It may have had a rocky launch and may not be perfect, but Star Trek Online can arguably be described as the best Star Trek game ever made. They've also regularly brought back classic Star Trek actors, such as Leonard Nimoy and most recently Denise Crosby (Tasha Yar), and now for the 30th anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation LeVar Burton, aka Geordi La Forge, is joining the game for two new story episodes. The first of these will launch September 12.
Check out our review of Star Trek Online from the launch!
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Since Star Trek Online is set several years after the events of Star Trek Nemesis, the last canonical story in the classic timeline, LeVar Burton will be playing a promoted Captain Geordi La Forge who now has his own ship. September's episode, titled "Beyond The Nexus", will see players teaming up with him and his crew to investigate a distress call. Given the title it will probably have something to do with the Nexus from the movie Star Trek: Generations, the first movie featuring the Next Generation crew.
Developer Cryptic will at this time offering a new ship interior to purchases based on the show's Enterprise-D, the uniform from Season 1, and the Type 7 shuttlecraft. There will be server-wide giveaways of these items and more for the 30th anniversary, which will also coincide with the release of new Trek show Star Trek: Discovery.
This adventure will continue into the start of Star Trek Online's Season 14, titled "Emergence", which begins in October. Cryptic says about this Season:
"The game’s next major update continues the story of the Tzenkethi war with the new featured episode, “Melting Pot.” Geordi and Captain Kuumaarke (voiced by Kipleigh Brown) accompanies players as they explore a new colony world, featuring the freshly reunited Kentari and Lukari people. After the events of “Mirror and Smoke,” they decided to reconcile their differences and start a new colony to celebrate the reunification of their cultures and technology. La Forge is integral to the development of this new colony world and has been working diligently with the Lukari to realize their dream. Things escalate quickly once the player beams down, and what starts as a simple tour, evolves into a pitched battle for the survival of the colony."
While I'm a huge Star Trek fan, I admit I'm a little out of the loop when it comes to Star Trek Online's ongoing storyline, which has now run twice as long as Star Trek: The Next Generation. I've certainly no idea who the Lukari and the Kentari are, but the trailer (below) suggests the return of the Dominion from Deep Space Nine which is enough to excite me.
From the press release:
"Season 14 - Emergence features a brand new Fleet Holding in a full-scale colony on the Kentari and Lukari's new joint homeworld, which for the first time since the Fleet Starbase, features five full tiers of progression and rewards. The update will also include a Tzenkethi Red Alert, two new fleet holding defense queues, a new colony map special event, and a powerful new Primary Specialization called the “Miracle Worker.” Additional details will be revealed when Season 14 officially launches in October."
