OG Trek all up in this quadrant

Most Star Trek fans will know that this year marks the 50th Anniversary of the venerable sci-fi series. Fans of Star Trek Online - all one of me - will also know that developer Cryptic have been playing it close to the vest with regards to their plans to celebrate the occasion. Until now, that is, as they've unveiled the latest expansion to the game, Star Trek Online: Agents of Yesterday. As might be implied by the title, and a teaser trailer that almost shot-for-shot copies the 1966 TV intro, Agents of Yesterday will leverage the time travel-centric storyline propelling the game's current events to give players an opportunity to create new characters native to the 23rd century and undertake "an adventure featuring classic storylines, locations, celebrities, and era-appropriate starships". Also, the classic lizard-man Gorn from "Arena" will be making an appearance.

The story will be set in the year 2270, the year after the third season of the original series, and feature guest voice acting from Walter Koenig (who played Chekov) and Chris Doohan (son of the late James Doohan, who played Scotty). No word was given on whether other surviving Star Trek alumni such as William Shatner, George Takei, and Nichelle Nichols would be making an appearance in the expansion. The late Leonard Nimoy reprised his role as Spock when Star Trek Online debuted in early 2010.

Players with existing characters won't be left out in the cold, either, as the current factions will be able to play through a new storyline, earn high-end gear and perks from a new reputation line, and expand their abilities with a new "Temporal Officer" player and bridge officer specialization. All the core content of the expansion will be free to all users once it debuts later this year, but Cryptic are happy to sell monied MMO connoisseurs a raftload of premium starships, including a number of models that will allow who purchase them to use some "TOS-style" ships at the highest levels of play.

I've never been that big on the original series, but I do appreciate the classic Matt Jeffries-inspired design of the ships teased so far. At this point, they're probably the best extant representations of "old-school" Trek aesthetic since the recent movie reboots opted for a newer, more flowing style.

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