Star Control 1
Simple and undemanding sci-fi action
Sci-fans looking for a bit of space-based strategy will find some entertainment in this strategy wargame, but its age is really showing and while it has a few interesting ideas, it is heavily marred by poor implementation. Players are thrown in a familiar universe where two main factions are duking it out in space for galactic domination, the Alliance and the Hierarchy, each of which has vast space fleets of varying capabilities. There isn't much in the way of story beyond this however, with no campaign mode but rather a series of Space War-style missions where the simple aim is to blast your opponents from the skies, making use of each ship's unique weapons and abilities. This is where the game really scores, and the ship's do feel genuinely different with distinct handling as well as their weapons and which does add some replay to the game as you try out different craft. The real-time action plays out at a high-pace and in two-player mode some truly exciting and tense battles can occur regularly, with plenty of opportunities for strategy alongside the blasting. The AI enemies however are sadly less than impressive opponents and don't put up much of a challenge, making the single-player mode a less attractive proposition. Visually, Star Control is looking distinctly dated now and while the ships do boast some attractive designs, sprites are lacking in detail while backdrops are restricted to simple star fields and which are largely unappealing. If you're after a simple and straightforward slice of sci-fi action, this fits the bill, especially if you can find another player, but it won't be long before its lack of variety becomes wearing and you turn elsewhere for your thrills.
The original space shooter and strategy game
Star Control 1 takes a different route to Elite but it still shares a similar theme with it: space battles and exploration. However, just like Elite, this isn't a game about storytelling, it's a very action game, packing a campaign mode as well as a skirmish mode. You wouldn't think it so, but the game is also a pretty funny fellow at times. During certain loading screens you'll be treated to oddities such as Professor's Zorg's Guide to Alien Etiquette and other such nonsensical but well received bits. The action is top down and you can choose the distance from which you see it all, very far away, closer and very close. These dog fights are pretty interesting and very challenging. At times bits of space debris can rush your way and that can increase the difficulty of keeping your game playable. Anyway, in terms of campaign challenges and missions you won't be disappointed either, as the game has enough variety in this respect as well, packing all sot of activities for you. The later games in the series will take the recipe of this first game and turn it more towards 4X type gameplay, but, for now, this first attempt is a pretty straightforward, enjoyable arcade space shooter. Try it out!
A real classic sci-fi game that entertained me
I love classic games and Star control 1 in one of such classic games in my short list of favorite games. Star control 1 was released in 1993 and it was developed by Toys for Bob and Published by Atari. This game comes with a clean story. It's a sci-fi action game where you have to play to save the mankind. They are about to extinct from the galactic map where the evil alien races are trying to wipe off the mankind. The evil alien leader Ur-Quan Hierachy is ruling the 27th century cruelly attacking the neighbors. After destroying other planets their target is now human being. They are about to destroy the humanity. You will ave to fight for the humanity and your objective is to stop the aliens. In this journey you will have the entire Alliance of Free Stars battlefleet under your command to fight against the aliens. It is a true classic game. The second part – Star Control 2 was released later. If you are a classic arcade type game lover then you will like this game. It's a very good game to buy from my point of view.
