In a typical play session, you'll navigate space by way of an overworld map on your way from one mission to the next. As it is, like much of Star Trek Online, they're just dull. Perhaps the quiet moments would be a nice respite if the mission writing conveyed the tension of any given Star Trek away mission. Some are even duller than that: Beam to a planet's surface, press some buttons, and beam back up. (The other bits of voice acting are excruciatingly bad.) Most missions are online RPG standbys: Destroy some Gorn ships, beam someone aboard, and assist a friendly ship in combat. There are some interesting narrative tidbits and fun references to the lore scattered about, but nothing that will sweep you up, in spite of Leonard Nimoy's plaintive and all-too-infrequent voice-overs. A number of different characters send you off on missions, but none of them are memorable, and the writing is as dry as the Yadozi Desert, as well as too often littered with distracting spelling errors. Unfortunately, you need to rely on your imagination to provide tension and interpersonal conflict. But it's too bad there's nothing to do there but hang about and wish you could relive all the great stories that Star Trek has served up over the years.īig player-versus-player battles like this one are the main highlights. You can even choose a look for your bridge and walk around on it. You don't get nearly as much room to customize your ship's looks as you do with your on-foot avatar (and even less room if you're checking out the Klingon side of things), but the vessels look and feel like authentic Star Trek spacecraft, and you'll enjoy looking at your ship as you fly about on missions or even across the grids that represent deep space. Cruisers are good for the usual tank role because they can take a heavy beating though they don't do the most damage escorts are maneuverable and boast a lot of firepower but aren't all that sturdy and science ships are good for healing, buffing, and other helpful support roles. After you're done with the initial one-size-fits-all cruiser, you'll narrow your path by choosing a vessel with a more specific function. Not that you'll all coast about in the same ships. As such, you and most of the players you see will follow more or less the same path to the end game. Missions drop off quickly, and you're stuck with player-versus-player content to fill in the enormous gaps.Īnd so you'll want to voyage with the Federation. If you were hoping to live and die with honor with the Klingons, however, you'll discover that the associated content is bare and unfinished. When you first begin, you're stuck with the United Federation of Planets, though after you earn a few levels, you unlock the chance to join the Klingon Empire. While you run about the game's space stations, you might see relatively normal-looking humans of the Captain Kirk variety, Vulcans sporting the pointiest ears you could hope for, or even odd monstrosities born of the player's creativity. It not only offers a healthy number of races from the Star Trek universe, but it also lets you create your own alien being from scratch. As in Cryptic's previous games (Champions Online, City of Heroes), the toolset is highly flexible. The game may be disappointing, but character creation is a delight. Now Playing: Star Trek Online Video Review Star Trek Online is light, easy, and shallow, and those may not be qualities you're seeking from your next virtual universe.īy clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's Unfortunately, those moments of epic wonder are mostly extinguished by underwhelming cookie-cutter missions, clumsy and unfulfilling ground combat, and shallow exploration that fails to capture the wonder and beauty of deep space. Luckily, that combat can be fun, and in the best and biggest battles, your screen will light up with phasers and torpedoes, momentarily capturing the thrill of interstellar adventure. The game falls into a predictable rut quickly, relying almost solely on spaceship battles for entertainment and falling short almost everywhere else. Developer Cryptic Studios' latest online role-playing game is a "bare minimum" kind of experience, doing just enough to get by, but doing so without an ounce of flair and without the anything-can-happen-in-space buzz that makes the television shows and films such a delight. Instead, it mildly coasts along without much drama or excitement. Star Trek Online doesn't boldly go where no one's gone before.
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