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Set course for new Star Trek Online gameplay footage

by Richard Mitchell { Nov 3rd 2009 at 11:00PM }

We've got a double dose of Star Trek Online video goodness for you today, as Cryptic has seen fit to not only release part two of the "Future Past" series, but also a new gameplay trailer. The trailer -- handily embedded above -- is comprised mostly of pitched space battles and ground encounters. It's also packed with more phaser and disruptor beams than you can shake a tribble at. One more thing: Borg cube.

After the break, see part two of "The Future Past," which details the outcome of the Klingon / Nausicaan / Gorn war. In short, the Klingons are pretty much bad guys again by 2409, the year in which Star Trek Online begins.

Continued →

Reminder: Champions Online is free to play this weekend

by Griffin McElroy { Oct 30th 2009 at 2:00PM }

We know you guys have the memory of a ... well, whatever the polar opposite of an elephant is in regards to memory. (A fruit fly?) So, we thought we'd remind you that Cryptic's made its superheroic MMO Champions Online free to play this Halloween weekend in an attempt to promote the game's spooky pseudo-expansion, Blood Moon.

You can download it for free at 1PM EST today, then play it to your heart's content -- or November 2. You know, whichever comes first.

[Via Big Download]

One million heroes fighting crime in Champions Online

by Griffin McElroy { Oct 29th 2009 at 7:30PM }

Excerpt from a Cryptic Studios staff meeting, Oct. 29, 2009:

"Okay, guys, listen up. I know we were all excited about the promotion we were going to run when the one millionth hero was created within Champions Online. You know, we'd take the lucky crimefighter and base a short series of graphic novels on him or her, ultimately culminating in a three-picture deal with Paramount and keeping the hero's creator -- and as a bonus, our game -- in the pop cultural spotlight? Well, we just heard from moderators that the one millionth hero was named ... Boner Dragon."

"Boner Dragon?"

"Boner Dragon."

"I think we should just do a press release instead. A press release which deftly avoids mentioning the hero's name."

"That is an excellent idea, Jeffrey."

Champions Online going free-to-play on Halloween weekend

by Griffin McElroy { Oct 25th 2009 at 7:30PM }

If you've yet to acquire plans for this Halloween weekend to go along with your totally rad costume, Cryptic Studios has a pretty great diversion you may want to sign up for. Starting October 30, you'll be able to download Champions Online at no cost, and take on the mantle of the superhero of your own design until November 2.

The free-to-play weekend is being offered in an attempt to promote the title's first live update, Blood Moon. We expect that more than a handful of partially illiterate heroes will appear during the update's launch, and will be confused as to where all the sexy teenage vampires are located.

[Via Big Download]

PSA: Champions Online drops to $40

by David Hinkle { Oct 20th 2009 at 10:30PM }

If you've been on the sidelines, watching the fight between good and evil in Champions Online, waiting to don your own spandex and get into the mix, now might be a good time to bust out the sewing machine. A variety of retailers have bumped the game's price down to $40. In fact, Amazon even has it for $35, if you don't mind waiting for the pterodactyl to fly it over to your cave because you're super old and refuse to accept the digital downloadin' ways of the future.

Source - Champions Online on Steam
Source - Champions Online at Direct2Drive
Source - Champions Online at GameStop
Source - Champions Online at Amazon

Star Trek Online engaging retail Q1 2010, beta 'around the corner'

by David Hinkle { Oct 19th 2009 at 4:30PM }

Cryptic executive producer Craig Zinkievich has confirmed with Videogamer that the upcoming Star Trek Online is set to launch during the first quarter of next year -- which falls in line with an Atari document we reported on back in May. Zinkievich also confirmed that Cryptic will soon offer gamers a taste of the experience to come, stating that the game's closed beta is "right around the corner."

Though Videogamer set its phaser to "pester," Zinkievich wouldn't budge on any details about release date beyond the quoted Q1 2010 placeholder, citing that he would receive the full wrath of the marketing department should he crack. We'd like to imagine said department being full of Klingons, but we all know Cardassians really make the best marketers.

Video: A Star Trek Online history lesson

by Richard Mitchell { Oct 17th 2009 at 12:00AM }

Cryptic has put out a new behind-the-scenes video for Star Trek Online, in which members of the development team lay down the fictional history behind the title. The game is set to take place after the final Next Generation film, Star Trek Nemesis. Unless you're pretty up on your Trek lore, that's really all you need to know. For the rest of us, the video goes into thick detail about the various conflicts that follow, leading up to a massive war between Klingons, Romulans, the Gorn and Nausicaans.

Don't worry if you don't know your Dyson spheres from your Crystalline entities, as there are plenty of space battles and explosions in there, too.

Resisting new Star Trek Online screens is futile

by Richard Mitchell { Oct 6th 2009 at 10:08PM }

clicking isn't futile

The folks at Cryptic have released some new screens of the upcoming Star Trek Online, and let's just say that Locutus fans should be pretty pumped. That's right, we finally get to take a look at the Borg (sounds Swedish ...) as they appear in the game. We can't help but imagine actually playing as a member of the Borg collective in the game, though that might be just a tad unfair to the rest of the organic exploring the virtual universe.

The screens also show off some of the spacecraft available in the game. Peruse them all in the gallery below. It's not like you have a choice in the matter.

[Via Massively]

Gallery: Star Trek Online (10/6/09)

Star Trek Season 3 Blu-ray includes Star Trek Online bonus costume

by Griffin McElroy { Sep 28th 2009 at 3:42PM }

Do you want to die a whole lot during your first interstellar excursion in Star Trek Online? If not, we'd advise you not to dress yourself in the lowly, crimson vestments of a Starfleet security officer -- or, as they've appropriately been nicknamed, "Redshirts." It's a well known fact that most hostile extraterrestrials are bull-like in their profound hatred for the hue. Strangely enough, these same adversaries are placated by the garments of a Starfleet Admiral, inspiring them to give long soliloquies instead of, you know, murdering people.

If the latter clothing choice sounds more in your wheelhouse, you'll be happy to know that a Starfleet Admiral outfit is being offered as a Star Trek Online bonus for purchasers of Star Trek: The Original Series Season 3 on Blu-ray, according to TVShowsOnDVD.com. Not only do you get sweet duds for your character when the game drops in early 2010, but the television episodes will allow you to brush up on other important pieces of Star Trek errata. For instance, you should never hug a Klingon -- or Vulcans, for that matter. In fact, just keep those deep space hugs to yourself, okay?

Gallery: Star Trek Online (7-30-09)

[Via Big Download]

Hands-on: Star Trek Online

by Griffin McElroy { Sep 8th 2009 at 7:30PM }

You're going to buy and subscribe to Star Trek Online if you're a Star Trek fan.

I'm really sorry to be the one to break it to you. You might not possess the fungible assets required for such a commitment -- heck, you might not even like MMOs. These facts don't matter. Cryptic hasn't just made a game based on Roddenberry's magnum opus -- it has managed to create a flawlessly adapted interactive extension of the show.

Continued →

Register to beam aboard the Star Trek Online closed beta

by Justin McElroy { Sep 4th 2009 at 3:01PM }

If you didn't guarantee yourself a spot by buying a lifetime membership to Champions Online, your second chance to join the Star Trek Online closed beta just veered into scanning range. You can find the link to the necessary form right here. It's still not a sure thing, mind you, as participants will be randomly selected from those who register.

Considering its checkered past, we're a little bit nervous about STO, but we really hope it's good, if only to keep this cat off suicide watch.

Cryptic: MS holding back Xbox 360 Champions Online

by Richard Mitchell { Aug 28th 2009 at 7:27PM }

Do we sense a trend in the world of Xbox 360 MMOs? Speaking to VG247, Cryptic CCO Jack Emmert made it known that Microsoft is seemingly the only thing standing between Champions Online and the Xbox 360. Said Emmert, "It just takes time for the big beast known as Microsoft to get moving," adding that he had no better explanation for the hold up and "it's as baffling to developers as it is to everyone else."

Concerning when the title might actually hit the console, Emmert said, "This year? I don't know," and noted that "the ball is firmly in [Microsoft's] court" and that Cryptic is "ready to go." Apart from a Final Fantasy XI port, the Xbox 360 has yet to see a single MMO land in its disc drive. With Final Fantsy XIV apparently held up in red tape as well, and Age of Conan still a complete mystery, we're beginning to wonder if it ever will.

New Star Trek Online screens? You bet your asteroid

by Randy Nelson { Jul 30th 2009 at 9:30PM }

click to ~~engage~~ enlarge

Apart from being the "final frontier," this latest round of shots from Cryptic's Star Trek Online leads us to believe it's also absolutely jam-packed with asteroids, most of which are exploding. Sure, there are some pics of away teams down on the surface of various planets -- but asteroids, exploding asteroids! There's one universal quality evident in the massive quantity of screens in our gallery below: they look really, really nice. In fact, we're tempted to go as far as to say that, visually, the game ... rocks.

Gallery: Star Trek Online (7-30-09)

Champions Online open beta starts August 18 [update]

by Justin McElroy { Jul 29th 2009 at 3:30PM }

[Update: Cryptic Studios has clarified that the open beta for Champions Online will be open to everyone who pre-orders the game, not just those who do so through Direct2Drive. Also, subscribers to FilePlanet will be able to download the game client ahead of the official launch, and have an opportunity to snag one of 50,000 beta keys that will be offered by the site.]

Sure, it's an exciting headline if you've been jonesing to join legions of other adults as they pretend to have super powers, but it does come attached to a couple of caveats. For one, the Champions Online beta will only be running until August 26, scarcely enough time to get our tights broken in.

Also, you won't be able to get entrance to the beta unless you pre-order the game through IGN's Direct2Drive service beginning on August 5. Maybe that's not a problem for you, but if that's a deal breaker (ladies), you'll be sitting on your latex-gloved thumbs until the game launches for real on September 1.

Cryptic's Jack Emmert cryptically hints at Nemesis Online

by Griffin McElroy { Jul 15th 2009 at 3:30PM }

Here's a fun logic puzzle for those of you who are about to suffer the slings and arrows of SAT/ACT testing: City of Heroes is to City of Villains as Champions Online is to -- well, we don't know what it would be called, but considering Champions allows you to create your heroes' own personal arch-villain, its potential existence just makes sense, doesn't it?

That was the question posited to Cryptic's Jack Emmert by G4 in a recent interview, which Emmert responded to by saying "Nemesis Online" was a definite possibility, provided that "Champions is successful and people want that." With the game still a few months out, we know we're putting the cart before the horse by asking, but hey -- do you people want that?