Star Control
Platform: Commodore 64
Gametype: Undefined
_________________________

Star Control is a science-fiction wargame which pits the forces of the Alliance of Free Stars against those of the predatory Ur-Quan Hierarchy. The games are designed so that you can ease into play, familiarizing yourself with menus, options and player controls. The Alliance and Hierarchy each possess different types of warships. Each vessel has its own maneuvering and firing characteristics, plus a unique special power that you can employ when circumstances dictate.

The game has two modules: the Melee, in which you can simply blast the computer or another player to smithereens using one of 16 different ships, in either Hierarchy or Alliance fleets; or, should you wish for a more challenging game, lets you play one of 9 preset scenarios.

Trivia

From almost the very beginning of his video game design career, Paul Reiche III has revisited the theme of pitting varied teams of carefully balanced but widely varied opponents against each other, first in 1983's Archon and most recently in 1998's The Unholy War (and its Japanese analogue, Little Witching Mischiefs).

The vast majority of captian names in the game were taken from various famous and semi-famous sci-fi sources. (far too many to list here. For example, there's a Syreen Captain Alia (from Dune) and an Earth Captain Pike (from Star Trek) ) The "special thanks" in the manual list off an equally large number of sci-fi authors whose work in some way influenced the game. It's fairly rare for game designers to be so rigorous in documenting their inspirations.

---

Description from the packaging:

How does eternal slavery sound Earthling?
The Ur-Quan Hierarchy- seven alien races welded to form the "evil empire" of the 27th century. Ruthlessly invading interstellar neighbors and slave-bonding the inhabitants. Now humanity is on their shopping list of species.
You must join forces with the Alliance of Free Stars to defend the galaxy against the conquesting armies of the Ur-Quan. The captains of seven fantastic starfleets await your orders for battle.
Who, or what, controls man's destiny? The answer is in the stars.

Stunning graphics.
Command spectacular starships. Match wits with animated aliens. Sense the unmatched dimension and drama of space.

Strategy as deep as space itself.
Build ships, mines and colonies. Deploy your fleet and explore the stars. Select from nine battle scenarios or create your own.

Clash with the computer.
Do you have the strategic savvy to take on your CPU? Do battle on three skill levels- tough, tougher, toughest.

War music never sounded so good.
Music and sound effects for ships, weapons and powers. Even the internal speaker sounds are outstanding.

Practice option.
It's best to hone combat skills in practice mode. One slip-up against an Ur-Quan guarantees a sure and swift death.

One or two combatants.
Wage war with the computer or against a friend. Choose the side of good or evil. Choose ships. Choose you strategy well.
White-knuckle tactical combat.
Choose one of 14 ships from either side, each with unique weapons, powers and maneuvering characteristics.

From Fred Ford and the co-designer of the Archon series Paul Reiche III.


http://www.mobygames.com/game/c64/star-control
