Star Trek Online: The Gold Edition (with Open BETA Access / Live Game Headstart / In-Game Bonus Skill Points)

If I am to be completely honest, this game as some serious issues, so I'll be completely honest and list my findings in the form of points:-
1. If you're a Star Trek fan, you will find the game appealing. It looks like Star Trek, but once you get beneath the game it doesn't feel like Star Trek.
2. If you're a fan of MMORPGs, then you probably will very quickly get bored of this game. It's repetitive in the extreme, especially on the PvE side of things. You'll soon get bored with missions to defend planets from enemy attackers, or having to go help out a colony by fixing their equipment (basically point and click and press a key to fix it). Also, scanning for anomalies in space is very tedious and all you can do with the stuff you find is sell it and occasionally use it.
3. The gameplay is somewhat limited and not exciting enough to give you enjoyment for more than an hour at a time, after which time you'll have had enough.
4. The graphics aren't too bad though and that's why I gave the game two stars. However, graphics count for very little in my book and game content is by far more important, which is sadly lacking.
5. I've yet to try the PvP element of the game, but I'm hoping it will provide more interest and excitement than the PvE side of things.
6. The biggest problem for me is server downtime. There are too many players logging on sometimes and this causes the servers to crash I believe. That leaves you twiddling your thumbs for a couple of hours until they're back up!
7. Some of the missions leave you disappointed because you warp to a system to fulfil your task, only to find that you arrive just as other players have just about completed it, so you get credit for not having done anything, which for me spoils the enjoyment!
8. I find it hard to come to terms with the fact that every player is a Captain of their own ship... which just wouldn't happen in Star Trek and is a bit of a joke.
9. This game could have been so much more, but in the end it's very mediochre and not as good as other MMORPGs that are available. I think the developers have simply just jumped on the band-waggon of taking advantage of a game that has the words "Star Trek" in it, but have failed to deliver a quality product.
10. Make up your own mind, but the above is my honest opinion.

Well the Open Beta test for STO started on the 12th 6pm GMT. This is the phase in which a version of the game is released to the public which allows them to sign in play it and this allows the developers to gauge server usage and find possible bugs and system problems before the full release date.

My thoughts so far is that this lives up to the hype everyone has placed on it. It holds true to the very core values of Star Trek; from the nice karate chops you can do while in "Ground" mode to the ability to balance power while in "space" mode (More power to weapons, less to shields that sorta thing).

We'll have to wait for the full release but since Open Beta has gone up there have been 2 patches that I've had which shows how active and proactive Cryptic have been in creating STO.

Overall a solid 4 stars for Cryptics ability to live up to the hype and pressure from avid trekkies while keeping the game play interesting and attention grabbing.

Been playing the open beta for over a week now and covered many aspects of the game, improvements are still and always being made to make it the best possible experience by release, and they will continue to add and improve after release.

It most deffinately has the feel of Star Trek in both space and ground aspects of the game. Space combat can be very tactical, and fleet based actions require the team work you often see in the show.
There's no better feeling and visual appeal then being called by a friend who is being surrounded by a group of enemy ships, only to warp in at the right moment to lend a hand in thier time of need.

Quite probably the best Star Trek game to date and getting better.

I have to admit, playing Beta at first I wasn't overly impressed. Mostly down to connection issues. But playing the game off peak, I had a blast! Staying hooked until all of a sudden it was 3am!

I've played Open Beta for about 10 days and just started to enjoy it more and more. Space combat needs your full attention, you have front, back, left and right shields key to beating opponents is down to:
a) Keeping your strongest shield facing them.
b) Diverting shield strength to facing side.

You do get a feeling you're in the Trek Universe when in space combat. Although I will admit for the most part I was playing Beta, the ground game always felt more of an after thought on the Developer's side.

Character Creation is one of the best I've seen with 10's of thousands possible combinations of characters (At a guess).

You're also able to add a personal touch to your ship, in beta you had 3 templates and you could use any variation of 4 components to build your unique look via Saucer Section, Warp Nacelles, Pylons and.... I forget what 4th was! You're also able to change the surface of ship from various textures, change ship's windows and it also comes with a good amount of paint patterns you can colour from a pretty large pallet.

I didn't scratch the surface in beta I do feel, but I cannot wait until I get the full game to start clawing away at it.

Highly recommend it however I'm only giving it 4 stars because I think the away missions could be a bit more varied. But I think that could change over time.

Im in the closed beta, but bechause of the NDA I can't say to much but I need t say it is a fantastic game, and everyone should buy it!