Star Trek: Online Part Five : Attack of the Klingons

Official Screenshots         Beta Screenshots

Star Trek Online Game Trailers

Star Trek: Online Part Five : Attacks of the Klingons

Originally, we were going to add this as part of the beta preview we did a few weeks ago. However I made the decision to try and explore the Federation character further to gain a more rounded overview of the game as a whole, instead of trying to cram everything in a short period of time. As we were also given access to the Pre-Order Head Start event, this gave me the opportunity to experience one of the other races which I did not have time to fully explore during the Beta event.

But before I speak about the Klingons, I want to first speak about the differences I noticed when I was trying to level up my character so I could unlock the Klingon storyline. From the beta screen shots to these shots - which are now the final live product - you should see a few UI changes which have helped the system feel a little more complete, as well as keeping it looking great. I have also noticed that during the missions that I did partake, that a lot of the loot drops seem to dramatically risen. I am not sure if this because of the amount of people on the servers due to the head start, or the fact that they have done some fine tuning to the game to increase the loot. I have also noticed that a lot of the small annoyances that occurred throughout the beta have been fixed.

Another tweak which I noticed was the fact that most of the enemies I have been facing in the missions that I had done previously in the beta have been either the same level as me or only one level above where as in the beta I found enemies would come a lot more in a bigger packs and would be at least two levels ahead of me. Again this could have just been my play through or it could have been so you didn't rush through the content. I have also found that the graphics in the final game seem a lot smoother and everything seems to flow a lot better. Also the extra storyline parts we get at the beginning of the game allow you to find out where you are in the Star Trek Story line as well as also giving you a starting point.

So anyway, enough of the catch-up on how the game has been in progress, it's time to speak about how the Klingons storyline is different to the Federation storyline. Like I have said you have to be at least Lieutenant level 6 to unlock the Klingon storyline. So once you have done this you can then create your very own Klingon. As well as the race of Klingon, you again can create your own character or use some of the other species that are available to use. Again as when you created your Federation character, you get to pick some traits which will be boosts for your character and every species has its own unique boosts for you to choose. Once you have chosen your species and if you are female or male and have chosen your new uniform, you will be thrown in to the world of the Klingon race. Again you get a little back story before you arrive on the first planet for you to make contact with some of the leaders who will give you some small tasks which will level you up to the rank of Lieutenant level 6 which means you will be back to where you were before you know it. This is useful because that you won't have to go through a lot of levels just to get your characters back on par with each other.

The main differences that I have found between the Klingons and the Federation are the type of missions that you go to. A lot of the Federation missions are about keeping the peace and balance to the space that you need to patrol. Whereas a lot of the Klingon missions that I have played are all about blowing things up and killing the enemy. This is great fun and does mean that levelling up a Klingon character is a different approach to the Federation which makes it fresh to play. The bonuses for playing the Klingons is the fact that you start off with a bird of prey, with a lot of the weapons that you would have looted while playing Federation and also their unique ability - the ability to use a cloaking device. This allows you to position yourself without the enemy detecting you, the problem with the cloaking device is the fact that you cannot use any weapons while you are cloaked so it's more of putting yourself in a good position to do a surprise attack, or even to get out of trouble if needs be. As well as the differences in the missions, I feel that the graphics within the style of play isn't the neat and futuristic look of the Federation and to have the look of an old race with traditions and huge amounts of art texture it's almost like walking around a pyramid with blasters and fazers.

Again with the Klingon race there is a lot of traditional ways, as you will again be put through a trail as a test of strength to earn your Lieutenant level. In a sense everything is the same in the Klingon race but as well as this everything is slightly tweaked and worked around to almost become something completely new. Now I know I've just contradicted myself in my last sentence but hear me out on this one. For Klingon, you know everything that you need to know to get going, there is no learning curve for you to get used to or new controls to master; you are ready to go as soon as you get your hands on the ship. This is what makes these unlockable races great. Since everyone will be on Federation for a while this will there will be a lot of people around and not everyone running to different races straight away. In a sense it allows you to get to grips with everything and also ensure  there will be plenty of people to play with and against.

So hopefully over the next few weeks or months we should be previewing a lot more of the races and trying to give you the full picture on how the Star Trek game is developing and how the races have been developed.