Cryptic Studios finally unveils its Star Trek Online MMO game. Image: Rojer/Flickr.
Videogames developer Cryptic Studios Inc. yesterday looked to wow the crowds at a Las Vegas ‘Star Trek’ convention with the official unveiling of its eagerly awaited massively multiplayer online (MMO) game ‘Star Trek Online’.
Bolstered via a promotional appearance by movie actor and sci-fi legend Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock), the Star Trek Online computer game finally made its bow after a number of years in developmental no-man’s land, with Cryptic showcasing full in-game footage during its presentation and claiming that the multiplayer epic will soon be available for play.
According to Jack Emmert, CEO of Cryptic, players will embark on the game assuming the position as captain of either a small Starfleet or Klingon vessel. Once assigned, the vessel will be open to a certain degree of personal customisation, which is an interactive aspect that follows with other, progressively larger and more powerful ships that players will attain throughout the game.
“You’ll venture through space exploring new civilizations and life-forms,” explained Emmert regarding Star Trek Online’s gameplay, which follows closely to the mission statement laid down in the original television show.
“You’ll also beam down to planets and have adventures inside your ship. It’s a galactic-wide game,” he added. “There's going to be tons of space to investigate. We have a great system for exploration, which will allow for almost infinite possibilities.”
Other elements ingrained through the gameplay of Star Trek Online will see its participating captains facing off against evil alien races, including the mighty Romulans and the all-consuming Borg, in huge space battles that will apparently hark back to some of the most impressive set-piece confrontations in Star Trek movie and TV history.
In terms of chronological placement with the Star Trek lore, Cryptic’s game will take place a few generations after the last Star Trek movie, which means that it’s highly unlikely players will encounter the likes of Jean-Luc Picard or James Tiberius Kirk on their travels. However, Emmert did reveal that an updated version of the USS Enterprise might be flying around somewhere in the game.
After languishing in intergalactic limbo following its sudden abandonment by previous developer Perpetual Entertainment, Cryptic Studios saw its established experience in the MMO field as ideal for the project and duly secured its development and publishing rights from CBS Consumer Products.
Along with Star Trek Online, California-based Cryptic has also helmed acclaimed PC titles such as ‘City of Heroes’ and ‘City of Villains’. The studio is also working on new PC and Xbox 360 epic ‘Champions Online’. Star Trek Online is currently pencilled in for confirmed release on PC, with possible releases for both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
RojerNov 4th, 2008 - 23:09:50
I'm glad I Googled my name on Google Images. I'll have to try this game out. Thanks for using my photo! :-)
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