I haven't really played a PC game in a full year until STO. I approached STO with a serious set of doubts... I was expecting to be extremely disappointed and didn't expect to be interested... After playing for a week and hitting current beta max level, I have been pleasantly surprised with Star Trek Online. Yeah it's a bit redundant like most MMOs but the dynamic ship combat is interesting, especially in large groups. Being auto grouped in public sectors (insta pugs) and everyone working together to take out fleets of enemy ships is still engaging after hitting max level (limited for beta but about to get lifted). It's a great start to something amazing long term. The sheer number of possible visual character customizations is nearly on par with what Spore allowed as a graphical tool.

The general adherence to ST canon and clever continuations of personnel stories has made STO even more enjoyable (like Sulu's great grand son and Naomi Wildman etc). Without really having any good new content for Star Trek in quite awhile (I did enjoy the new movie as an action flick) it's nice to have something scratch the ST itch. The more I play it, the more depth and stratagems I uncover for character/ship/fleet building. This game has taken a sharper turn towards hardcore and deeper game play as well. I see many casual people complaining about how it's gotten "deep and overly challenging" which to me is perfectly good. Give this one some time and you will reap a lot more than you would expect at face value. They even made some Klingon Opera mixed in with battle music.

Away team missions are pretty simplistic and average right now, but hopefully with some work they will improve. My kids are really enjoying the away team PVP. The ship to ship combat is amazing. Ships are taking roles like fantasy MMOs. Cruisers are tanks, Tactical ships are the rogues/major dps (all ships do dps), Science ships are mage/priest/cc. The complexity of melding gear/character build/ship officers training/ship type leads to some dizzying options. Give this one a *fair* chance if you like Star Trek, you may be pleasantly surprised.