In popular culture, Star Trek has always been the thinking man’s sci-fi when compared to the more bombastic Star Wars. Obstacles in Trek are often overcome using logic and the inventive use of technology as opposed to the “shoot X to blow up Y” methods employed by Luke Skywalker and company. So it should not come as too much of a surprise that the Klingon war that has been the overarching plot thread of the Star Trek: Discovery season finale ends with a conversation rather than a battle. However, it’s hard not to feel disappointed. The series up until now has done a commendable job of combining the intellectual mind games of traditional Trek with the fast paced action of the more recent Abrams films. This more muted season finale feels strangely out of place, like a missing episode of the Next Generation.
The finale at times feels like it’s spinning its wheels with too little plot to fill its run time, much of it taking place in a Klingon market with quirky scenes demonstrating how the warrior race spends its free time gambling and frequenting strip clubs. Whilst this is a novel idea, highlighting that the Klingons are not morally black and white but instead various shades of grey just like the Federation, it feels out of place and takes away all the momentum established by the previous episode. It’s difficult to believe that Earth is in danger of imminent destruction when our heroes have time to enjoy kinky sex and hang out with space druggies.
Captain Georgio’s return also feels like a missed opportunity. Having such a ruthless wild card thrown into a war for survival should be a perfect recipe for drama, but instead the character is held back for what will be an inevitable season 2 appearance. It seemed as though the show had already played its best hand with the mid season reveal of Captain Lorca’s identity and has struggled to reach those heights again. Georgio had all the potential to surpass Lorca as the seasons most threatening antagonist but feels neutered by comparison.
Whilst its fitting that our main protagonist Burnham should find a peaceful solution to end the war which she initially caused, it does come across as rather easy and simplistic in execution. The Klingon war machine up until this point has been portrayed as unrelenting and cruel, so to have them so ready to stand down after a single (though potentially devastating) threat felt unearned. Despite this sudden turn around, its is still nice to see Burnham undergo genuine growth as a character and learn that there are sometimes alternatives to meeting aggression with aggression.
The main cast continues to shine, Sonequa Martin Green and Doug Jones’ evolution from comrades to wary opponents to close friends as Burnham and Suru has been a joy to watch over the course of the season, as has the developing maturity from Mary Wiseman as Cadet Tilly. It’s still a stretch to see Shazad Latif as the tough space marine that he is initially presented as but he consistently delivers whenever the scene requires him to show the mental trauma that Tyler has undergone.
The final scene of the Enterprise meeting the Discovery may feel hamfisted for some viewers but combined with the original series score it’s hard not to be nostalgic and excited for where Discovery can go from here. The season overall has been an entertaining ride with more highs than lows and hopefully can go from strength to strength next season, personally I cannot wait for season 2, I just hope the showrunners learn from season 1’s missteps and build upon its triumphs. The potential for a wider exploration of alternate realities or jumps in time provides the writers the opportunity to boldly go……oh, you know the rest.
Like our thoughts on the review? Got some points we missed? Let us know on Twitter @SubCultured!
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Spring just arrived recently and winter has finally come to a close. So far in 2017 we’ve already seen quite a few great releases, the most recent being the Legend of Zelda machine, the Nintendo Switch, and the release of Mass Effect: Andromeda. As much as I’ve enjoyed Nintendo’s past offerings and felt the nostalgic pull of Zelda and since I’ve never actually played a Mass Effect game, they just weren’t on my list of upcoming things I’m looking forward to. However, on my list are other games, tech, events, and some are just random nerdiness.
In no real particular order, as they say, let’s get some 2017 HYPE!!
Sentio Superbook
I love me a good piece of tech. Who doesn’t really? In my tech arsenal, among other things, I have a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop, and a desktop PC. My smartphone I use all the time and my PC handles everything my smartphone can’t. The tablet and laptop though, I find gather quite a bit of dust. The tablet I only bring out when there’s an app that I would just like on a little bigger screen than my smartphone, and the laptop only when my main PC is down and I still need to perform desktop-like tasks. Those times are far and few between and every time I turn them on they have hundreds of updates waiting.
This is where the Sentio Superbook comes in. Using an Android app that turns the Android OS more desktop-friendly, the Superbook is essentially a laptop shell that uses your smartphone for the processing power. According to the Kickstarter, the Superbook “provides a large screen, keyboard and multi-touch trackpad, 8+ hours of battery, and phone charging capabilities”. Always up to date, and never falls behind your Android’s tech. This I can see completely replacing my tablet, fitting usefully between my phone and desktop.
Release: Pushed back from February until June for initial Kickstarter orders.
Return of Mystery Science Theatre 3000
Fun fact: I’m an original card-carrying member of the MST3K fan club. I remember having Thanksgiving at my grandmother’s house, eating myself silly, and then relaxing watching the Turkey Day marathon. I didn’t have cable growing up, which is how I’m easily able to live without cable today, but MST3K was a treat. When they announced they were Kickstarting a new season, I legit threw money at my screen. Got myself the t-shirt to match my older MST3K t-shirt, a couple nice prints, a keychain (I think… don’t tell me I’ve already lost it…), and the satisfaction that I’ll be able to watch brand new episodes. To answer your burning question, I think Joel was better than Mike. Fight me.
Release: April 14th, 2017! So close I can taste the movie sign.
Cook, Serve, Delicious 2
I’d like to think that when I game on PC, the games I play are complex and deep. However, I’ve never wanted that complexity on my phone. For mobile gaming I like keeping it light and in small increments, hence why the Switch was never a draw. Cook, Serve, Delicious is quite possibly one of the best mobile games I have ever played. It’s light, tricky, takes a bit of skill, never felt like the phone hardware ever got in the way, and had entertaining graphics to match. You don’t have to play it on mobile, you can play it on other systems, but it shines on mobile. So when they announced CSD 2 at the end of 2016, I was giddy. Giddy.
Release: “Available on Steam and PS4 in 2017“. Not specific, and no mention of mobile, but their alpha trailer was released in Dec 2016, so hopefully soon.
Star Trek: Discovery
CBS announced in November 2015 that following the 50th anniversary of the original series of Star Trek, and 12 years after the last official Star Trek: Enterprise episode aired, they would be opening a new chapter in the Star Trek Prime universe. Yes, the Kelvin timeline exists, and while I personally really enjoyed Beyond and what the reboot has brought to the series, it’s no Prime Universe goodness.
Set 10 years before Captain Kirk started his famous 5 year mission, they’ve announced the main protagonist will be Lieutenant Commander Rainsford, played by Sonequa Martin-Green, and referenced in the show as “Number One”. Star Trek: Discovery will revolve around the USS Discovery, although they’ve announced casting decisions for a second ship, the Shenzhou, and a number of Klingons. This, and other rumors, hints that the plot may revolve around the Klingon-Federation scrap-up at Donatu V, mentioned in the episode The Trouble with Tribbles which led to a Cold War between the two factions.
The show will initially air in the US on CBS, after with episodes airing on CBS All-Access shortly after. Outside of the US, episodes will air on Netflix. I personally don’t care how they air it, I’m just psyched for new Star Trek!
Release: As of this writing, it appears to have been pushed back until late summer/early fall, with possibilities of being pushed back further. Blech.
Vampyr
If you haven’t yet played Life Is Strange by DontNod Entertainment, by god what are you waiting for?! Go play one of the most fresh and stunning games you’ve ever played! If you have played it, then you probably understand why Vampyr, another game in production by DontNod Entertainment, has me so excited. Action-oriented with a sort of Assassin’s Creed meets the episodic genre vibe, set in 1918 London? Sign me up. I don’t play brand new games often, but with this setting and story potential, I’ll play.
Release: This site is suggesting Q4 2017, maybe just in time for Halloween?
Disney World’s EPCOT Big Changes Announcement
I’m a Disney World nerd. What can I say, I’ve visited the parks quite a few times and each time have had some amazing experiences. Nothing beats having fun all day with family and friends, seeing all the sights, riding the rides, and sitting down for one of the best meals you’ve ever had in your life. Cap it all off with a phenomenal show and fireworks every night you’re there! I wasn’t so much a fan before I met my wife, but now that she has shown me what I was missing, I’m a big fan.
So when Disney makes changes to their parks, which happens all the time, it just makes me excited for the next time that we’ll visit. At this point, it may be a few years before the next trip, but by then hopefully the big EPCOT changes announced at the D23 Expo last November will have come to fruition. When the Chairman, Bob Chapek, tells the Imagineers to “dream big” and to expect a “major transformation,” I’ll lap up any news like I’m dying of thirst. I mean, shoot, they’re adding hanging gondolas to their transportation roster. Gondolas! How cool is that?!
Release: Changes won’t happen for a few years, but hopefully we’ll hear what they will be at the next D23 Expo July 14th-16th 2017.
Shroud of the Avatar Launch
All the way back in May of 2013, one of computer gaming’s legends, Richard Garriott, started a Kickstarter campaign with his company Portalarium to bring back a “spiritual successor” to one of the most influential game series of all time, Ultima, called Shroud of the Avatar. Since I’m a huge fan of the Ultima games to this day, I backed it to a non-ridiculous degree. To say that it’s been a long journey since the Kickstarter launch is quite an understatement. Like most Kickstarted projects, the feature creep has been quite extreme, to the point that the game still hasn’t been completed yet in full. Posing primarily as an MMO, the features they want to add are story mode with content delivered in episodes, written by Garriott and Tracy Hickman, a single player offline mode, different multiplayer modes, a vast classless character system, PvP, player housing, a crafting-based economy, full guild systems, player owned towns, and all the other accoutrements one would expect with MMOs these days.
As of right now, Shroud of the Avatar is still in a beta state and they stopped issuing character wipes in July of 2016, but still has not officially “launched.” I’m not one to play incomplete games though, so if they don’t consider the first big chapter complete yet, I have no issues waiting. I’ll finally jump in once they start officially calling it “launched.”
Release: 2017, or so the FAQ says.
More Google Home Updates
Near the end of last year, I took the plunge into home automation and bought a Google Home while it was on sale. To say the least, my wife and I have been enjoying it quite thoroughly. I quickly discovered that home automation is a deep rabbit hole, with Google Home itself being the gateway drug. It started with one Google Home, then a second, and then a Chromecast Audio to sync all of the speakers together to form a whole-house audio system. A Philips Hue starter kit later and we had voice-controllable lights. Ten more bulbs later and we rarely touch our lightswitches anymore.
We bought it early on in its development because we expected more functionality to come, and so far they haven’t disappointed. More, though… we want more.
Release: Ongoing, since Google Home has already been released in 2016.
Welcome to Night Vale‘s 2nd Novel: It Devours!
If you’ve never heard of the quirky podcast Welcome to Night Vale, you are sorely missing out. Based around the community radio station of a fictional, and quite strange, desert town located somewhere in the southwestern US, Welcome to Night Vale has been chronicling the town’s oft-bizarre happenings since June of 2012.
In 2015, WTNV’s creators Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor released their first novel, Welcome to Night Vale, based on the town. More heartfelt and personal than I was expecting, I enjoyed it, so I was excited when during the episode “After 3327,” they announced a second novel! Finally, around mid-March they announced the title and a release date of October 17th, 2017.
Release: According to Joseph Fink, they handed in the final manuscript on January 17th and in Mid-March they announced a release date of October 17th, 2017.
The MMO The Secret World‘s Relaunch
Finally, the last thing I’m excited about for 2017 is the “relaunch” of the MMO The Secret World, a personal favorite game of mine. The news of Funcom’s plans to relaunch it’s 5-year-old title came as a bit of a surprise, having been “announced” on Funcom’s 4th Quarter 2016 financial reports. Boasting changes from a redesigned new player experience, a “major improvement” to gameplay and combat, new player retention systems, and changes to the game’s business model, a lot of players are simultaneously nervous and excited for the upcoming changes. Funcom’s community team has been silent on the subject, focusing first on PAX East and Conan Exiles before making any big announcements about The Secret World.
Release: We’ll most likely hear more about the relaunch by the end of March, and see some changes before the end of June.
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Star Trek Online’s Agents of Yesterday recently released and has been a callback to Star Trek’s origins on the year of Star Trek’s 50th Anniversary.
One of the big reasons I’ve been playing Star Trek Online for years has been for it’s excellent stories. The main reason that I still really enjoy playing video games *at all* is the stories. Fun game mechanics are nice, yes, and the exploration, puzzles, progression, and graphics are also a plus, but for me the story is where it’s at. If a game doesn’t have a decent or even passable story attached to it, you most likely won’t find me playing it. I’ll even forsake a lot of the other qualities just for a better story.
I’ve also been a fan of Star Trek since my father and I use to watch Next Generation together in the early 90’s. The way the episodes would flow, where in the course of 45 minutes the exploration of the deep grey area between good and evil, between right and wrong, was so thorough that it created such a lasting impression on me that I will forever be a ‘Trekkie’. Not all episodes were winners, but when Star Trek got it right, they really got it right.
With Star Trek Online’s latest release of ‘Agents of Yesterday’, the game’s storyline takes many cues and paths from the episodes, and many cues from the original series. Here is a list of the top Star Trek episodes to watch to get the most out of STO’s latest expansion, presented in the best order as they refer in-game.
Obviously, Spoilers Ahead, but I’ll try to keep them to a minimum.
The Galileo Seven – TOS, Season 1
A new character, created in the new 23rd century Federation faction, will find themselves soon after on the surface of Taurus II. This rocky, inhospitable planet was crash-landed on by Spock, McCoy, Scotty, and four other unlucky individuals. Soon after arrival a yellow-clad crewman (they weren’t always wearing red) takes a spear to the back thrown by a giant caveman-like creature.
Oh, there *will* be Gorn.
Arena – TOS, Season 1
Arena is one of the most famous of all the original series episodes, so having an original series themed expansion and not including a reference to the episode would’ve been sacrilege. The lizard-like Gorn first appeared during this episode which had a beat-up Kirk hunting the surface of a mineral-rich planet for ways to defeat the rubber-suited menace. In Star Trek Online, the Federation returns once more to study the planet’s bounty.
Cold Front – Enterprise, Season 1
We take a step backwards in time, but forward in the line of show production to Enterprise. Captain Archer is really excited to get to do what Starfleet wanted the Enterprise to do: Explore. A bolt of energy hits the ship, but disaster is stopped by a lucky junction having been disconnected. As it turns out, luck has nothing to do with it. The character known as Daniels is introduced, a time traveling agent from the far-distant future, who informs Archer of the most convoluted storyline in all of Trek, the Temporal Cold War.
Operation: Annihilate! – TOS, Season 1
There are only two episodes in all of Trek that feature an exclamation point in the title, and ‘Operation: Annihilate!’ is one of them. The Deneva Colony has seemed to be taken over by a bout of mass insanity. When they reach the planet, they find saucer-like single-celled organisms have attacked. In Star Trek Online, the player’s ship is called to investigate Deep Space K-13, where a bout of mass insanity has also taken hold.
By far not the best of episodes. It was still in the age of rubber creatures which, shockingly, audiences didn’t find that scary.
Journey to Babel – TOS, Season 2
Th Enterprise is tasked with transporting a group of Federation diplomats to the Babel Conference, a meeting to determine whether to admit the Coridan system into the Federation. In the first episode of ‘Agents of Yesterday’ which features real time travel shenanigans, the player is taken onto the Enterprise itself.
The Tholian Web – TOS, Season 3
In ‘The Tholian Web’ the crew of the Enterprise are sent to search for their sister-ship, the USS Defiant. They find the ship adrift, with all hands on board deceased. Once more, it appears a bout of madness has caused all aboard to turn on each other, but this time it isn’t due to single-celled frisbees. The episode introduces the xenophobic and crystal spider-like Tholians. In Star Trek Online, the crew of the player’s ship finds the Defiant with all crew still alive as they once more encounter the Tholians.
Captain’s Holiday – Next Generation, Season 3
The entire Star Trek Online story arc ‘Future Proof’ hinges on this one episode. In Next Generation, Captain Jean-Luc Picard finds himself so stressed out that not even a cup of hot Earl Grey can help. Picard takes a vacation to the pleasure planet Risa for some much needed R&R. There he encounters a Ferengi, two time traveling aliens, a treasure hunter, and their target: the Tox Uthat, a weapon capable of destroying stars.
Future Tense – Enterprise, Season 2
Captain Archer’s Enterprise comes across a ship very similar to the Doctor’s TARDIS, a ship from the far future that is bigger on the inside. Inside they find a long deceased body, one who’s genetic makeup contains many elements of many different races. None of those races are Time Lord, however. Right when things start getting strange, both the Suliban, a shape-changing race, and the Tholians show up to attempt to recover the ship for themselves.
The Changing Face of Evil – Deep Space Nine, Season 7
In one of the final episodes of Deep Space Nine, at the height of the Dominion War, the Breen, a cold-loving warlike race that has aligned themselves with the Dominion, succeed where many others have failed. They successfully launch an attack on Earth and damage Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco and, just for kicks, wreck the Golden Gate Bridge. It must’ve been for kicks because one would assume bridges have become antiques when flying shuttles and teleportation become the norm for transportation.
The NCC-1701-J. Yes, it’s canon.
Azati Prime – Enterprise, Season 3
Finally, in the midst of the Temporal Cold War arc of Enterprise, the crew of Archer’s ship finds themselves investigating the multi-species Xindi’s construction of a weapon capable of doing serious damage to Earth. Captain Archer decides to pilot a suicide mission to destroy the weapon, but is suddenly transported 400 years to the future by Temporal Agent Daniels to the final battle of the war against the Sphere Builders in the Temporal Cold War. They arrive on board the Enterprise-J, a much flatter ship than most of the Enterprises that have come before.
But That’s Not All
These ten episodes are far from the only ones referenced in the Agents of Yesterday expansion. More include TOS’s ‘Doomsday Machine’ and ‘Mirror, Mirror’, Next Generation’s ‘The Enemy’, Deep Space Nine’s ‘Once More Unto the Breach’, and Voyager’s ‘Year of Hell’. Also, the entire Temporal Cold War arc certainly wouldn’t hurt: Enterprise’s ‘Broken Bow’, ‘Cold Front’, ‘Detained’, ‘Two Days and Two Nights’, ‘Shockwave Pt 1 and 2’, ‘Future Tense’, ‘The Expanse’, ‘Carpenter Street’, ‘Azati Prime’, ‘Zero Hour’, ‘Storm Front Pt 1 and 2’, and ‘Harbinger’.
Live Long and Prosper.
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Over the past week I’ve been hitting Star Trek Online pretty hard. Ever since the developers announced that they were creating regular content that resembled and was based on episodic Trek content and blessed by CBS, I’ve been a fan. It makes the stories created by Cryptic not exactly canon, but close enough for the inclined fan. Agents of Yesterday launched on July 6th, and is the latest batch of Trek added to Star Trek Online, based loosely on the Original Series. In the end, it ends up being an interesting romp through original Trek, the new Kelvin Timeline Trek, and all Trek in-between. Okay, maybe not the animated series, but, really, the animated series? C’mon.
The Federation once more visits Taurus II, with more red shirts than should probably be allowed.
An… Expansion?
A little, maybe obvious, warning: Some Mild Spoilers Ahead. Overall, although Star Trek Online is officially calling their new content an “expansion”, I’m not completely sure it lives up to that description. Agents of Yesterday overall added 10 new missions, a handful of new queues (multi-player “dungeons”), and a new early 23rd century “faction”, which is really just the Federation faction with a few added UI elements, some extra loot, some flavor text, and a new introduction. Half of the new missions can only be performed by starting a new character from this faction. So, as far as an overall content drop, it really doesn’t hold a candle to the other expansions Star Trek Online has offered over the years. Legacy of Romulus added a new zone, faction, and new missions for every faction. Delta Rising added a whole new space map, zone, and level cap for everybody. Agents of Yesterday an expansion? Not so much.
That’s not to say the missions themselves weren’t really enjoyable, though. The attention to detail given to the level of cheese the Original Series had is top notch. In all of the missions taking place in the 23rd century, a soft filter was added to the background of every mission to replicate that old TV rabbit-ear style. It was so effective that I saw some complaining that they thought something was wrong with their video cards.
Stalking the halls, hunting rubber flying saucers.
Time Travel? Again?
However, if anyone was expecting the expansion to be completely about the Original Series, as the name sort-of suggests, well, sorry. It only takes about 3 missions in before they start with the *real* meat of the expansion: time travel. Yeah, time travel is one of the oldest and misued tropes in fiction. Star Trek has used it time and time again, and the quality has stretched from the odd Mark Twain shenanigans during Next Generation to the excellent Trials and Tribble-ations of Deep Space Nine. Mostly one or two-off episode arcs.
The time travel used in Agents of Yesterday, though, focuses mostly on one of the most obscure and confusing time travel arcs in all of Star Trek, Enterprise‘s Temporal Cold War. A storyline not for the casual Trekkie, which makes it an odd combination, especially when one is expecting the schmooze of original Trek and the everyman of Kirk. It does conclude one of Star Trek Online‘s more obscure story arcs as well, Future Proof, which, sadly, didn’t quite have the same story punch as the recent Iconian War or Delta Rising.
Aboard the USS Yorktown in the Kelvin Timeline
The Kelvin Timeline Strikes Back
And finally, somewhere in there, they also include a relatively shoe-horned feeling mission in the Kelvin Timeline! The Kelvin Timeline, by the way, is now the official name that has recently been given to the universe shown in the series of movies created by J.J. Abrams and others, named for the fated ship, the USS Kelvin. The Kelvin was destroyed at the point of universe fracture, when the Romulan mining vessel, the Narada, entered the split-universe via black hole and attacked. The legitimacy of the universe within the Trek community has been rather contentious since the 2009 Star Trek movie released, but mostly the contention has been coming from the Trek purists who aren’t as big a fan of lens flare as Abrams thought they were.
That, and although the timelines are completely different, they destroyed Romulus! To say the Prime universe’s canon wasn’t hugely affected would be overlooking a major race’s entire home world. Plus, there’s already the Mirror Universe, which is very canon. Like it or not, the different timelines are inexorably intertwined. It’s been officially named, it’s been legitimized, and it’s here for good. If the new upcoming CBS Star Trek series doesn’t acknowledge Romulus’s destruction in the first few episodes, I’ll be shocked (but technically, citizens of the Prime universe shouldn’t know the *name*, like they do the Mirror Universe, as the Prime’s USS Kelvin wouldn’t have been a part of the incident… but that’s a minor detail).
The mission feels shoe-horned, though, because it’s a one-off mission that doesn’t even really give a good reason as to how your ship even gets to the Kelvin timeline or a big reason why, aside from the timey-whimey shenanigans of Trek’s local Time Lord, Daniels. I don’t blame the developers at all for trying to capitalize on the new movies, though. In fact I enjoy it when, say, Marvel Heroes brings in any of the fun stuff from the plethera of Marvel movies and comics out there. A bit of “trans-media synergy” adds that extra layer for fans, which isn’t bad. However, although it’s just one mission that was added, they also dropped a special themed Kelvin Lockbox to go along with it. It contains on its loot table a bevy of costumes, weapons, and abilities or even ships for the very lucky or wallet-heavy (0.33% chance of acquiring the movie Enterprise or any ship, last I checked. 0.33%, don’t overlook that decimal). The trade of one mission for one lockbox, when they could’ve really opened up a whole arc of Kelvin Timeline stories, seems a little underwhelming. Now that they’ve opened the can of worms, hopefully they add to it more in the future.
Those sexy ships, tho.
Right, But How Was It?
Overall, though, I’ve liked the expansion. Those first few missions in the Original Series timeline, though a little awkward in their use of sound bites, are really quite fun. The use of voice actors related to the series like Walter Koenig, the late Leonard Nemoy, Christopher Doohan, and Joseph Gatt is also not to be overlooked if you’re a fan. It may not have as much bulk or heft as previous expansions, or really offer anything truly game-changing, though, but it is still entertaining. Enough to convince me to start up a new character and replay all of Star Trek Online‘s already fantastic story, but with the bonus of figuring out what those pesky Na’Khul are up to.
So, if you’re a new player looking to get into Star Trek Online, Agents of Yesterday at least offers a new path to do so, one that tugs oh-so-affectionately at the nostalgia strings. And if you’re a current player, I highly suggest making a new 23rd century character, at least to try out the TOS missions.
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There are a number of fantasy and sci-fi worlds that have been created over the years, each with their own mythology and following. But without question, the Star Trek universe is one of the most massive from that long list. Spanning multiple worlds with a deep culture in both mythology and fandom that’s seldom outdone, Star Trek has inspired six television series, twelve films with a thirteenth on the way, and a near countless number of books, comics and games in multiple mediums. Bringing the entire universe together, Star Trek Timelines is basically the ultimate mashup for any fans of the franchise, be it all or in any part. You can take your ship, and man it with any crew from the Star Trek universe. Each character can be assigned to different jobs like Ops (we found that Bones was just atrocious at ops). Characters assigned (not to mention the ship, the ship’s kind of important) determine what kind of skills are at your disposal as well as learning new things and what kind of bonuses are available for your crew.
My first mission was dealing with Regent Worf from the mirror universe. Assembling your crew you’ll find that everyone has different sets of skills and abilities. Sisko, for example has high points in diplomacy and command (as well as a bonus trait for Bajoran reputation), like a captain would, but Worf of course had high points in security. Janeway was originally a science officer so she has a high science skill along with command. So putting your mission crew together, you amass a number of skills and bonuses that will help you solve missions in different ways. Each mission is a choose your own adventure style story, where there are multiple paths to successfully finishing. Depending on what skills and traits your crew has, your team will traverse through a different path to the end – one success or failure opens additional nodes that you can choose based on what skills you have at your disposal.
Because let’s face it – in a jam, Worf would look for a weaponized strike while Picard may soothe his adversary with that brilliant speech of his and bring them around to his side. Both of them are solutions to the same problem. And as such, in this game they would have different skillsets and open up different paths.
Outside of the choose your own adventure style gameplay, Disruptor Beam made made sure the game looks really good. The ships can be admired at all angles with a flick of the finger on screen all around, and from what I’ve seen so far (A Bird of Prey and I believe an Enterprise D) the ship designs look great. On top of that was the pure mashup fun. I’m pretty sure at one point I had Locutus, Archer and Sisko together on a mission team – something we’d never see in any of the shows or movies. So all of your “what if…” scenarios? Play them all out in Star Trek Timelines.
(Just watch out for the purists who I’m sure will slam your crossovers on the web)
Platform: iOS, Android, Web browsers
Release Date: later this year
When you look at a lot of combat games, there’s a crazy number of skills involved. Maybe there’s a tech tree and maybe you have to respec your entire skillset for a particular battle. Jotun counters all of that with some honest-to-goodness, hit-em-with-an-axe Norse badassery.
You play as Thora, a Norse warrior that has unceremoniously died an inglorious death. For most people that sounds like a peaceful way to go, but in Norse mythology, that kind of thing would keep one out of Valhalla, a hardcore form of heaven where spirits of dead warriors can feast all day and more importantly fight to their heart’s content. Now Thora has one mission – to prove to the Gods that she is worthy of Valhalla. And how do you do that? By killing frost giants like a boss (by the way, that tiny speck there next to the giant? That’s Thora).
… I know, right?
Jotun starts Thora off immediately waking up a frost giant for mortal combat with three moves – a roll, an axe strike combo, and a charged axe swing. And that’s it. Dodging and counterattacking your enemy as he goes after you with all sorts of ice attacks when you’re about 1/100th the size of him is … well I’ll say it, hard. There’s no button mashing here. You have to be patient, see openings, and time things to win against these big guys. That kind of fight that requires some thought is a refreshing change of pace to a lot of the button mashers we see out there. These fights are like poker games, watching for the giants’ telegraphs and tells and acting accordingly with some speed. It’s exciting, as one misstep can cost you a sizeable chunk of your life bar – not to mention as giants lose more health the field of battle becomes more treacherous. On my first try I got the giant down to under half health before succumbing to a ridiculous ice-based slaughter, and in my shock was actually told that I did better than a lot of people that tried the game. Awesome.
In between the badass fights are environmental puzzles that Thora must navigate and get through, which serve as a lighter less intense experience and contrast pretty sharply with the combat. There’s a good balance between the two.
The fun play style is made even more so by the fantastic character design and hand-drawn art, which tie the whole thing together for me. Jotun was incredibly fun (and mildly addictive) to play, and I can’t wait to play more and see some more of what Thora can do. It’s like Shadow of the Colossus put on a Viking helmet, went hand drawn, top down, and added a lot of fun factor. Take a look at the announcement trailer below with some more footage and commentary by creator William Dubé:
Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux
Release Date: Fall 2015 on Steam
Tushar Nene
Staff Writer
@tusharnene
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Jen’s Tribute
When we’re little, we’re all taught a few basic truths. In my house, those truths were as follows: The Mets are the best baseball team on the planet, UCONN is the only basketball team worth rooting for, and the Vulcan salute is how you greet people.
The original draft of my tribute went on for about a page and a half about how I grew up watching Star Trek, how I made friends through Star Trek, how the show was one of the few things my dad and I shared while I was a kid–but I think that sentence sums it up in all its meta-elegance.
I don’t really want to talk about me. It feels wrong and selfish, when a man’s amazing and inspiring life has come to an end, to focus on my own that’s barely begun. Leonard Nimoy has always surprised me. His performance as Spock was consistently challenging and fascinating to watch, but more than that, every time I learned something new about the Man, I found myself grinning. He never stopped working, and learning, and trying new things. He never shied away from the role that bought him international fame and his status as a pop culture icon. He never appeared as anything less than dignified and wise.
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP
— Leonard Nimoy (@TheRealNimoy) February 23, 2015
Even as I read through his obituaries today, I was finding out things about Leonard Nimoy I never knew–but somehow none of them surprised me. It would seem that here, at the end of his life, he truly took his Vulcan signature to heart. Here’s what the rest of our team had to say about Leonard Nimoy’s life and death.
Sam’s Tribute:
“He taught me that being weird was normal, that science and logic were magical. He taught me that in a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. He taught me that ‘Live long and prosper’ could mean so much more than a television catch phrase. Not being able to meet him is one of the biggest regrets I’ll always carry. Live Long and Prosper Sir, you’ve taught us all so much. I wish you well on that final frontier.”–Samuel Lee Smith
Colby’s Tribute:
“I was never exposed to the original Star Trek, so Leonard Nimoy came in to my life way past the acceptable date for most geeks. Even then, he was only vaguely associated with Spock, more of a nerd Demigod like Bruce Campbell than the blue-sweatered half Vulcan. Instead, Mr. Nimoy’s most well-known work for me is the Bilbo Baggins song. If you haven’t seen the video, be prepared for a lot of cringe-worthy 60s nonsense and overacting, but in such an energetic and offbeat way, that you can’t help but laugh. And be forewarned, this song will plant its hooks in your brain and you’ll find yourself singing it weeks later.”
Leia’s Tribute:
“I grew up all Star Wars, and it wasn’t until I was an adult that I found a place in my heart for Star Trek. Leonard Nimoy called out to the melancholy teenager still inside of me with his gorgeous photography, and touching poetry, so when he was slated to appear in Dallas, I made it a goal to sit in on his Q&A. It was miraculous. His voice and presence oozed wisdom, and I felt at peace listening to him speak. I made it a point to check his Twitter every day, just to see the little life tidbits he would throw up, ending in a loving LLAP. I bid you farewell, sir. It was life changing being in your presence, and all of space and time will never be the same”–Leia Calderon
Tushar’s Tribute:
“
Leonard Nimoy was one of the true geek OG’s and one of the stars of a series that was well ahead of its time. Though he did a lot of things in his life he was always Spock to me – the hyperlogical intellectual that was an archetype I was drawn to since I was a kid. And he accepted that status as geek idol – maybe reluctantly at first – but eventually – purely and whole-heartedly, he *was* Spock in the end. I remember reading an article a while ago about how when he found out Nichelle Nichols was getting paid less than other cast members, that he made it a point to correct that with the front office because it wasn’t right. Geek culture and entertainment at large took a big hit today.” –Tushar Nene
“Loss of life should be mourned, but only if the life is wasted.” –Spock
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