Star Trek Online (Part One)

If you take some Star Control II, add a little FreeSpace, a dash of Battlestar Galactica Online, a pinch of Star Wars The Old Republic and sprinkle in some DC Universe Online, what would you get? Star Trek Online of course. Don't get it? Then let me take a bit of your time as I introduce to you this game and its features.

First of all, the reason why it reminds me a bit of Star Control II is because you as the captain of a space ship get to travel around the huge STO universe visiting all sorts of systems, getting into contact with various native species and end up having to solve their woes or problems.

Well...at least that's the feel I get from the game despite having discrepancies such as the need to have the quests bringing you to the systems before such occurrences are initiated and those quests might be triggered by your levels or some prior missions (compared to the rather free-roaming style of Star Control II).

Next, the space combat in Star Trek Online feels to me like mixing a little of the FreeSpace series with Battlestar Galactica Online. While the general controlling of your ship and shooting at enemies in third person feels BGOish, the need to manage your space ship's shielding as well as power allocation to your weapons, engine, shields and auxiliary reminds me more of FreeSpace and FreeSpace II.

Furthermore, there's even some sort of feature in STO which is sort of a parallel to the FreeSpace Mission Editor. It is called the "Foundry" and holds player-created missions which we can just simply grab and enjoy instantly without having to log out or do anything troublesome.

And though not as well made, the ground elements of Star Trek Online does seem to trigger my memories of playing Star Wars The Old Republic. Don't you think so too? Or perhaps its just a coincidence since both of them are of the Sci-Fi genre.

But not only that, the "Duty Officers" feature in STO also vaguely resembles the SWTOR's crew missions that I have played earlier. However, I would have to say that its purpose and how it functions is totally different and far more complex though.

Finally, the freedom to alter your attire, hairstyle and fashion at will definitely strikes my chord and reminds me of DC Universe Online.

Now with my explanation so far, are you tempted to give this game a try? If so, then head on over to Star Trek Online and download the game client. It should only be about five to six gig (GB).

Next: Star Trek Online (Part Two)

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