Star Trek Online turns 2yrs old – Releases new ships and feature episodes!
I know many of you MMO gamers out there (including myself) are playing in a galaxy far far away (Star Wars: The Old Republic 
right now, but i just wanted to mention that other big space franchise – ‘Star Trek Online‘ who turns 2 years old this month.
Despite some of it’s faults (read our review of STO here), i have a soft spot for STO, and up until SWTOR came out, I found it had one of the most engaging systems for drawing players into an MMO story.
For Star Trek Online‘s 2nd birthday, they are releasing Odyssey class, and the Bortas Klingon Flagship to players (useable at rear admiral level), and a trailer for their new featured episode. Plus STO is now free-to-play, so if you are MMOing on a budget, it’s well worth a look!
Possibly the geekiest thing on the internet.
Credit goes to Kevin who spotted this, and immediately thought of us.
Really, i’m not sure how you could make this more geeky.
I give you The Imperial March from Star Wars by John Williams… played by two 3 and half inch floppy disk drives.
Star Wars: The Old Republic Flash Mob!
If you’ve noticed things on the site have been a bit quite recently, this is for 2 reasons. 1 – It’s was Christmas, and 2 – Star Wars: The Old Republic was released.
Star Wars: The Old Republic is a game we here at GeekTown have been waiting for since it was first announced Bioware were working on an MMORPG back in 2007, so it’s been a long time coming. We’ve been playing since beta, and it’s just got better and better with every update. The game already has some spectacular numbers under it’s belt, with over 5.5 million hours played by it’s 1 million and rising subscribers. One of the more interesting stats released was the fact the players have so far created 850,000 Sith Warriors and over 810,000 Jedi Knights, so it seems the draw of the dark side is just slightly stronger than the light.
The game itself is superb. Brilliantly constructed and deeply involving story lines, with every character fully voiced, it stands way above most other MMOs out there. Bioware have worked really hard to make sure SWTOR puts the RPG back into MMORPG.
As part of the promo for SWTORs release, Bioware/EA organised a genius ‘flash mob’ event in Times Square NYC. Wonder if it was a ‘bring your own lightsaber’ event, or if they were provided. ;)
The Hobbit Trailer in HD
It maybe a year away, but Peter Jackson has released the first trailer for The Hobbit!
Dwarfs, hobbits, elves, Gandalf, Gollum, and a certain ring all make an appearance. No sign of the gold hoarding, fire breathing dragon in this one, but i’m sure we’ll get to see a lot more info over the next 12 months.
Roll on December 14th 2012!
Top 5 Free-to-Play MMORPGs
Over the past few years MMORPG‘s have gone through a bit of a change regarding the way they are funded. More and more of them are turning to a free-to-play model to sustain a player base. However, free-to-play MMO no longer means some browser-based 2D cutesy import from Japan. Some serious hard hitters of the MMO genre are now turning free-to-play. Here’s our list of the top 5.
5. Age of Conan
Age of Conan
Age of Conan had a bit of a rough ride on release. The first 20 levels were brilliantly stitched together, whilst the rest of the game was somewhat in disarray. Thankfully it’s survived its turbulent birth and worked hard to patch out its rough edges, to become one of the most brutal MMO’s available today.
Their F2P model restricts some of the character classes and slots, but there is still enough in there to keep most casual MMO players occupied. And most importantly, you can still behead your enemies with a few swift blows of your broadsword.
4. City of Heroes
City of Heroes
City of Heroes maybe one of the older MMOs out there, but that by no means limits it’s fun factor. Recent updates have seen some restructuring to the opening zones making them much less of a grind, and a switch so you get your ‘travel powers’ much earlier.
Because of it’s age, there is a huge amount of content and customisation in-game. Couple that with the lack of restrictions NCSoft have put on free players (no level cap restriction, loads of costume parts, most zones available at no extra cost) and it makes CoH well worth a look.
3. DC Universe Online
DC Universe Online
More superheroes, but this time some names your more likely to be familiar with. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and The Flash, to mention but a few. There is also a host of villains to work for, from Joker to Lex Luther, to Talia al Ghul, pretty much every major hero and villain from DC’s universe is represented here.
SOE do place some restrictions on Free Players (limited character slots, inventory & bank slots, trading etc…), but if you fancy checking out DCU, it’s possible to play through 30 levels of superhero/villain goodness. Also, you only need to spend $5 in the online store to gain access to the mid-level ‘Premium’ account which raises the level of most of the restrictions to most casual players would be comfortable with.
2. Star Trek Online
Star Trek Online
STO is a game that has come along in leaps and bounds since it’s release in 2010. Issues with the lack of ‘Trekkiness’ were solved. Lots more content was added, both by developers Cryptic, and by players themselves through the brilliant Foundry feature. A combat overhaul was done, to improve the phaser firing aspect of the game, plus more customisation to costumes, interiors to player ships, and various pets and other ‘fluff’ items were added.
Overall it’s a hugely improved game from it’s rather rushed release. Once again F2P players will have some limits on their account. Less character slots, limits on money and inventory storage, chat and mail restrictions, and they’ll be locked out of the Foundry Creator. However, the level cap will still be achievable, and all sector and missions are accessible on a F2P account, so you won’t be short of things to do! STO doesn’t actually go free-to-play till Jan 17th 2012 – But when it does, I urge you to take a journey into the final frontier.
1. Lord of the Rings Online
Lord of the Rings Online
As huge Tolkien fans, LotRO was a MMO all the gamers here in GeekTown fell in love with when it was first released. From those early quests avoiding hungry hobbits delivering pies in the Shire, to battling trolls and even a Balrog in the later game, it’s extremely easy to lose yourself in the massive world Turbine have created.
There are restrictions on F2P players. The amount of cash you can carry is limited, and you can’t auction items. Your also only allowed 1 character slot per server (with more purchasable), and some of the higher level areas need to be purchased. You can however level your hobbit, dwarf, elf or human up to the game’s level cap, and it’s a great way to test out a superb MMO without having to outlay a penny. If you’re a fan of Tolkien, it’s worth installing even if it’s just to wander around the Shire.
Saints Row: The Third – Pimps and Gimps
You know, the more I see of Saints Row: The Third, the more I think they looked at GTA V going all out for it’s realism, and character driven plot, and thought “screw that, what we need is Burt f**king Reynolds and giant dildo bats!”
It’s rather like there 2 were siblings. Both started off at the same place. A little ‘out there’, a little mischievous… But as they grew up and went to college, the older brother settled down, whilst the younger brother runs the wildest frat house on campus.
This new trailer not only has the aforementioned Mr. Reynolds and the erm… ‘phallic hitting implement’, but also Spacemen, Zombies, and of course – Pimps & Gimps!
Saints Row: The Third is due out on November 18th in Europe for Windows, PS3 and Xbox 360.
This is a sponsored post.
