List of Star Control Races - History and Reception

History and Reception

The original Star Control game featured a melee combat mode where players could engage in combat using a variety of alien ships. However, Star Control II became critically acclaimed for its innovative storyline where the player must recruit the help of several memorable alien races. All Games praised the storyline based on the fact that "races span a range of emotions", resulting in an overall "rare and praiseworthy design achievement". GameSpot considers Star Control II one of the greatest games of all time, in part because "the 18 different races in Star Control II were all distinctively different, and none of them fit the generic science-fiction stereotypes that have always been so common in games." This also earned the game a top 10 ranking for the best game worlds of all time among GameSpot readers, claiming that "the extraterrestrial races you meet ... are what made the gameworld one of your favorites of all time." These exterrestrial races were also instrumental in earning the game a rank as one of the top 10 game endings of all time. "The ending sequence was not only highly amusing, it also provided a great deal of closure, since it tied up all of the loose ends for each race.

Star Control 3 took the template of interesting races that the series had become known for and expanded upon it. Computer and Video Games felt the game lacked the appeal of its predecessor, but still offered praise for its "brilliant characters". According to GameSpot, "the creepy critters and droids who inhabit Star Control 3 are its strongest point ..., all of them animatronically controlled renderings, and each with its own distinct personality. GameRevolution praised the game for its character design, noting that "the new species vary in their traits and appearances so as to make the players interaction with each species an interesting experience of it's own."