Tom is the only one who's reviewed it so far https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FIuHpyBASs he feels it's superior because he thinks "the theme works better" though from the sound of it I believe that really just means he personally enjoys the theme more. They stripped out or slimmed down some of the mechanics of Mage Knight which may make it slightly more accessible to a wider player base, but also could cut down on the variety. They might add a lot of that back in with a future expansion(s) though.
Tom likes it but I see a lot of people are unhappy with the screenshots used for card artwork (many of which are apparently recycled from the earlier "Attack Wing" game) but as I saw pointed out, nobody complained about screenshots for artwork in the BSG board game. It just feels like illogical snobbery because everyone likes to hate on WizKids. True the tiles are sparse but it's outer space, there's not a lot you could do there and retain functionality.
It's justifiable hate on Wiz Kids for some instances. It ruined at least one of the Mage Knight expansions (Shades of Tezla) from what I understand due to QC issues that were not corrected (tokens and cards ended up being a different shape/tint which made it obvious which cards and tokens were coming up in the pile...)
But after looking over the Star Trek : Frontiers a bit with my wife, we both agree that until STF comes out with expansions, it will be inferior for a few reasons.
1) It is taking a step backward in terms of character diversity. STF has only 1 unique card per player, as opposed to 2 unique cards per player in MK : LL .
2) No day/night cycle means less variety in terms of tactics to chose from.
3) Lush landscapes vs looking at all black : We agree that the ST theme works really well for this game, but staring at the vast emptiness of space doesn't seem quite as appealing...
4) I was kinda hoping for some unique hand art as well, as it is really good in MK. I can see why some people are miffed about this. It's not a deal breaker at all, but it would be nice. MK is very aesthetically pleasing.
5) Some of the more advanced scenarios are missing from STF. Tom said that the Borg are too easy. This makes sense, as the Borg cubes are the MK equivalent of cities, which are not terribly difficult to defeat. If they had made the Borg the equivalent of General Volkaire from the MK expansion, that would indeed be a very appropriate threat. Heck, in all honestly with all the advances that they made in MK: LL , there really is no reason why the improvements could not have been incorporated into STF in some sense. As it is, I am not too sure that STF will even sell well enough to get expansions. I would hope so, as that would give me some justification to get the game. As it is now , though, my wife and I think it's best to hold out and see if STF can at least manage to equal MK and its first expansion at some point in time. I'd love to take the Defiant out for a spin, butt heads with the Dominion and such.