This week, ZAM continues our beta preview coverage of Star Trek Online, taking a closer look at "Away Mission" gameplay and combat mechanics.

The third-person gameplay in STO's avatar mode is similar to traditional MMOs; default movement falls back to the familiar [WASD] key setup, in combination with mouse-look and mouse-directed movement. The tutorial teaches you how to perform most of the mechanics specific to STO, like your ability to sprint, perform a jumping roll and enter "aiming mode" (which offers increased combat modifiers when using ranged weapons).

Your character begins with meager gear and abilities; a standard-issue phaser pistol, a melee attack and a character-specific ability, depending on what you chose during the creation process. Initially, character combat seems boringly simple; push the [1] key to fire your phaser on its "stun" setting (which literally stuns the enemy), or hit [2] to fire on the "lethal" setting (which wears down an enemy's personal shield and HP). Later on, you'll find more weapons with different abilities, like disruptor pistols that feature an AoE attack, or a phaser rifle with a sniper setting that causes major damage (at the cost of a longer cooldown).

You can also perform a melee attack, such as striking your opponent with your rifle butt, by pushing [3]. Melee attacks are obviously better-suited for close-combat fighting, but you can still use ranged weapons even when your opponent is in-your-face. In addition to those three basic attacks, characters also have "kits" that offer increased customization. Kits are pieces of gear that can be equipped to gain various abilities, depending on your class (Tactical, Engineering or Science). Some kits offer a direct-attack ability, like an AoE leg sweep, while others are used to buff teammates or debuff enemies, provide stealth and many other abilities.

Finally, some characters have innate abilities, depending on their class and race. One of our favorites was the "Mind Meld" ability of our Vulcan character, which allows you briefly confuse an enemy into attacking his buddies instead of you. As expected, all of these attacks and abilities can be controlled via customizable key binds or by clicking the corresponding UI action bar button.

The underlying combat engine utilizes a variety of mechanics in addition to attack and defense mitigation. One of the most important is the "Expose" mechanic, which renders your opponent more-vulnerable to attacks. The Expose debuff is triggered many different ways, depending on your gear and abilities (specific weapon attacks have a chance to Expose, for example, as do certain melee attacks and other abilities). Thus, your attack rotations and gear itemization plays a crucial role in your ability to dominate an opponent.

Our favorite aspect of STO's avatar mode is the team-based, tactical combat in away missions. As we explained in our preview of ship combat last week, you'll gradually obtain NPC teammates called "Bridge Officers" (via mission rewards or by hiring them). Just like your character, Bridge Officers belong to one of three classes; Tactical, Engineering and Science. In addition to providing special abilities for ship combat, each Bridge Officer offers unique "away mission" abilities as well. Until you obtain enough Bridge Officers to fill an away party, generic security personnel (a.k.a. "Redshirts") will fill in the remaining spots.

The tactical nature of away-mission combat is what truly defines STO's avatar mode. It's a simplified version of the classic single-player, team-based RPG mechanic, most recently identifiable in BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins (ironically, ZAM featured an editorial in November about the viability of adapting this multi-unit gameplay into MMOs). STO's away mission combat isn't as complex or flexible as a game like Dragon Age, but for an MMO, it's damn impressive (especially considering that it was implemented in this title, of all MMOs).

Players can adjust the disposition of the members in their away teams, instructing them to attack enemies on-sight, or not attack until fired on. You can also order a team member to stay in a "passive" mode, in which he or she won't attack at all; a Science Officer will stay back and heal your and your teammates, for example. Bridge Officers will automatically use their offensive and defensive abilities during combat, or you can control those abilities yourself, on-demand. You can even set up a rally point for your team members to fall back to, or give them specific orders to coordinate a special attack.

The Bridge Officers' AI seems to need a little tweaking under certain conditions, but we can't speak with much authority about gameplay issues until after STO is out of the beta testing phase. We liked the ability to "pause" the combat in away missions; it's a feature found in many multi-unit RPG games that gives you a chance to put the action on hold while you figure out tactics and decide which orders to issue to your teammates.

Like STO's ship combat, the tactical away mission combat has a steeper learning curve than most MMOs, and we're not sure how well-received it will be. Now that we've experienced both "sides" of STO's gameplay, we're happy to find that the innovative nature of the franchise wasn't lost in the extension of its long-awaited MMO. But will gamers who aren't fans of the IP embrace it? In an industry where the term "WoW-clone" is tossed around every day, we'd like to think so.

STO is scheduled for release on Feb. 2 with a variety of pre-order bonuses, and Cryptic will be hosting a head-start event for early-adopters. Until then, keep checking back with ZAM for more preview coverage from the closed beta, and visit our STO portal site for news and information.