Explore space, the final frontier, and boldly go where no man has gone before in Star Trek Online, an epic 3D sci-fi MMORPG by Cryptic Studios featuring story-driven gameplay that largely follows the Star Trek canon.
Play Now
Set 30 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis, the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire are once again at war after the collapse of their treaty. The Romulan Empire continues to struggle after the loss of their home planet, the Dominion is hard at work regrouping and the Borg Collective is once again assimilating quadrants.
The game begins with creating a character and picking a faction to side with. They can choose from three factions: the Federation, the Klingon Empire or the Romulan Republic. Each of these factions have their own story, starting zones and quest-lines, which makes this free-to-play MMORPG very high in replay value. Depending on the faction selected, players must then choose from a number of species or races to play as. The Federation has the most, the Klingon faction has a handful and Romulans only have two. Players who have purchased a lifetime subscription can play as the Liberated Borg.
Though the choices are merely cosmetic, the character editor is one of the game’s strongest points as characters can be truly unique. And finally, it comes time to choose from three classes, which will determine player’s roles in both ground and space combat. The three options are: Tactical Officers (DPS), Engineering Officers (Healer/Tank) or Science Officers (Healer/Buffer/Debuffer).
Play Now
Visually, Star Trek Online can be compared to free-to-play MMORPGs like Eve Online and Star Wars: The Old Republic. The 3D graphics beautifully depict places, planetary systems, ships and species found in the Star Trek universe. Starships firing up warp drives, phasers and torpedoes to light up the darkness of space are exceptional. And with the iconic background music underneath the spectacular visuals gives the game an epic feel that will surely resonate with fans of the series and films, and may even convince non-fans to give it a chance.
Overall, Star Trek Online is a good, solid game. The gameplay’s mixture of conquering enemies, upgrading technologies and diplomacy between other players makes it infinitely fun. It isn’t easy bringing up a civilization from the Stone Age to present day, especially with rival players, factions and AI trying to stifle your progress at every turn. But with the right strategy, this free browser game is incredibly rewarding once mastered.
In this free-to-play MMORPG, their respective factions award starships to players as they gain rank. Players are given starship tokens to buy starships at each new rank up to Rear Admiral, Lower Half. Starships can be purchased from the shipyard and the C-store and come in a variety of versions with varying combat strengths. Starships come in Standard, Refit, Retrofit, Mirror Version and Fleet Ships. Each faction has different types of ships that serve various purposes from heavily armed Escorts, Raptors and Warbirds, to heavily armored Cruisers and Battle Cruisers. Becoming a captain of your own ship is one of the most rewarding achievements in any free online game we’ve played simply because they are so customizable. Plus, space battles are infinitely more fun than the awkward ground combat.
Play Now
Star Trek Online also features the innovative Foundry system that can be found by clicking on the “Create Content” button in the character selection screen. This system allows players to create their own custom missions and storylines, which can then be played by other players. These missions range from simple kill quests to elaborate mini-campaigns, which not only serves to strengthen the community but makes the game endlessly replayable.
Overall, Star Trek Online is a breath of fresh air from the usual hack-and-slash gameplay of free-to-play MMORPGs because it offers both ground and open space combat. This is a game that can keep you entertained for hours on end with great graphics, sound and effects. The controls can be a bit clunky at times, but the sheer scale of the game makes is easy to overlook and adapt. Give it a try today.
