[3], Computer Gaming World stated that Star Control II was as much a sequel to Starflight as to Star Control. Keyboard Controls For many modern gamers the mere concept of a PC game that doesn't use a mouse in any way can be quite a shock. Hardcore Gaming selected the game for their 2007 list of favorite classics, with "a combination of sandbox space travel and arcade-style combat, a plotline equal to any space opera you can name, hundreds of pages' worth of interactive dialog and dozens of memorable, unique races, it's easy to see why most reviews of Star Control II quickly turn into love letters. [69] Moreover, GameSpot twice acclaimed the Ur-Quan among their top ten game villains, mentioning them at the top of one 1999 list as "one of the very best villains. [5] Ford explains that the original Star Control had "some story there, but it was mostly in the manual. The winner of this war will gain access to the Sa-Matra, a Precursor battle platform of unparalleled power. [22] This led to an industry legend that the duo absconded to Alaska to finish the game without Accolade's interference. [10] More rarely, a planet will feature an interactive alien race, who the player can engage with as a potential friend or foe. They also praised the impressive graphics and the voice acting's use of unique vocal inflections for each alien race, and concluded that the game is "an addicting epic sci-fi adventure that will have patient space explorers and zero-gravity tacticians glued to their screens for a million hours. [14] The algorithmically-assisted generation of the star map helped to create a vast, mysterious setting for players to explore. By sinnick. "[93] Vice President of Insomniac Games Brian Hastings ranked Star Control II as one of his top games, and one of "the most original and perfectly executed games ever". [40], Reviewing the 3DO version, GamePro remarked that the user-friendly interface makes the complicated gameplay easy to handle. VAT included in all prices where applicable. The pack includes Star Control 1 and Star Control 2. [5] In the last phase of the war between the Alliance of Free Stars and the Hierarchy of Battle Thralls, an Earthling ship discovered an ancient Precursor subterranean installation in the Vela star system. [14] Long-time friend Erol Otus was another collaborator, who Reiche describes as contributing the widest range of content, including music, text, art, illustrations for the game manual, and (later) voice-acting. All stars. [39] PC Games noted the game's "rich history", describing the game as "part arcade, part role-play, Star Control II is all science fiction, with an emphasis on fiction. [85][86] Founder of BioWare Ray Muzyka also cites Star Control as an inspiration, stating that "the uncharted worlds in Mass Effect comes from imagining what a freely explorable universe would be like inside a very realistic next-gen game. "[91] Henrik Fahraeus of Paradox Interactive credits Star Control II as a major influence on strategy game Stellaris,[92] after expressing disappointment that the Mass Effect series lacked the exploration and openness of Star Control II. Star Control is a trademark of Stardock Entertainment. They gave it an 8.25 out of 10. [42], Star Control II quickly began to appear on "all-time favorite" lists, a practice that continued for many years. Listen free to Star Control – Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters. Popular user-defined tags for this product: 6 Curators have reviewed this product. It is the second and final game in the series created by Fred Ford and Paul Reiche III. [94] Alexx Kay of Irrational Games hailed Star Control II as the best game "by a mile", noting that it was "one of the first story-based games where your actions had clear consequences". [63] Den of Geek also ranked it at #37 among their list of classic DOS games. [57] PC Gamer listed Star Control II the 52nd greatest PC game in their 2011 rankings. [98][99] This announcement comes after years of fan requests for a sequel. See All Buying Options. Even now, we are hard-pressed to find a race of adversaries as complex and three-dimensional as the Ur-Quan. [5] The only ship unique to the story mode is the player's capital ship, which is upgraded as the player gains new technology and resources. When the original creators released the source code of the 3DO version as open-source under the GPL in 2002, an open-source project was created aiming to create an embellished remake called The Ur-Quan Masters. This page provides links to the original tracks and their remixes. Explore a vast universe with pulse-pounding action, side-splitting humor, and hair-raising plot twists in these 2 classic space adventure games. [54] In the same year, IGN named Star Control II as their 53rd greatest game of all time,[55] and ranked it again at 17th greatest in 2005. Español - Latinoamérica (Spanish - Latin America), Star Control: Origins - Earth Rising Expansion, Star Control: Origins - Original Soundtrack. Star Control II Summary : STAR CONTROL 2 combines both adventure and arcade action, taking you through a huge galaxy with dozens of stars and hundreds of … Star Control II is a critically acclaimed science fiction video game, the second game in the Star Control trilogy. By 1992, computer games had almost universally moved to the mouse-driven point-and-click model. For the village in India, see, Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, "Video: How Star Control II was almost a much more boring game", "The Game That "Won" Our Classic PC Games List (If It Had A Winner)", "Patrick Hope: Into the vault with little-known Ur-Quan Masters", "5 Sequels That Are Very Different From The Original Games", "Greatest Games of All Time - Star Control II (Interview Feature)", "War Stories: How Star Control II Was Almost TOO Realistic (Video)", "How Star Control II was almost a much more boring game (Article)", "Game Design Essentials: 20 Mysterious Games", "Star Control 2 Was Designed And Built Entirely On Hand-Drawn Flowcharts", "Video: The people who helped make Star Control 2 did a ton of other stuff", "The 100 best video game soundtracks of all time", "Never Trust A Gazfluvian Flingschnogger! Star Control II (aka The Ur-Quan Masters) is a video game published in 1992 on DOS by Accolade, Inc.. You can download the full version of Star Control IIfrom the download store listed below. Designed and programmed by Fred Ford and Paul Reiche III, the sci-fi masterpiece is considered one of the best games ever created for PC. [16] Ford also cites their shared love author Jack Vance from their childhood, and were intrigued by the idea of exaggerated societies taken to their extremes, and intelligent characters committed to an interesting agenda. SPECIAL PROMOTION! "[87] Indeed, journalists have noted heavy similarities in the story, characters, and overall experience of Mass Effect,[88][89][90] even calling Star Control II a spiritual predecessor. A sequel, Star Control 3, was released in 1996. [96], The Ur-Quan Masters is a modified open-source release of Star Control 2, based on a freely available version of the original 3DO code. [34] Dragon gave the game a full five-star review, telling their readers that "if you are a science-fiction gamer who enjoys a superb game environment, a high dollar-to-play ratio, and numerous challenges, SC2 is a definite must-have for your software library". The editors wrote, "If ever a game deserved an award for being underrated, it's Star Control II. (Even in 2018 it was voted as the top PC game ever in a large online poll.) [18] The planets were created with a procedurally generated height map, which required difficult programming solutions to simulate the appearance of a 3D sphere. "[38], The year of its release, the Game Developers Conference honored Star Control II as an exceptional game among their "Class of '93", calling it a "perfect blend of action and adventure", as well as "sound that is exceptional enough to make gamers think they've upgraded their sound boards". [13] Fred Ford inspired the character design for the Earth starbase commander, as well as the Pkunk's insult ability, while the Spathi were inspired by a running joke about Paul Reiche's desire for self-preservation. [23] They were also able to hire fantasy artist George Barr through mutual friends,[24][25] who had inspired the game's "pulp science-fiction" feel, and happened to be living nearby. [18] This led them to create numerous stars and planets, through a combination of procedural generation and handcrafted assets. [14], Reiche and Ford drew inspiration from many science-fiction authors, as well as peers in the game industry. file size 760 MB. Star Control II is a science fiction video game, the second game in the Star Control franchise. "[78] The magazine would revisit this in a 2014 retrospective, calling it a "must play for space loving gamers", offering "a massive experience filled with exploration, action and some of the funniest aliens you'll run into any video game". It's the full Ur-Quan Masters game but also featuring a high resolution mode, new features, & new artwork. It's a role-playing (rpg) game, set in an arcade, real-time, sci-fi / futuristic and space flight themes. The reviewer praised the VGA graphics and wrote that the game "has some of the best dialogue ever encountered in this genre". In 1996, Computer Gaming World ranked Star Control II among their top 15 most rewarding game endings, proclaiming that the game "entertains right down to the end, with the some of the funniest credits since Monty Python's Holy Grail". [7] The game vastly expands on the characters and backstory from the first game, with each species having their own characteristic conversational quirks, music, and even display fonts. "[36] The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly likewise praised the accessible interface and impressive graphics, but complained that the alien voices are sometimes difficult to understand. It marked a shift from the tactical space-sim of Star Control 1 to a space exploration sim in the vein of Starflight. [7] The player navigates their star map, with over 500 stars and 3800 planets to potentially visit. Search. [5], Whereas the first Star Control stores most of its lore in the instruction manual, Star Control II continues the story with a rich in-game experience, playing through events after the Alliance is defeated by the Hierarchy. In 2000, GameSpy inducted Star Control II into their Hall of Fame,[52] and ranked it the 26th best game of all time just one year later. Soon after, Star Control II began to appear on many "all time best" lists for players and industry figures,[32] a reputation that has continued ever since. It was a milestone for non-linear gaming and an undeniable influence on modern space travel games such as Homeworld; many consider it one of the best computer games of all time. [18] Thus, the story for Star Control II would greatly expand on those original characters, and add a few more. [67], Star Control II is also recognized for its excellence in several creative areas, including writing, design, and music. [13] Further music came from existing team member Erol Otus, who first composed the Ur-Quan theme on a synthesizer before it was re-sampled and exported to the MOD file format. "[70][71], The world design of Star Control II is also celebrated, with Paste magazine giving it top ranking on their list of "games that capture the infinite potential of space". [28] The contest attracted people from around the world, due to the popularity of the MOD format in the largely European demoscene. All trademarks are property of their respective owners in the US and other countries. They cited the CD-quality audio and the Melee mode as other strong points, and one of them commented that it "blows [the PC version] out of the water."