Endless loading bars. Percentages slowly ticking by. Not the greatest start to my first ever MMO experience. Once I got the initial download out-of-the-way (and the patch) I ventured into the universe of Star Trek Online.
First things first, create your character. The customisation is very impressive, choosing from Engineering, Science and Tactical officer forwards you onto your race and appearance. From a large and alien list of races I chose Bolian, no idea who they are but they do look very smart – blue skinned with a cartilage ridge running down the middle of their head. As usual in an RPG I created a female, I do not know why but it is something I have always done. I think I just have a soft spot for blue skinned female aliens, whether it be Avatar or Mass Effect.
Now I had me a sexy alien I got to choose from a wide variety of traits that bolster your ship and ground skills. Nothing new to any seasoned RPG/MMO veteran but I was a little taken aback by the amount of options. Taken aback but impressed.
Now you just have to dress your character up and name your ship. I of course dressed her up in purple leather and named her ship the U.S.S Purple Stevius. I can just hear the die-hard Star Trek fans cursing under their breath. Now that the lengthy character creation was completed it was time to head out into the unknown.
I had some trouble downloading the driver update for my video card and had to run the game on a lower setting. But it still looked very nice, especially in space, and ran very smoothly. The first few missions teach you the basics of the game as well as give you a feel for combat. As an MMO virgin I was amazed when other players spawned beside me and started shooting the borg. I don’t know why I was surprised, being an Xbox LIVE addict and all, but this is the first time I’ve come across something so big on the PC.
The controls were a struggle at first, with my hands being too used to an Xbox 360 pad, but I quickly picked it up by utilising keys as well as the mouse. By the time I got to the later missions I was zapping Borg with ease. The flying took me longer to get to grips with. Learning to manoeuver your ship to protect yourself and keep fire on the enemy is a tricky skill. The first fights involved me flying far too fast at a Borg ship, getting a few shots at it then getting lost, spending far too much time trying to get back into a tactical position. But when it clicks it becomes good fun. Keeping an eye on your shields at all times, banking around to switch between forward and rear photons (is that right?) before launching your torpedoes when their shields go down creates a real feeling of achievement.
Ship customisation awaits you at the Earth Spacedock, as well as showing you just how big STO – or MMO’s in general? – is. The amount of little ships flying around was a treat to see, I can only imagine how the numbers will grow as the game picks up followers. But inside the station you can wander around picking up missions from the NPC’s and customising your ship. I was a poor poverty-stricken captain in the game but the options were impressive, with enough effort you should be able to create a truly unique ship.
As impressed as I am with the beta, I don’t think I will be going back. Fans of sci-fi and Star Trek will surely feel at home here, with so many options and so much space to explore. I am impressed with how smooth it runs, and am tempted to try other MMO’s, but the addictiveness always worries me. The sci-fi setting is great but I think I would feel more at home in a fantasy environment. Just steer me away from Warhammer online.
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