15 Mar 2011

To Boldly MMO; A Captain's Log from Star Trek Online

I am a geek. I accept this. I'm into comic books, video games and I spend a lot of time on the internet. I'm well and truly at peace with my geekitude.

However, one element of geekdom has always eluded me; Star Trek. It's not like I have a particular problem with the series. If I catch an episode running on Virgin, I'll sit down and watch it. The real problem I have getting into the show is the assumed knowledge. I always get stranded in a mire of Romulan-Vulcan tensions and deflector arrays. Star Trek is something of an undiscovered country to me.

However, thanks to Troy, who co-hosts one of my favourite podcasts World 1 Stage 1, I was able to get hold of a trial copy of the game.It's been quite a while since I've played any MMO. The days of Ren'jan the Troll Hunter are far behind me and I can't really remember much of Champions Online. So it was with something of a nervousness that I clicked "Engage" after the eight hour install (I wish I was joking.)

STO uses its source material to great effect; the game is structured into episodes, with appropriate titles appearing as you warp into the system. The game opens, as seems to be the norm in MMOs today, in the middle of a heated battle between a Federation vessel and the Borg. After dropping in as my character, a Vulcan Science Officer, I headed towards the bridge as directed. The controls in STO feel odd to say the least. It uses the normal WASD set up, but A and D strafe the character, with the right mouse button controlling the camera. It took a little getting used to, but after a few minutes I got the hang of it.

After receiving a quick mission debriefing (read; quest) I beamed over to the ship that needed rescuing, and started attacking the invading Borg. Combat is the standard MMORPG interface that everyone has been using since WoW. First I selected an enemy, then I pressed the 2 key, then 1, then 1 again, then 3 when he got too close. The bonus damage provided by flanking an enemy was a nice touch, but unfortunately STO's ground combat is another case of number poking.

After killing a designated number of the Borg, I beamed back to the ship, which for some reason I must have skipped now fell under my command. Suddenly, I was at the helm of a starship. This was the big time.

Space combat in STO plays out in a very similar way to ground combat, with each number button assigned to a weapon, and the WASD keys controlling movement. However, it is far more intense and exciting than face to face combat. Perhaps it's moving to full impulse to come sweeping past for a flanking attack. Perhaps it's boosting power to the aft shields whilst you swing around for another run. Perhaps it's weakening your opponents shields enough to launch a crippling proton torpedo attack. But whatever it is, the space combat is genuinely some of the most exciting action I've seen in any MMO to date.

After a few more ground missions and another dramatic space battle with pirates, I was returned to Starfleet, and informed my demo time was over, or rather that I had exhausted the two quests that the demo allowed. After putting on some new armour that made me look like a TRON character and running around Starfleet for a while, I decide to log off.

Star Treak Online is a relatively stable MMO. The ship combat is fantastic, blurring the lines between RPG and real time strategy, but unfortunately, the ground combat doesn't offer anything new to the table. At least Cryptic know their audience; so many of elements of the game are fan service. The sound of the phasers. The klaxon as you engage in space combat. The melee move being a paralysing palm strike. Opening a hailing frequency. The whole game smacks of fan service, but in this case, it's the best thing they could have done.

See y'all next time.

8 Mar 2011

Dr Medic or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Multiplayer Gaming

If you are a follower of me on Twitter, you'll have probably noticed something of a theme in my recent tweets; Team Fortress 2. I've recently started playing. Probably an unhealthy amount.

I'm not normally a huge multiplayer fan, in that up until very recently, my Xbox Live account remained staunchly Silver. This changed when I started playing Assassin's Creed Brotherhood. I had read many a review stating that the multiplayer was "pretty good". This didn't really ever affect me, multiplayer was always something for "other people" to play, gaming snob that I am.

After completing the majority of the single player of AC:B, I decided to use a free trial of Gold I had thanks to a flier that came with Fable 2. I was nervous as I went into my first game. My hands were shaking as the Abstergo logo shifted about, connect me to a server. I selected the Harlequin. And I started playing.

Everything about AC:B multiplayer appeals to me. It's not a test of lightening fast agility or well developed twitch skills, but rather a battle of wits. Who can be the best assassin? Who can blend into a crowd, disappear in the blink of an eye, vanish using the environment? The upgrade system attached to the multiplayer adds a level of customisation that keeps the gameplay varied but balanced.

AC:B is my kind of mutliplayer. Players who try the run straight at their target are swiftly put in their place as they target the wrong model or get dispatched by a hidden opponent. Skilled players will walk alongside you, lull you into a sense of security then pounce as you target your folly. The untraditional multiplayer is a place where I can not only enjoy myself, but actually shine.

Team Fortress 2 on the other hand is much more traditional online mutliplayer. If you haven't heard of it, you've clearly been under a rock for the past four years, or perhaps just really dislike the FPS genre. Here's a thing; Team Fortress 2 was released in 2007. In all that time, all the content updates have been entirely free. In fact, until recently, all of the in-game items could be obtained just by playing the game.

It's tough for me to decide on my opinion of TF2. I can't decide whther it's the best multiplayer game ever, or just the best game ever. Valve have covered everything. The classes are balanced. The maps are not only balanced, but also constantly increasing. Yesterday, I had a sniper duel across a crowded canyon. A few days ago, I created a teleporter way point for my team and kept them healed whilst we were pinned down in a tunnel. The number of stories that game produces is phenomenal.

If you'd like to play a game with me, you can send me a message on Steam. I'm lavalampbamboo, and I'm probably playing as The Medic or The Engineer.