"When I beat this game, I felt a little bit like I had lost a friend."

INTRODUCTION
This is an old computer/3DO game, and not many people know about it. The only reason I'm writing a review for it is that it's one of my favorite games! I've had the 3DO version for about 6 years, and I still like to play it!

STORY: 10/10
An alien race called the Ur-Quan enslaves the Earth while a captain's team is away on a scientific mission. On the planet Unzervalt, the scientists find a hidden factory that was once used by the now-extinct race called the Precursors. They stay there and study the factory for many years, and have no idea what has happened to the Earth. Finally, a scientist finds out how to operate the factory, but it turns out that he had help from a man he found on the planet. YOU are that man. The factory starts to build a ship, but stops early because it runs out of resources to build with. At last, the captain decides to return to Earth with the ship. The young man pilots the Precursor ship, while the captain pilots her own. On the way back to Earth, however, the captain's ship is destroyed by a small alien vessel. You escape from it, and make it back to Earth on your own. When you get there, a robotic scout sees you and plays a recording to you--The Ur-Quan are coming. You talk with a captain at the ''Starbase'' near Earth, and after doing a couple of tasks, he decides to help you fight a war against the Ur-Quan.

The story in this game is GREAT! Throughout the game you will learn much more about the Ur-Quan and their motives, plus other side-stories like the Evil Ones, the Ariloulaleelay, and the war between the Ur-Quan and the Kohr-Ah. The story is awesome, and fun to move through. Incredible!

GAMEPLAY: 10/10
Everything here is great too. In the beginning it's kind of boring, but once you upgrade your ship there's so much to do! There are hundreds of constellations to visit, each with its own planets. There is a Starbase by Earth, where you can buy upgrades and fuel for your ship. There are many things to choose, such as better guns, better turning and speed, more room for crew members, bigger fuel tanks, bigger batteries, and lots more. To get the money for upgrades, you have to either blow up enemy ships and take the resources from them, or mine planets. When you enter the orbit of any non-gas planet, you can send a lander to collect minerals on the surface. You have to be careful, though, or your lander could be destroyed. There are things on the planets like fires, tornadoes, and monsters, and they can damage your landers. When you think you have enough minerals, you can bring them back to Starbase and transfer them into ''Resource Units.'' These are what buy upgrades. One of the funnest parts of the game is that you can build small ships to travel with you and fight for you. Each one has different abilities. At first, you can only build Earth-designed ships, but if you make friends with some races, they will give you the designs for their ships. Many upgrades for your ship must also be gotten from other races. There is a race called the Melnorme that will give you designs for things like weapons, batteries, and fuel tanks if you give them ''biological data.'' This is what you get when you kill monsters on planets using your lander. They also will give you credits for finding the ''Rainbow Worlds,'' planets that are rainbow-colored. The Melnorme can also give you information and fuel for credits. To talk with other races, you simply fly over to their ship and you will enter a talking screen. You will hear them talk, and when they're done you can pick from a list of things to say. In this way, you can have whole conversations with aliens. Some will attack you no matter what you say, and some will ask you for help, and some will just talk to you. It's important not to say the wrong things, because you need to make friends with some aliens to beat the game. This is also how the storyline is revealed, so LISTEN TO WHAT THEY SAY! There are tons of other things to do as well, like looking for special items and visiting your allies to find out what's going on. Eventually, you will all team up and try to destroy the Ur-Quan. There is so much to do, this game will not get old. Besides that, there's also an extra mode where you can make a team out of any ships in the game and fight your friends or three difficulties of computer! The ships are all very different, and it makes the game REALLY fun to play!

GRAPHICS: 10/10
The backgrounds of the game are superb. The planets all look realistic and so do the stars. The ships look unique, and are fun to look at. There are some 3-D rendered graphics here too, and they are awesome. The menus are designed well and easy to understand. The graphics are probably some of the best on 3DO, even if they're mostly 2-D.

SOUND AND MUSIC: 10/10
The music is some of the best I've ever heard in a video game, and fits the mood perfectly. There is some mild, spacy music for when you're in a constellation, some more exciting music when you're traveling from star to star, and some tense music for when you're fighting. Probably the best, ironically, is the calm, sad music you hear when you're orbiting a planet. Also, there is a secret mode of travel that has some really scary music, complete with organs and the sound of a child screaming in the background.... WOW!

BUY? RENT?
If you see this game, BUY IT. This is something you just can't miss. Unfortunately, the computer version won't work for me because of DOS problems, but the 3DO version does--Thank God! It doesn't matter how much money this game costs, just get it!

CONCLUSION
This is so much more than a game. The story, graphics, and music come together to give you a sad, lonely atmosphere which fits the game perfectly. There ARE funny parts, though, and they are very well done. Star Control II is simply amazing. Even now, with the PS2, Gamecube, and X-Box out, this is one of the greatest games ever made. Sadly, Star Control I and III won't run on my computer, and they're not on the 3DO. They'd better make a new PS2 version! I'll be crossing my fingers....

FINAL SCORE: 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/07/03, Updated 06/07/03