Star Control 3

The Good
PROJECT HEAD: Okay, staff, let's really take this alliance building, diplomacy thing full tilt on this one.

DESIGN STAFF: Sure.

The Bad
HEAD: How's the dialogue coming along?

SCRIPTWRITER: Uh... well... um... I like Juicy Fruit?

HEAD: Okay, let's rip it off straight from SC2, shall we? How's testing coming along.

RESEARCH STAFF: We've got Bob the Janitor and our pet gerbil playing SC2 right now, sir.

HEAD: And...?

RESEARCH: Bob's getting upset because the gerbil keeps beating him at HyperMelee.

HEAD: Right. Let's dumb down the artificial intelligence. Have the enemy fly in some random direction as soon as combat starts. Okay, what have we done to research the plot?

RESEARCH: We watched the "Friends" marathon.

HEAD: And?

SCRIPTWRITER: I have a secret friend.

HEAD: Sounds like that man's making progress.

DESIGN: Yes, sir. He doesn't think he's a plank anymore.

HEAD: Okay, about the plot.

RESEARCH: Well, Bob the janitor is having trouble understanding what's going on in SC2, so we figured we'd make it a little less complex.

HEAD: How much less complex?

RESEARCH: About as simple as an episode of... well...

HEAD: Let me guess, an episode of "Friends," right?

RESEARCH: Could be, yes.

SCRIPWRITER: Cheez-Wiz is the opiate of the masses.

HEAD: Comission that man to write that Star Control novel we were talking about.

RESEARCH: Ah, "Interbellum."

HEAD: And make the Spathi sound like Woody Allen!

DESIGN: We can make all the villains TOTALLY one-sided dorks!

RESEARCH: Bob's eating his 3DO controller...

HEAD: Take out all the planet exploration features!

DESIGN: BACK TO MIDI MUSIC!!!

HEAD: Create TWO WHOLE MINUTES of CG movies!

RESEARCH: We can use random goobers as voice talent!

SCRIPTWRITER: I have my own Tandy, you know.

The Bottom Line
GERBIL: This is gonna suck!

The Good
the story was top notch -- easily as good as sc2. It is a SHAME I blew off this game back when it was released due to the change in developer and the added colony-management feature.

The Bad
the colony management portion of the game was so-so, but in sc2 the mining did get old and the colony management is simple and easy to set/forget.

The Bottom Line
When SC3 first game out, I blew it off just like everyone else did. For the dame reasons -- it wasn't made by the original developers and they added colony management which wasn't true to SC2.

I loved sc2 so much that I replayed it this year, 2010. After I finished it I decided to give SC3 a try and absolutely loved every minute of it. Even more than replaying SC2! It was all new content. The sc3 story fit perfectly into the sc2 world and far expanded it. It wrapped up numerous unfinished story components of sc2 and added many new elements. The new races were done very very well, the old races were also done well. I think anyone who has fond memories of sc2 owes it to themselves to go back and give this a try without the biases that kept you from playing it back then.

The Good
I think the best part of the game is that it made it possible for Vance Hill to write a very humourous review on it.

Seriously, though. Unlike the other reviewers here, I have not had the oppurtunity to play either of the first two SC games (yes, GASP!). I bought this game because I've heard good things about its predeccesors, and many computer gaming magazines were very hopeful for a good game.

So, from the point of view to someone new to the series:

The concept of the game is rather good. I like the fact that they blend the different styles of adventure, strategy (to a very limited extent), and combat. Until then, I had never experienced a game that blended these things together.

I thought the back stories to all the races were positively fascinating.  Again, I hadn't had any previous experience with the SC universe, so this was all new to me.

The characters voices were fitting with the races, although a few of them tended to get annoying after a while.

 Two-player meelee can be loads of fun.  For a quick fix that doesn't have to take more than seven minutes.<br><br>**The Bad**<br>     The dialogue.  True, I liked the backstory, but everyone kept on TALKING.  I enjoy dialogue in a game, but only to a certain extent.  At the beginning of the game, it can take a while to get into because (wanting to know the gaming universe) I explored all possible conversational options with every new race I met.  And when you're talking to one race for that long of a time, interest is lost no matter WHAT they're saying.

The colony building is minimal.  It could have been so much more.  The sliders were annoying.

There is no way to prematurely end combat.  My biggest problem with combat is when the enemy tries to run away from you.  This usually happens when their shields are nearly depleted.  They stay as far from you as possible, and you have very little chance to hit them.  One time I had to wait for my opponet to plow into the nearest planet.  Whoops.

 The star map is very annoying.  Trying to find the certain solar systems you need to get to can be a pain, but luckily there is a search feature.  Similarly, with travel you need gas.  Sure this makes sense, and it might control gameplay for the first little while.  But it doesn't seem like that great of an idea when you're parked at a planet, waiting ten minutes as your gas tank slowly fills up.

On a final note, some of the events are timed.  For example, Universe X might only implode itself on Day 32, or you don't see your first talking Cow until Day 1403.  This means that even if you finish a bunch of tasks, you might not be able to progress until these days arrive.  I left my computer running while I took my dogs for a walk.  Is that what makes a thirlling game?  Inspiration to exercise?  I think not.<br><br>**The Bottom Line**<br>It had some good parts, but with so many bad parts, it's hard to reccomend.  Try and find Star Control 2 (according to the reviews I've read).  And when you find it, can you burn me a copy?  :)