Star Control

Star Control is an action/strategy game developed by Toys for Bob and published by Accolade in 1990 for Amiga and MS-DOS.

It is the first installment of the Star Control series that got a few sequels (see Star Control II and The Ur-Quan Masters) due to its immense popularity among players. Star Control is inspired by age-old classics such as Archon: The Light and the Dark and Spacewar and has some aspects of them embedded in its gameplay.

The game takes on the common theme of good vs. bad coming into play in a futuristic world where the universe's fate rests in your hands. Most of the story is based on classic science fiction tales, mainly along the lines of Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica. The two sides of the coin are namely the Alliance of Free Stars and the Ur-Quan Hierarchy. These two races have their own traits and spaceships that are unique to them. The ships, which are probably the main highlight of the game as everything revolves around them, have their own unique characteristics such as speed, weaponry, and shields. In my opinion, this is what separated the game from the countless other arcade space games that I have played; the unique ships and the strategy that comes with them brought along a surprising amount of depth that was not usually seen before this game.

Star Control has two game modes, called Tactical view and Melee Combat. The game in Tactical mode takes place on a 3D map, and the player can fight using the different ships available for one's side. The player cannot maneuver ships through all the worlds present on the map since travel can only be done through specific pathways. There are three different types of planets: the Life worlds (colonized worlds that allow ships to be re-manned), Mineral worlds that produce currency to buy new vessels, and Dead worlds, which can be rebuilt to act as a form of defense. There are different scenarios with different win conditions to be fulfilled to gain victory! The Melee mode involves pitting two ships controlled by two different personnel in a space arena. This mode is very useful in getting used to the different kinds of vehicles and which ones hold an advantage over the other. The arena is not unlimited in space and has a gravitational pull embedded in it, which can be used strategically.

The game supports two players, and I can say that it is way more fun having a buddy to share it with, especially if you are better than him; nothing like the good old game of universal dominance! The computer AI is good enough, and its skill can be selected for preference by the player.

I found really cool the game's ability to edit and create missions, which added loads of replayability to this already fantastic game.

Although the game has pretty basic graphics, the sprites were exceptionally well designed. I really liked the custom sounds present in each ship, along with the sweet victory tunes that flow along when you crush an enemy.

The game is like a constant game of space-based tug of war. If you can find someone to play along with you in this classic, it will be tons of fun! I will definitely recommend this to someone who likes the whole genre of Spacewar games. This is a gem, with loads of strategy plus creative gameplay built into it that will provide you with hours of fun.