MMO’s are notoriously hard to evaluate: finding the edge of the map amounts to a small victory in itself in the early stages of play. As we write, the majority of content remains unplayed by all but the very hardest nucleus of fans.

Next, consider the questionable history of licensed titles: From shoddy Die Hard roamers on the NES to Ubisoft’s recent underwhelming adaptation of James Cameron’s Avatar, and everything in between. To that end, the deck would appear to be loaded against developers Cryptic Studios, who happen to have in their hot little hands one of the most cherished cult licenses of the last fifty years. Like the game genre, the Star Trek franchise is massive. It dates back to the first Star Trek TV series in 1966 which was followed by four spin-offs, an animated TV series and eleven feature films – the most recent of which hit cinema screens last year.

Over the course of time Star Trek has also appeared and appeared again in game form, first as a board game back in 1967 and more recently as Star Trek Legacy in 2006 and Star Trek Conquest in 2008.

On the 5th of February, the Star Trek Online beta went live. It's the first MMO based upon Star Trek and certainly feels like the most ambitious Star Trek title to date. Much like the Star Trek universe, Cryptic Studios have attempted to create a game filled with an inexhaustible wealth of content.

The Star Trek Online beta we've been participating in consists of around 8GB of core files and an additional 1.5GB of patch data. The Cryptic engine drives the whole experience by delivering smooth graphics that are also scalable to allow virtually anyone to play on any relatively modern hardware; even my little netbook managed at a lower screen resolution. Sure, it may have been a little bit sticky, but playable nonetheless.

In a move that is a little more ambitious, the Cryptic engine also manages to employ a galaxy generator capable of synthesizing a limitless number of unique galaxies, complete with unique planets, technologies, and even alien races to interact with and recruit to your crew. Through this galaxy generator, Cryptic will allow players to roam virtually uninhibited through space boldly going where no Star Trek fan has gone before. Though this expanding universe may seem intimidating, fear not as it will centre on some well known regions of the Star Trek universe (well known to trekkies at least) as presented in the TV series and movies - such as the Andoria System in the Vulcan sector.

The game starts with the selection and naming of your captain and ship, which is a relatively painless exercise; simply select one of the fourteen races, a gender, and one of the three classes. Though this sounds light on detail, for the more advanced player there's a great number of other options that are also accessible in order to customise your character's look.

Once this customisation is complete, you will have an opportunity to explore the three core environments that form the basis of the game. These are accessed through the training section within the storyline.

The first environment you will explore is the starship setting. Currently only the bridge is accessible, however Cryptic has promised to expand this to include the entire ship soon. The combat system employed in this area is approached from a third person perspective, and falls under the "run and gun" category so frequently employed for want of a better designation. Combat itself is detailed and engrossing, with a plethora of combat options ranging from phaser attacks to melee to grenade attacks, notwithstanding the many combat/defence specific buffs and abilities that your character can wield (many of these are class specific of course). On top of the many attack options there also what could be construed as a crude cover system whereby attacks from the side or rear do extra “flanking” damage.

The second environment encountered is that of space, which is likewise experienced from a third-person vantage point. Initially you will start out with a light federation cruiser, but as you progress you will move up the starship ranks and will also have the option of captaining ships from the other major factions - Klingon warships, for example. Flight control defaults to the WASD keys to control pitch and yaw with Q and E being throttle up and down. The light cruiser can be a little frustrating as it doesn’t seem to “fly” so much as "lumber" from place to place, and with space being rather aptly named, getting from point to point can take a little while. Though from what I can gather from other sources and from watching some of the more advanced players with more advanced ships, speed is not an issue once you start moving up the ranks. It is also worth mentioning that long distance flight is handled by the warp drive and operates much like a waypoint gate; dial in your destination, press play, and let the warp drive do the rest.

More so than the on-ship combat mode, position is vital when participating in space combat. Every weapon has a maximum range (generally ten kilometres) and a firing arc, whilst ships have directional shielding to protect themselves. These features make space combat a much more tactical affair. Options abound - do you organise your weapons to face one direction and hope to keep the enemy in your sights while you strike them, or should you spread them around the ship and deal less damage but remain combat effective from multiple directions?

Adding to the tactical depth is the ship-specific abilities of your character and your crew (good recruiting is everything). These abilities and buffs generally either allow you to deal more damage, absorb more damage, or better manage your ship's resources. Speaking of resource management, the directional shielding system allows players to direct more power to specific shields, effectively increasing the defence of that area whilst sacrificing the protection of others. This complex combat system is pulled off seamlessly, and after a long battle it's rewarding to know your success is due to your resource management skills rather than just how furiously you can click the mouse.

The final environment is that of the planet surface. The planets are varied and you will encounter different alien races and technologies which you can either recruit or utilise on your ship. This setting feels more like a typical role-playing game with tasks being assigned by NPC’s scattered over the planet's surface. This is where the mini map on the HUD is essential, as compared with the linearity of the on-ship setting the planet environment is vast and allows the player free access to roam as they will, making navigation more difficult.

Planet combat is similar to that experienced on-ship, again third-person, but the twist is that you are able to take three crew members with you. Consequently, successful combat on a planet will depend not just on your personal characters statistics and abilities, but also how these abilities complement the unique attributes of your team members. The AI controlling your other squad members can be customized to produce the desired behaviour (aggressive, passive, hunter, defender) and is clever enough to use the special abilities of the squad at the right time. Generally speaking, the planet setting provides a logical mix of the on-ship and space combat modes.

Star Trek Online is a massive game, not just in raw data but also detail and expandability. It has its fair share of problems - persistent connectivity issues, for one, which from time to time were resolved but eventually arose again. This could be attributed to teething problems, and no doubt Cryptic will have is sorted in the near future, as the product is just too good to let server issues get in the way. The Klingon faction is in dire need of attention, and most of the content delivery is fractious at best, bordering on repetitive at worst. It's important to stress that this is an MMO, and as such it is very much a work in progress, so in lieu of attaching a score to this one we're going to let it marinade for a while longer before seeing just how Cryptic plan to expand their IP.

If you don’t think you have the patience to work through the usual round of launch issues all MMO's suffer from, then keep an eye on the official forum and get involved once things have matured a little.