Your away team will consist of you and four others. You'll want to pick the team based on what the mission requires. Choose all combat specialists, or diversify with a science officer and a medical officer, it's up to you. You won't be limited to having only one member be the healer -- that's the nice thing about technology.

Just like piloting your ship, managing the away team can be as hands-on as you want. You can barrel through just controlling your main character, or micromanage each member by jumping to them to take control. You can group with other players this way as well -- you could even have a team of all captains if you prefer.

There will be a lot of different weapons and special abilities -- you could choose, for instance, to throw a stasis field onto an enemy, freezing him in place while you fire upon someone else. Or you could opt for firing a stronger weapon that recharges more slowly, or lob grenades at a more distant group to scatter them.

Not every mission will be a combat quest; there will also be purely diplomatic missions as well as exploration and science-based forays. That's where choosing your team carefully will matter the most.

To step back out a bit, Cryptic has taken it upon themselves to offer some nice customization options for both your character and your vessel. First, character creation allows you to not just choose a canonical race -- humans, vulcans, etc. for the Federation, and Klingons, Gorn, etc. for the Empire -- but you'll be able to create a completely new alien race with its own particular strengths, and even send your new race to your friends so they can use them in their campaigns.

Your ship can also be customized with the use of logos, different registration numbers, colors, and shape, though of course your initial variety of ships will determine exactly how far you can customize that aspect of it. You'll also be able to salvage parts from destroyed combatants for use in your ship.

You can jump from system to system via the overarching Sector Space map, which shows a gridded overlay with navigational avenues, delineating the well-trafficked lanes in use between planets. The social hub of the game is in Earth's Space Dock, where you'll be able to meet with other players, choose your crew, outfit and upgrade your vessel, and other functions.

We were told that it's possible to play through the game entirely in PvP should we choose, which will be a welcome change for those who feel the PvE elements of an MMO are too boring to simply grind. The Neutral Zone will be the proving ground for ad hoc encounters.

And if you've tired of questing, there's always the procedurally-generated missions available via the Genesis System, which will give you something to chew on unrelated to the main story progression.

Star Trek Online just looks and sounds really sharp. The designers and artists have done a great job of integrating all aspects of the franchise, from the original show to the more modern sensibilities. Sharp-eyed players will find a lot of homages in the aesthetics present, and costume variations from all generations will be available. Cryptic Studios has crafted a well-thought out universe that should give us many years of creative content. February 2010 isn't that far away ... sign up for the closed beta today!