Star Control 3

Rating:
Summary: Doesn't live up to the name Star Control
Review: As a stand-alone game, this game is only average. The concept is good, but in actuality Star Control 3 lacks more than it can boast. The new hyper melee is alright, but the main game leaves a lot to be desired. The colony control could be better, the interface with the aliens could be improved, and the graphics and gameplay were terrible. If you've ever played Star Control 2 you'll be very disappointed. You can only hope that if they make a sequal to this, they get the writers to part 2.

Rating:
Summary: An oldie but a goodie
Review: Most reviews I have read about this game say it doesn't fulfill the Star Control series as well as the other two. I have only played this one and the second one, but I feel they are equal in quality, more or less. The main thing I like anout Star Control 3 is the gripping story that seems to change with everything you do. That is a rarity. The graphics are not great by today's standards, but they're still sufficient, especially the moving video of the aliens when you are talking with another species. Overall, this is a good bargain game which continues to be a good buy even with all the new games on the market today.

Rating:
Summary: A terrible poorly-guided game
Review: Star control 3, the third in a series of Star Control games, I did not enjoy at all. First thing out of the box- I discover that the documentation is extremely poor, with few descriptions of game controls, let alone the functions of each element.

Navagation around the stars is designed to be as diffucult as possible, with a swirling galaxy of identical tiny white dots representing planetary systems. Even if you freeze the starmap's rotation, unless you actually establish a colony on a world, it appears the same as the other zillion white dots. You end up using up valuable fuel going to places you've already been.

The combat system is odd, with one-on-one ship duels. The skewed view makes it hard to conrol your ship, and there are countless little weapons to get the hang of, all of which look similar when the viewer is zoomed out so far. The method of taking damage and damage to the crew is also diffucult to understand. All of this would be better if Star Control 3 came with a good maunal- but as I said, you are left to muddle through it, as the manual has little good information in it.

The whole point of the game is vague- to escape from the galaxy? To defeat the evil alliance? When you meet aliens, the interface looks nice, but is very, very restrictive in what it allows you to say and do. You can't even attack an enemy ship when you want to. None of these controls, or lack thereof, are documented.

Your colonies slowly build things, but the progress is hard to follow and is less logical than the progress of civilization II style games. The devices have less clear effects, and the graphics are poor. Even building a colony is strange and diffucult, as you must move your cursor around to pick an arbitrary point on a colorful planet surface, which determines the productivity and fate of your colony with one click, despite any future actions you may take.

If you want an exploration game, a colonization game, or a diplomatic interactions game, I strongly recommend Master of Orion II. It has none of the flaws of Star Control 3 and provides a fun gaming experience with strong multiplayer support (which SC3 lacks) and great replayability.

Rating:
Summary: a fun, interactive space stategy game
Review: This is one of the few cd-rom games i've found that really sticks in your mind afterwards. When you finish, it is like having been part of a graphic novel. The characters are awesome, and as the plot unfolds you are drawn into the story. Combat sequences are fun and challenging. The only weak point is the colony-building interface. For the bucks though, you can't buy a better game.