The Admiral’s Log: My Journey Through ‘Star Trek Online’ – Part XII

Written by John Edward Betancourt

‘Victory is Life’ – Part II

​If there’s one thing that every fan of movies, television shows or gaming love more than anything else, it’s when a particular release that they’ve been waiting for, outright exceeds their expectations when it arrives, to the point where they are utterly blown away. Because when that happens, it means that the people in charge of said release, put all kinds of care into it, knowing full well it was about the user experience over anything else and recently, I found myself completely and utterly blown away in Star Trek Online, thanks to the powerhouse release of ‘Victory is Life’ a little while back.
 
Granted, I already expected this Deep Space Nine themed expansion pack to kick a lot of butt as is, but I was ill prepared for just how good it truly turned out to be and the wonder of this expansion, started the instant the Galactica arrived at DS9, because the first mission got right down to business and did everything and anything possible to ensure I geeked out in epic fashion. Case in point, the complete redesign of the iconic station so that it looks exactly as it did on television and walking these authentic halls is awe inspiring in its own right, but meeting the cast and interacting with them, well that just plain made the experience all the more incredible because holy cow, I was sitting here talking to icons from the show.
 
Which is why I’m quite thankful that the game got these introductions out of the way first thing. Because once I got over the wonder of talking to these Star Trek legends, it was time to get down to business and deal with the Hur’q, and while that did lead to more wonder, since hey, I was traversing the Gamma Quadrant, the shine finally came off of this expansion pack once the powerhouse story got underway and well, that brings me to what exactly blew me away when it comes to ‘Victory is Life’, the writing. Because hands down, this ‘season’ featured the finest writing that I’ve ever seen when it comes to STO, since every story was filled with depth and intrigue and hell, it even managed to leave me in tears with laughter.
 
That happened when I got to ‘Quark’s Lucky Seven’, since you were able to take control of this famous Ferengi, in an episode that quite frankly rivaled the wonder of ‘The Magnificent Ferengi’ from the series since it provided a laugh a minute, and one of the coolest explosion walk offs in gaming history and well, this was a welcome respite from the rest of the season, since it was heavy to say the least, and speaking of the darkness, this season also featured the first time I’ve ever felt genuine danger in Star Trek Online. Because the season finale, ‘Home’, saw my crew in a precarious spot in the climax of the story, to the point where I thought I might see some of my bridge officers lose their lives.
 
Thankfully, that never happened, but damn, what an incredible ride this turned out to be and I won’t lie. I was a touch melancholy to see this powerhouse season come to an end, and the more I think about it, the more I’m itching for a replay of this season. When all is said and done however, an interesting moment has arrived for this blog in that, we are now caught up when it comes to my journey through this phenomenal game. And while that should mean it is time to sign off and wait for something fresh to discuss, the timing of this blog worked out perfectly so that doesn’t have to happen. For Tuesday will see the launch of ‘Age of Discovery’ a Star Trek: Discovery themed expansion pack and well, for the first time ever I get to write about the latest and greatest storyline shortly after it arrives. Which means I will see all of you next week to geek out over this brand-new chapter in Star Trek Online. Until then. 

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