Today is the official launch of Star Trek Online. This is the first MMORPG I’ve gotten addicted to since I retired from World of Warcraft a couple of years back, and I must say it’s addictive.

I’ve been playing STO since the open beta and I must say, the graphics are the first thing to stand out. It isn’t state of the art, but it’s damm pretty. Space and battles have never looked so good.

The game is a mix of space and ground battles and both are exciting and good looking. I quite like the pacing of the game and while there are a few bugs, it’s typical for any new MMORPG.

I can see many late nights killing Klingons and Borg. And great that we have a Singapore Fleet set up already. Check out GameAxis.com’s MMORPG forums (STO thread) for info on how to join. See you in the Alpha Quadrant!

Apparently JJ Abrams is a Star Wars fan and he including R2-D2 in various scenes in the movie! Paramount is running a contest to find these in the movie, more info on their Facebook page here.

Gizmodo.com has some ideas of their own and you can see the pics below. R2-D2 driving the Enterprise!?!

I had the opportunity to catch the gala premier of the new Star Trek movie on Monday, and was blown away by how good it was! JJ Abrams certainly did a very good job of keeping the essence of Star Trek and updating it to suit younger audiences.

While we will always remember William Shatner’s James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy’s Spock, the new group of actors have done very well to emulate and make the characters their own. Zachary Quinto was spot on as a younger Spock which emotional angst and Chris Pine certainly portrayed Kirk with just the right amount of swagger and ego. The rest of the actors did a great job as well, it was especially great to see the start of the banter between Spock and Dr McCoy. lol

One of the things I loved about the movie was the art direction. JJ Abrams used a ‘lens flare’ effect whenever there were scenes on the bridge of the star ships. Together with the stylistic sets, this brought about a sense of romance in the film and made it ever more stylish and 21st century like.

The pacing of the movie was also just right. With character development and action at just the right moments. I found the starting of the movie pretty good too as it gets you emotionally involved. heh

The new look of the star ship Enterprise was also pretty stunning. It had the retro look of the Enterprise of old yet updated with better paint work, lights and effects.

I had a great time watching the movie, and I’m yearning to watch it yet again. Trekkies will love watching the movie, there are heaps of tie backs to the original series that fans will recognise (Spot the Tribble in the scene where Scotty first appears!). Yet those who know nothing about the series can still enjoy the movie, it doesn’t require you to have much, if any previous knowledge of Star Trek. So go and watch it when it comes out this week! WOOT!

The best thing is that as the movie diverts into an alternate time line, it opens the way for future sequels that may feature familiar Trek elements, yet unrestricted by the canon. Meaning the potential for a variety of storylines and bigger and better Star Trek movies with the new cast and crew! Even now before the movie is officially launched on 8 May, Paramount has already greenlit a sequel. I can’t wait for more!