Recent reviews by Gunbuster

Managed democracy wins today, but the war is far from over. Vigilance is key to a healthy democracy.

As a fan of MMO's and Star Trek, I thought I would have found a home in this game. Unfortunately, it just wasn't in the stars.

Years ago, when this game still had a subscription fee and disc price, I reserved the special edition and got the awesome com badge. (Still have it, still love it.) And I thought "Ok. If this game can use the sub money to keep everything interesting and fresh, this might work out."

However, I am sadly disappointed in the game as it stands. Don't get me wrong, though. It's ship combat, ability to cast back the original actors, and continue the story of the 24th century are great. But, the rest of the game is very lack luster.

Particularly the away missions. I know it's vital to the story of Trek for operatives to be in person during events, but it was just downright unimaginitive and boring. Even 2007 World of Warcraft exceeded this in gameplay. It was typically just your phaser rifles on the first slots, officer skills next to it, and maybe some healing items in case the enemy is outgunning you. The skills were pretty standard affair. Shoot, heal, knock somebody down for a moment. I can't say anybody was thrilled with this.

The crafting system was just as uninspired. Collect things, put the things in a box, another thing comes out. Hurray, you made a thing.

I cannot stress how amazing the ship combat turned out to be. Space and the celestial bodies you find yourself around are beautiful. It's a true piece of art. The ship combat is creative, fun, and stays true to how a ship would actually fare in the Trek universe. Having to manage shields, facing, and energy to wear down your opponent's shields and give them the finishing blow with your photon torpedos. It was satisfying every time. All of the interesting ship abilities and effects were glorious. This aspect of the game is unparalleled by any MMO.

But, sadly, I will not reccomend this game. Even as a fan of Trek and MMO's, the positives did not outweigh the negatives.

Please, Cryptic. If you hear my plea. You can make a whole 'nother mess of money by simply making a ship-based game. I know we lose story and context. But, the gameplay just shines from that alone. Something that follows suit with other multiplayer games. Make a simple wave defense game. To this day people are still playing Mass Effect 3's online wave defense. Make the ship combat a team based objective effort. Control the asteroid, escort the freightor, death match... something. You have an amazing element of gameplay I'd love to see utilized more effectively and have more people enjoy it.