Live long and prosper in a universe that is constantly expanding and providing exploration a new definition. Star Trek Online makes the emergence of the millennia that people will witness and recount for years to come.  The space-adventure odyssey Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing game by developer Cryptic Studios (City of Heroes/Villains, Champions Online) captures the excitement from the Star Trek television series and gives players a journey in which they are constantly cultivating their love for all things Science Fiction. Star Trek is definitively not like any other MMO out there that focuses too much on traditional grinding gameplay, leveling pride and lust, and special glowing items found in the pits of some exotic mountain or crafted by a rare animal. While using certain traditional aspects, Star Trek Online keeps the underlying backbone on a skill-based system in which players can rank up from Ensign to Admiral and max out skills respectively.  Core gameplay mechanic that is efficiently detailed within Star Trek Online creates an imperceptible and ingenious balance with skills, abilities, and the central team-based life of a Captain to create an unheralded atmosphere in Space that is not as bitter or bland as other MMO’s that rely too much on repetition, difficult controlling schemes, and furthermore an unbalanced interface and system. With an ingenious gameplay design, incredible variety in gameplay mechanics of space and ground adventure that relies on a cleverly crafted skill-system to advance players in the universe, and the key facet of exploration and adventure both in space and on a microuniversal planetary level, Star Trek Online is undoubtedly the precedent of what a MMO can transcend in an entirely new and unimaginable way.

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For years I have waited to save the galaxy once again. For years, I Commander Shepard, have been alone and now is the time to make my glorious return to the Intergalactic Stellar System. BioWare’s Mass Effect 2 might be another game in the trilogy of the saga, but it reminds us that beautifully superb video games are possible as part of a bigger adventure. BioWare’s Mass Effect 2 brings the space action back once again to allow players to experience a role-playing action-adventure title never before experienced since Mass Effect or Dragon Age: Origins. With beautiful overarching stories with multiple plotlines, a trenchant role-playing dialogue system, suitable combat gameplay, and moreover characters which are truly believable with voice acting to suite every colloquy in pure harmony. Mass Effect 2 redefines the space galaxy as Mass Effect did before it and incomparably changes the scale and customization by an even more magnificent sight.

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SEGA has just released the box-art for the espionage RPG  Alpha Protocol by Obsidian Entertainment, developers of the Knights of the Old Republic series. It is sleek, electro-technica influenced, and very alluring.

Aion’s world is simply effervescent, with lush landscapes that draw players in for a wide variety of fun and excitement. Aion is undoubtedly beautiful, while the first few hours of the game is simply wonderful through the CryEngine powered visuals and scenery. Unfortunately, after the first dozen or so levels, Aion’s grinding-scheme becomes all too lucid from the mission structures and gameplay design elements with relationship to the storyline.  Non-player characters with stories to tell open up a venue with others who have the persona of active boards, and quests that are slightly imaginative early on are replaced with a monotonous mix of fetch, deliver, kill, and collect objectives.

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