Rage Against the Machine Part 2: Son of Rage

I've recently started playing Star Trek Online (STO) which might sound a little odd as only three weeks ago I was saying how as a general rule I dislike online multiplayer and MMO style games. But this game has two things going for it, the first being I'm a huge Star Trek fan and the second is that this is a very non-multiplayer MMO.

The main quest line of STO seems tailored for a single player, at least as far as I've gotten (I'm only in season 2), and my attempt at playing with a second player complicated the session as we were different levels and the auto scaling can only do so much to fix this. Things got worse when they had to go and the game didn't immediately drop the enemy levels back down.

I have played in some PvE and PvP arenas with mixed results. The PvE arena I played today, just kept on going, and quite a few players dropped early. There is also a balance issue in that a single player, seperated from the group, can not stay alive for very long and the enemies respawn behind the party, so if you die and get sent back to the original respawn point then you can't just run to reach the main group as the way is now lined with enemies and you can't kill them on your own.

One thing that I really like about STO is the free-to-play model they have adopted. Unlike Everquest II, which I could only bring myself to play for a week, where the free-to-play model involved giving you a devalued game experience and then telling you how much you were missing out on through regular pop-up windows a player in STO can do everything and obtain every item without ever spending a dollar. This is achieved through the implementation of four currency systems: energy points, the most basic currency and used in the exchange (auction house); dilithium, currency used with special vendors which is gained by doing daily quests; gold pressed latinum, again used with special vendors and is obtained by spending energy credits to play dabo; and finally C-points, these are the premium currency and are used to unlock extra features. What makes things work is that dilithium can be exchanged for C-points in the dilithium exchange with players able to obtain about 40 C-points worth each day (equivalent to $0.40). This means that players who are willing to put in the time and effort can get access to the same game as players who are wiling to simply pay-to-play.

Would I recommend STO? Well the answer is yes, but only if you are a Star Trek fan, the game isn't good enough to provide a satisfying play experience to a non-fan. If you are a fan and do want to play I recommend checking out the player authored quests as some of them are better than the actual main plot line.