems like an action/RPG hybrid where we directly control our character through a third-person view.
Aboard the ship, however, we will have the opportunity to fight and to explore the surrounding area.
Graphically the game is very good but is lacking in some technical fields, one of which is the animation in the third-person sections.
All in all, it's a good game for fans of the genre and a great game for avid fans of Star Trek.

Full review

The year was 1966 when, unaware of the huge success that would follow, Gene Roddenberry saw the series that he invented first produced on the small screen.
Over time, adventures into the "galactic" frontier experienced a real crescendo of success, strengthened by numerous quality works that followed over the years.
Even today, fifty years after its debut, the Star Trek saga still commands many fans, both longtime fans and new admirers, thanks to recent films released in the cinema.
The Star Trek universe, narratively speaking, is very large and it would take lifetimes to tell all of the stories that have happened (or will happen) within it; this situation is, of course, extremely favorable for a massive game set in this context and, what do you know, the guys at Cryptic Studios didn't miss the opportunity to create an MMO license.
From experience, we know that the games that take advantage of an official license, are often not exactly masterpieces (though not a disgrace either); let us see if Star Trek Online follows this sad trend or if, on the contrary, it manages to shine on his own.

No discrimination

Oh, the charm of space ships! Wanna get one?

The game is set in the year 2409, thirty years after the events in Star Trek: Nemesis, the film released in 2002. The Federation and the Klingons are again at war with each other and, to complicate matters further, the Borg are thrown into the mix, the infamous cyborg humanoids which are certainly not famous for their pacifism.
The player will be the captain of their own ship and will be dropped in the game with a series of missions that reflect the style and atmosphere adopted by the TV series, almost never quite managing to equal its merits but still providing a good experience for hardcore Star Trek fans, with numerous references and citations scattered around the adventure.
Invariably, before embarking on our space career, we will have to spend a few minutes (or more...) in the character creation screen.
We may opt for three main factions (Federation, Klingons and Romulans), and each of them let us choose between a variety of different races to play with. If we wanted to, we could also have the opportunity to create our class from scratch.
The customization of our character is quite high and, aside from the many races available, there is also a high amount of modification that we made to the physical and aesthetic parameters of our alter ego.
Of special note is the depth with which we could assign various skills to our character, depending on how much we wanted to represent the intrinsic characteristics of each race.
Thanks to the system adopted by the developers, we can create hybrid characters that, depending on our choices, could adapt to situations where they are at odds with themselves.
As well as this, we must also choose the class of our character.
Contrary to what is often the case, the choice of one class over another does not preclude any particular routes at the outset, but it goes without saying that, based on the role we decide to play, it will be better to choose a class that fits our needs.
The classes are: tactical officer, a kind of "basic" class, well balanced and very effective at inflicting damage; engineer, who has healing abilities and can patch up the team; and finally, science officer, who is able to buff the group to improve their own damage and personal skills.
According to the faction that we choose at the beginning of the game, the title presents different storylines.

All aboard!

Oh hi! Do you speak Klingon?

Once in the game we will be made to face the inevitable tutorial that will teach us about the game mechanics.
From the beginning, it is obvious that Star Trek Online is not exactly like the other games of the same genre.
The gameplay of the title can easily be divided into two separate parts, on foot, where we will directly control our character, and in space where we will board our ship and pilot it into battle and/or explore.
During the walking phases the game has features in common with third-person shooters, but in a much rougher form.
Unfortunately these moments almost never manage to induce adrenaline or totally involve the player, and the result, other than being excessively simple, is rather rough and hasty.
Aboard our ship things improve considerably, both because of the much better-developed mechanics, and because of the simple charm of roaming in space which, among other things, has been recreated in an exquisite and charismatic manner.

The gameplay of the title can easily be divided into two separate parts, on foot, where we will directly control our character, and in space where we will board our ship and pilot it into battle and/or explore.

Obviously, we can go out for a saunter in space to explore the environment and discover new planets to draw on for resources, but the best part of the "in flight" sequences will be fighting that, while based on basic mechanics, is fun and right on-point, bringing a little strategy to a system that is otherwise quasi-arcade.
The quests are also inevitable, as one would expect.
In truth not all of them are exactly fun to play, especially when their design is recycled repeatedly throughout the adventure without the glue of a narrative to motivate us to play them.
But when the missions are part of the main main quest, although here too there are ups and downs in terms of gameplay, undertaking them and completing them will always be rather rewarding, in direct proportion to your affection for the Star Trek saga in general and with your desire to see how the events evolve.

As long as I stand still, I'm beautiful

Graphically Star Trek Online is rather nice, though lacking in some small refinements that would greatly benefit the complete product.
Space, and all that is in it, is masterfully recreated; flitting here and there among the fragments of asteroids and explosions of enemy ships will always be quite rewarding from an aesthetic standpoint.

Let's get some action!

Even the ships themselves are very accurate, and reflect perfectly their "real" counterparts from television and the big screen.
In the on-foot sections, however, the tone is a little damp, with environments that are sufficient but never excel, and with polygonal models that are good but will never be held as an example for the future.
On a very painful note, however, regarding most of the animations; they are simply merciless and seem to have come out of a game from fifteen years ago.

Conclusions

Star Trek Online has proved to be a good MMO with various interesting finds, some very good, some only half successful.
Overall, the title is recommended, but we would like to say to all those people that have never watched an episode of Star Trek that, while still good, Star Trek Online will only be appreciated up to a point.
The atmosphere of the original series has been recreated very well and, to be blunt, this is a title that was created almost ad-hoc for the fans.
If you grew up with Mr. Spock you will have fun, otherwise you can expect a good game, but nothing more.

Review summary

1. No discrimination
2. All aboard!
3. As long as I stand still, I'm beautiful
4. Conclusions