Still Here!

I know there's been a bit of a lag since my last post... there's just not a whole lot going on in the crafting world right now! I started to tackle another of my MMO reviews (for Warhammer) and then got sidetracked by an invite to the open beta for Star Trek. Since STO is supposed to go live in a few weeks, I decided to switch over to that and get a review done in time for the big debut. So part of my silence has been due to this second and then third game on my plate :)

For those who are curious I'll give a little sneak peek for Star Trek Online. The graphics of this game are the best I've seen so far in my reviews. Unlike Aion and Warhammer, they are high quality without feeling over-processed. They also use a very clean approach to the interface, which I like. Another huge plus for them is the clear loving attention paid to respecting the Star Trek universe. I'm not a huge Trekkie, but I've watched enough of the shows/movies to recognize many references. From the character creation screen you are enveloped in that world. Even the text descriptions of various races and character attributes feel like they were torn from the pages of a script. And walking around the corridors of the Earth space station is enough to make any Star Trek fan giddy for at least a brief moment. I also love that they implemented transporting in a meaningful way - it really is used to transition from ship to ground locations and the animation for that process is spot on.

I'm still exploring the early levels and trying to unlock all the various options available. Combat is different enough from WoW (and the like) to be interesting and a bit tricky to understand at first. I think I finally got it figured out thanks to a YouTube clip my hubby found. If you have the opportunity to join the open beta (I got an email from Curse) and have any interest in a space-oriented MMO, I would give Star Trek Online a serious look. I will give it a more thorough write-up in another week or so, but already I've seen enough to justify a trial run for folks who are seeking this type of game. The main problem I'm running into is no sign of tradeskills or professions, it's possible that they aren't implemented yet and maybe not even planned. We will see!!