Star Trek Online preview a look at game's core concepts

Now that Champions Online is live and full of players facing off against comic-style villains, Cryptic Studios is starting to reveal more about their other major MMO project, Star Trek Online. We're noting more gaming press coverage of this title and came across a preview at the online community Alltern8 written by Carl Doherty. It's worth a look for Star Trek fans curious about what the MMO might add to the IP. He gives readers a basic overview of what Star Trek Online has to offer, but Doherty also acknowledges the challenges Cryptic Studios faces with making the game a hit with fans of the franchise. Doherty writes, "The cerebral pacing and ambitious allegories of Star Trek don't always translate well to the action-packed experiences most gamers expect."

That's by no means an indictment of Cryptic's particular take on bringing Star Trek into the MMO world. In fact, Doherty's impression of STO is that it has the requisite interplay of exploration and conflict that's made Star Trek such an enduring IP.

Alltern8's pre-beta Star Trek Online preview is a primer of sorts on the game concepts, where Doherty discusses topics ranging from the storyline to the game mechanics of STO's phaser diplomacy. There are no major reveals in the piece, but you might find it a good read if you're keeping up with info about Star Trek Online.