Well hello again my fellow starship commanders and welcome to another edition of The Admiral’s Log. It’s hailing frequencies open once again and in today’s edition of this here futuristic and nerdy blog, we’re conducting another Retro Replay, one that I was very much looking forward to. Because today's entry features a mission that back in the day, kicked my butt in every way imaginable. Because ‘The Doomsday Device’ is a story that takes you behind enemy lines, where you must disguise yourself as a Klingon Warrior in order to stop a devious plot involving the Doomsday Machine and the end of the Federation and well, there are two key things that brought me to my proverbial knees the first time I played this mission.

For starters, the ground combat is damn near impossible when you’re a young Lieutenant. Because Imaga is host to some talented Klingon warriors and they are quick to slap you around when they discover your true identity and that means, I spent a lot of time res-pawning when disruptor beams hit me from every angle and the horror of this story didn’t end there. Because you have to take on the Doomsday Machine in a Bird of Prey, and the only way to stop this galactic monstrosity is to fly towards its maw and fire off your super strong torpedoes and well… that works out about as well as it sounds. Because if a ship that weak even gets clipped by the pure antiprotons that thing fires, its curtains and re-spawn time.

Which means that I was hoping for some serious payback this second time around. For I was confident after my last Retro Replay, that my level 65 standing and Mark XV gear would protect me from all the troubles this mission sends your way and well, I was beyond wrong about that. Because the talented warriors on this world, are now level 65 as well and they are still fierce and hungry for bloodshed and well… we got our butts kicked once again, several times over. Because anytime our holographic disguises got sniffed out, we found ourselves embroiled in a fierce fire fight. The kind that saw my away team drop fast regardless of our top tier body armor. Which took me completely by surprise, mainly because I really did expect to walk in and drop the Klingons like bad habits. But a little patience and humility goes a long way, and once tactics came into play, the mission went a little smoother. On the ground at least.

Because the space combat portion of this mission, was still an outright nightmare. For the Klingon Bird of Prey just does not have the same hull and weapons capabilities as an Odyssey class starship and that led to some awkward fighting for certain, the kind that saw me once again get obliterated by the Doomsday Machine time and time again. Which once again meant, that I absolutely needed to take my time with this fight and wait for the perfect opportunity to get in front of the monster when it wasn’t blasting ships to bits and that helped me in this here mission, a plenty. Because there were no re-spawns after that realization, just wonderful tactical strikes on its maw, followed by a hasty exit where I would watch and wait for the deadly glow from its maw to pass, which eventually led to victory and some fine lessons for the future.

Specifically, that I cannot expect to walk into a situation as a default superior force. For the playing field is indeed leveled in some instances by the game, and just charging in with beams a-blazin’ means I will get back handed by my enemy. Instead, I need to rely upon what I’ve learned in this game and think before I fire, otherwise I’m basically making the same rookie mistakes all over again. Plus, to hell with the Bird of Prey, because that ship sucks worse than Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra and I am so looking forward to the fact that I will never have to fly that hunk of junk, ever again. For this was the last of the missions from the Klingon War arc that gave me fits and now we’re onto the Romulan segment of the story. In order to replay a grand battle that ripped my Cheyenne class ship to pieces back in the day, and that’s where we will pick up next time in this adventure, in a more cautious and thoughtful manner of course. Until next time, Galactica out.

The movie tie-in video game is a genre of gaming that is often lamented by so many, for simple and understandable reasons. For often times these types of games are nothing more than an outright cash grab. Which means that the quality of the game is sub-par at best and that is quite the turn off for prospective players. Because the fact of the matter is; they have a certain ideal in mind when it comes to tie-in games. Specifically, if they’re going to invest money and time in a digital version of a movie or TV series that they love, then they want said game to offer up an immersive and enriching experience from beginning to end. A feat that some gaming studios have managed to pull off throughout the years. 

But while it is nice to enjoy a game that has the look and feel of one’s favorite franchise, the ones that truly matter in this vein, are the ones that went above and beyond in their creations. For these are the games that feature a breathtaking experience, one that leaves you in awe when it comes to the depth and care that went into recreating a famous fictional world. And back in 1997 Westwood Studios pulled off that particular feat when it released, Blade Runner. A game set in Los Angeles, November 2019, where you take control of an LAPD Blade Runner known as Ray McCoy, who is of course on the hunt for a group of Replicants that have landed in the big city and are up to no good. 

Which at first glance makes it sound as though this game is no different than any other cash grab tie-in, since that plot feel like a re-hash of the 1982 movie. But that simple and familiar plot is designed to put the end user at ease when they settle in to play and it doesn’t take long for the player to realize that this game is so much more than a re-tread. For it is a deep dive into the world of a Blade Runner, and all of the detailed work that goes into replicant detection is present in this game since you’re required to use clues and the incredibly mysterious and invasive Voight-Kampff Test to uncover the replicants in your stead. And as an added bonus, you get to travel to important landmarks from the original film and interact with original cast members in your journey, and who knows… you might spot Rick Deckard along the way. 

Well hello again my fellow Starfleet commanders, it’s hailing frequencies open once again for The Admiral’s Log and I am quite excited about today’s opening chapter in a brand new, personal endeavor in Star Trek Online. Because today, we kick off a second journey through older missions that used to frustrate the tar out of me back in the day. And well, I have to admit that it took me a good long while to figure out which mission exactly, would be the perfect one to kick off these Retro Replays. Because holy cow, there are a lot of good missions in this game that found a way to make me swear in Klingon, and as it turns out; the best one to get this journey started would be the one that confuddled me the most during my absolute earliest days as a Starfleet officer.

Which means that I straight up chose the first mission I ever conducted as skipper of the original U.S.S. Galactica (NCC-1775), as my starting point for the Retro Replay and well, what makes this particular tale worth a second look are a few key things. Number one, man it just takes me back, to those magical days when I was still wearing Lieutenant’s bars and didn’t have clue what the hell I was doing, and it was my first real taste of the quality storytelling present within in this game. For this mission features an engrossing plot where your crew is responsible for getting a Vulcan ambassador to the monastery on P’Jem, only to learn that the ambassador in question is not who you think he is. A surprise that leads to all kinds of epic combat and well, it’s the combat that made this mission so difficult back in the day.

Because I was armed with entry level phasers and shields and fighting in a Miranda class vessel, and that means I got slapped around often in this mission. For I didn’t have a clue that one should be smart in regard to a phaser and disruptor fight when your shields are akin to tissue paper, and that hit and run tactics are the way to go in a Miranda class starship. So needless to say, when my crew and I first conducted this mission, it took a supremely long time because I had to re-spawn often and watched the Galactica burn in space more times than I cared to. Which made this mission quite humbling since it reinforced the fact that this game was going to be a strong challenge from the get-go, not just some kind of brainless shooter. 

But regardless of the tough lessons this particular mission taught me, there are still some grand questions hanging over this episode. In that, was it the gear that failed me, or my lack of skill? Which brings us to the replay in question. For a round two as a Level 65 Admiral answers those questions really quick, and it turns out; ‘twas the gear that failed me all along. Because the firefight on the ground was nothing my Away Team couldn’t handle. In fact, this time around the fight was quick and clean, and our personal shield generators performed admirably. And as for combat in the void, well… the Galactica-B held her own just fine. Heck, I’m not even sure her shields ever went below 50% while facing off against the Klingons or the Undine and well, it’s good to know that taking the time to invest in gear paid off in spades.

In the end however, this replay was quite the blast for certain. For it really was quite the throwback for me since it’s been a long time since I looked back at the starting days of my Starfleet career and it was neat to warp in and own my enemies with impunity this time around. And while this may not have been the challenge I was looking for; the fun factor is what matters the most for me. Because that’s the whole reason I play this game, to have a good time and now that this mission is in the books, it is onto the next one. One that just so happens to involve the horror that is the Doomsday Machine and fighting it from inside a Bird of Prey if memory serves me right and that my fellow commanders, is where we will pick up, next time. Until then, Galactica out.

Well hello again my fellow fleet members, it’s hailing frequencies open again for The Admiral’s Log and it has been a hot Tholian minute since we last geeked out about Star Trek Online. And there is good reason for that, simply because the game hasn’t had anything new going on for a little while. But that sure hasn’t stopped me from playing. Because I need my daily fix and I love accomplishing my Endeavor missions, both universal and daily and well, as I’ve mentioned before, that’s really not something that is compelling to discuss in a blog format. Because there are limits on how many times you can type ‘inflicted 50,000 points of Anti-proton damage today, holla’, but I digress. For there is a point to my incessant ramblings today in that… I found something new and exciting to do in STO.
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Because the other day, one of my daily Endeavor missions had me go and fight some Borg on the ground, and after taking the time to upgrade my crew’s shields and body armor (because that Endeavor cash and dilithium is piling up) I couldn’t help but notice how much better we performed under fire. No one went down with injury, we hung in a fire fight a whole lot longer, and that outright got me thinking. What if… I went back and replayed some of the missions and patrols and such, that used to frustrate the heck out of me when I didn’t know what I was doing in this game? Because back then, I was just a pure Star Trek fan, willing his ship to combat victory and pushing his crew to take a beating to complete the mission. But now that I’m armed with a T6 Operations Star Cruiser and a savvy team that’s armed to the teeth with state-of-the-art weapons and protection, how would those old missions go? 

So methinks the time has come to revisit some of those old missions and see what happens. Because now, the Romulan Warbirds that used to give me hell are evenly matched with the Galactica, and if we can handle ground combat in this smooth a manner, then woe to the foe who thinks he can beat me in a phaser firefight. But of course, the big question that remains in regard to this personalized task, is where exactly does one begin in re-living the toughest missions of one’s Starfleet career? And to me, the beginning is always best. Because the ‘Klingon War’ arc had some missions that kicked my butt. Two to be exact, and once I’ve replayed those, I’ll choose one from each arc that made me swear in Klingon, skipping the more recent ones because I’ve taken the time to recap those, here. 

But as some of you read this, you’re probably thinking that such a task will be a little too easy and a little too unfair. Which is a fair thing to think. After all, I am sending an Odyssey class vessel into combat situations that were once handled by a Miranda or Constitution class star ship, and a T1 or a T2 freighter is no match for a T6 ship armed with Mark XV weapons. But I do recall that the game tries to create balance with older episodes if you go back and replay them, by upping your opponents skill set and the combat situation to your skill level. Which means I should see some kind of a challenge and that will only add to the fun. Since it won’t feel as though I’m handling old missions with ‘God Mode’ on, and it should be interesting to see what kind of new challenges the game will throw my way in order to keep the fight on a level playing field. 

If anything, this is something I want to try simply because… I miss writing about the game, and I am down to do anything new within this universe, and it will be a lot of fun to crack up at those easy moments that happen because they’re unavoidable, and I’m looking forward to the surprises as well and the sense of satisfaction that some of these replays will bring. Because some of these missions straight up sucked, and robbed me of my pride on a consistent basis, and it will be nice to go back and use what I’ve learned to handle things differently and most importantly; I get to have a little fun with a game I love and geek out with all of you about it. So, with that in mind, the time has come to hop off of here so I can handle my daily endeavor duties and plan which Klingon mission goes first. But as to which one exactly, well you’ll have to tune in next week to find out. Until then… Galactica out.