Both times I’ve played the game I found myself taking lots of notes (even though there is a wiki online). It’s for you to discover which planets have useful resources, what upgrades you should buy first, and where you should go to progress your quest. After a short tutorial in Earth’s solar system, you’re sent out to gather resources without knowing much about what’s out there in the galaxy.
The game gives you a lot of freedom to tackle things your way. The decisions you make are consistently meaningful, with fuel, resources and your ship’s crew at stake. The story manages to be by turns scary, silly or confusing it’s hard to pin down a genre for Star Control II, which is something I like. Every character you meet is interesting and has their own agenda. Perhaps the biggest difference is that Star Control II has a lot more personality. You gather resources, meet various aliens, and quest to save the Galaxy. You have a space ship and you can fly freely around the galaxy (so long as you don’t run out of fuel). On paper, Star Control II sounds a lot like Solar Winds, a game that turned out to be boring. It was originally released in 1992, and although I was already gaming in that year, I didn’t play it until many years later when it was released for free as the awkwardly titled The Ur-Quan Masters.
This week I’d like to share my experience with one of the best games I’ve ever played, and a big inspiration for Super Space Galaxy.
