MOGS

Star Trek Online and SCI-FI MMO's of 2009

Star Trek Online and SCI-FI MMO’s of 2009!

Star Trek Online is currently being developed by Cryptic Studios and do for release sometime in the Fall of 2009. It will be interesting to see how a new Sci-Fi MMO will do.  Star Wars Galaxies has remained a fairly well played game despite the changes that were made to the classes and EVE-Online continues to grow in popularity. Tabula Rasa seemed to come and go with seemingly little interest from the community. What kind of game will STO be and will it be the Sci-fi answer so many gamers are looking for?

Star Trek Online brings with it an enormous franchise history.  The TV show has introduced us to several Federation Captains and numerous species such as Vulcans, Klingons,  Andorians, and the ever swindling Ferengi, to name a few. These species have all been included in the character selection in STO. The list goes on, and one of the most interesting aspects of the game is in creating your character. Rather than simply picking a species and some general features, you will be able to mix and match with other species. Don’t like the Antennae of the Andorians’, you can keep the basic features of the Andorians and delete the antenna and add a Klingon forehead and maybe some Vulcan ears, in essence creating your own and unique species all together. The idea of developing your own species sounds pretty cool to me it will certainly add a little something to the game and a whole lot of guess work on who or what your are fighting!

Star Trek Online is also going to essentially put you in the Captain’s chair. The Bridge crew works with you and is necessary for all of the ships maintenance systems, tactical, etc.  “…these unique individuals act like pets in other MMOs. Each one is player-controlled, but AI driven. Whether science officer or security chief, each character has his or her own unique stats, race, and areas of specialty.” (Gameinformer # 186). Starting out you will start with a smaller ship and as you progress in the game could wind up with a science vessel similar to Voyager or a Galaxy Class Flag Ship like Enterprise-D! Space combat in STO looks to be a pretty cool experience, with some potential to almost act like Pirates fighting in the sea of space.  Plenty of worlds, nebulas and ultimately space to explore in this game!

Next year looks like it will be a busy year with Sci-Fi  MMO’s . Jumpgate Evolution, Stargate Worlds, Earthrise, and Star Trek Online are all coming out in 2009. All look to have some promise, I for one will be happy to see some new and intriguing Sci-Fi MMO’s for some us gamers who like the Sci-Fi edge over the fantasy realm.  Being a fan of Star Trek and all of its series, STO has a lot of appeal to me, especially the idea of running into and fighting a Borg Sphere or Cube…I wonder if the Borg Diamond will make an appearance, at any rate It looks good and I can’t wait to be assimilated!