Star Trek Online Review

In 2010, a dream for Trekkies (and Trekkers) should become true: The MMORPG Star Trek Online was launched after several years of development. But was this really a dream come true?

To make it short, I do not consider it a nightmare, but it was not a dream come true, either.

I am a Trekkie since Star Trek the Next Generation hit the tv screen. I have seen all episodes of Star Trek, the next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise. And of course, I have seen all movies more than once.

During my teenage years, I was a hardcore die-hard Trekkie. While other girls had a crush on Take That or Brad Pitt, I only had eyes for Harry Kim *lol*

So when Star Trek Online (STO) was announced, I was so thrilled! After years of playing World of Warcraft, I saw this as the first real WoW alternative that might drag me away.

Both my husband and I ordered the pre-order edition and invested over €200 for the unlimited subscription even before we played the game. That was a clear mistake, I can tell you!

During the first 2 days, we played it all day long. We tried to get the hang of it. Tested a few characters, tried to tweak the controls and did some quests together. And right after those two days, both of us really regretted having invested so much money!

The main reason why we were heavily disappointed is the way that quests are implemented. As a Trekkie, you love so many aspects of the series. You love the depth of the stories and characters. Star Trek has gone were no tv series has gone before, they were always implementing new ideas. They even had two women kissing each other (on DS9) before any other tv series had the guts to show it! Star Trek had also always been extremely intelligent. Ok, some episodes do not follow that pattern, but overall no idea was really dull.

And then they expect you to do one of the following two types of quests:

1. Questing in space

You have to go to a certain planet or collect a certain substance in an asteroid cluster. On your way, you have to fight enemies. It is either you or them, no negotiation possible.

2. Questing on a planet

You have to find an artifact on a planet or whatever there is to find. On your way or at the secret temple in the jungle, you encounter enemies and you have to shoot your way out. It is either you or them, yadda yadda yadda...

Did you see this pattern? Shoot them or die!

No peace treaty, no negotiation, no "out of the box" solution. And that although Kirk successfully solved the Kobayashi Maru test!

That is not Star Trek. That is World of Warcraft in Star Trek clothes!

So to sum this up, I do not recommend this for Star Trek fans. Or maybe do yourself a favour and test the game before you buy it!