PJ: "Let me tell you about the greatest game you haven't played. Back in 1990, Star Control, a sort of a starship Mortal Combat game with minimal backstory, was released. It received a sequel in 1992 in the form of Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters, which was later improved and re-released for the 3DO console...and it kicked ass. Back in 2002, the game developer studio Toys For Bob gave up the ghost, but released the games source code (unlike, say, Interplay...). Thus the free open source game Ur-Quan Master was made. And lo and behold - it was good."
[Brock from GoozerNation] The Ur-Quan Masters is the shareware version of PC game Star Control II. Despite being nearly 20 years old, it is extremely enjoyable and available for free on just about anything with a screen.
This game is literally in my top three games of all time list. I used to play it on my old 386pc. Maybe I remember it with fond nostalgia, but this game was top notch.
Yeah, it's basically amazing. I really think it holds up today. The ship graphics are decent and the conversation animations are top notch.
Yeah, there's a link in the article and it's available for a bunch of systems. There's a really good mod community for it.
CFD!'s Rob Rich returns with another edition of Free Games What Need Playing, this one with a suggestion from an N4G user:
"I think we have a good mix for this edition of Free Games. Not just a varied selection of genres, but also physical platforms, so hopefully there’s something for everyone here. If you’re looking for an intricate PC simulation, we’ve got that. If you want a simple, but addicting game you can play in your web browser, well, we’ve got that, too. And if you really just want something to load onto your iPhone that will make your morning commute less of a drag, we’ve got you covered.
"I can’t guarantee you’ll enjoy any of them as much as I have, but I can guarantee you won’t have to pay a thing when you try them out. But I’d prefer it if you did enjoy them at least a little."
Dofuss says: "After the flurry of holiday releases it's nice to be able to indulge in some old favorites. The Star Control series was a favorite of mine for two-player shenanigans. The Ur-Quan Masters have taken the free source code of Star Control 2 and decided to converted it for PC. Adding online play, new music and making if free."
Great game, still arguably the best space exploration RPG.
But never forget there would probably be no Star Control if there hadn't been Star Flight 1 and 2 even before that. As Star Control was really just a continuation of those two prior games.
Such a good series of games.
How has a similar type of game not been made.
Different ships, all with different abilities and using the planets and sun and gravity whips and other strategies.
Somebody needs to kickstart a new Star Control type of game