Star Trek Online

As many know, I love Massively Multiplayer Online games (MMO). I have played almost every single major title that has ever been released. I got hooked with Everquest, and have been playing them all since. The last I had is Warhammer Online, but it's time for something new.

Star Trek Online will be coming out in February 2010. There is a lot of anticipation on the game. Here is one of the latest videos on the gameplay.



As you can see from the images the space battles look like it was the emphasis of the graphics and game design. In other videos you will notice the lower level of graphics for characters even more. So the question that comes to my mind is if the game will live up to even most of the hype?

Another game that had a lot of hype and was somewhat inferior in graphics was Star Wars Online. As I recall there were a few question about the graphics, and the level tree that was being used. As well as the whole resource decay issue. The game was a failure even accounting for the hype that nothing could live up to.

Star Trek Online (STO) also cannot possibly live up to the hype that its source material has created. Even if this game runs perfectly smooth at launch and had no bugs (neither of which will happen) it could not live up to expectations. So that may save it to some degree among fans.

But is the game worth it? Well the general word out is that the game is decent. That there is content and diversity. But until there is a community playing, who knows.

I hate to guess about video games. There are so many unknowns to try to figure out. Actual gameplay can often be deceiving, and critical elements of the game may never be even hinted at in a preview. World of Warcraft had no hype and stormed the MMO community. It created fans that ranged from casual gamers to the very hardcore. And its kept them. But before the launch there really was not clue how good it would be.

I want STO to be a good game. I want to join up and have a Klingon cruiser blasting away at the Federation, Romulans, and the Borg (yep they are in the game - though not as playable characters). But I'm just not sure.

Lesser graphics are never an indication of how a game might turn out by themselves. But like with the Matrix Online (now defunct) it's one part of many potential problems that can spell the doom of a game.

Currently the game is in closed Beta. Lot's of things are likely being tweaked and added. No word has leaked on how good or bad things might be. so the question remains, is this being put out to cash in on the hype or is it what the fans have been waiting for?

We only have 2 1/2 months to go to find out.