I think the article's author (and the industry as a whole) has overlooked motivating factors for playing a game.

Generally speaking, "grind" or menial content should hve an easily quantifiable reward (i.e. bigger loot). If you're being asked to do some meaningless "kill x" quest, it's a safe bet to have "y" as a reward. This is what the author misses: a lot of that gear is there because of the content  being a grind (not the other way around as she supposes).

If the content involves more complex problem solving, loot really doesn't quantify the experience. Does solving a complex puzzle (like the moon phasses in Ultima) really necessitate a +1 axe? No. This is where the industry has failed to adapt properly. Any rewards for this should feel unqiue or "one of a kind" as opposed to continuing the trend of "oh, it's like your current thing but does +1 whatsitcalled vs. themguys"

Just as punishments should fit crimes, rewards should fit actions in-game.

So the reviewer only played 57 mintutes of the demo which doesn't allow you to PvP, Craft, enter Fleet actions, or run STFs?

Yet the reviewer chose to have an opinion on content he could not possibly test on a demo account?

Great journalism!

Fair assessment: the art is solid (and improved), the space combat is fun and nuanced (lots of customization in your build), etc.

The big detractors: the ground combat is stupid easy (especially once you realize how to insta-gib everything), Klingons don't have much PvE content outside of exploration, DSE, fleet actions (Group Instances), STFs (5-man raids), Borg Sector missions, and 8 unique KDF missions.

The game has really improved since launch - and most of the additions have been added in-game (not the C-Store):

• Weekly Missions (yes, there are now new missions each week)
• Klingon PvE (unique episodes, PvE-centered endgame, exploration, etc.)
• PvP Queue Redesign (looked like shite before)

• Redesigned sector space (larger, less cartoony)
• Redesigned ground combat (weakest point in the game)
• User-Generated Content (should be able to avoid the pitfalls of Paragon Studios' UGC in CoV/CoH)
• More Klingon ship
• Continued weekly missions (which are a misnomer - you actually get a suite of missions in each new sector, in addition to the main weekly missions).
• Varied gear / more crafting

• A ship can be unlocked as part of normal level progression
• A ship can be acquired through earning X emblems from PvP, STFs, Fleet Actions, etc.
• As a last resort, a ship can be acquired via a paid c-store unlock (aka the one lazy bastards choose)