Star Control II

The Good
When Star Control 2 was released in 1992, it set the mark in various aspects.

First, although this might seem trivial, the music of the game, tuned to every race in the game and different occasions, consisted of about 60 different tracks that were mixed for the game which were by the standard of the time outstanding. Just as Rebel Assault incited people to buy a CD-drive, SC2 incited people to buy a SoundBlaster card.

Next the graphics part was, for 1992 standard, advanced yet fast. There is animations for all kinds of planets you find in the game, the action part when ships are fighting each other is very neatly done.

The story is engaging and while you have to accomplish a number of objectives to solve the game you can do so in any order. The story itself is very complex and well written. Essentially it's an adventure game where you have to deal with different alien races to accomplish a common goal. On the other hand you will have to fight enemies in an arcade way and that requires you to stock your ship with the right equipment and fighters which is a strategical choice. The game thus has elements from more than one genre and is very complex and entertaining.

The Bad
There is very few to find fault with in this game. Even though the event system was very complex, there is almost no chance of getting stuck in the game. Also, it is very stable and let's you save at almost any occasion.

The Bottom Line
An adventure-game with action and strategy elements which will entertain for days or weeks.