Star Control 3 was a disappointing follow-up to the very enjoyable and memorable Star Control 2. It continues the adventures of the Captain in a new quadrant in our galaxy, in pursuit of the mysterious and ancient Precursors that disappeared from our quadrant 20 000 years ago.
The Captain enters the new quadrant with a handful of allies from the New Alliance of Free Stars to establish a foothold in the new frontier. There they meet an array of new alien species, some friendly, some hostile.
Through a series of lengthy dialogues and extensive exploration of the stars, the fate of the Precursors is eventually revealed.
While the graphics make the leap from the animated 2-D illustrations in Star Control 2 to rendered 3-D models, the characters are bland and unimpressive. The characteristic mannerisms of the vibrant characters in Star Control 2 are drained of their personality and the result is a bunch of bland, lumpy talking heads (literally, in the case of the Arilou, who acquire grotesque lumps on their craniums that bulge unpleasantly as they speak). The aliens are given voice-overs, but these are mostly uninspired and seem a poor match for the characterisations evoked in Star Control 2. Another similarly disappointing detraction is the music. The pale droning does little to add
to the atmosphere or add color to the alien speakers.
The gameplay is somewhat tedious, with sometimes counter-intuitive solutions that serve only to frustrate the player. Instead of mining for resources, currency is derived from creating colonies, in a manner reminiscent of Master of Orion. However, the colony management is almost completely tangential to progressing the story, and in and of itself is a wholly unworthy sub-game.
The story, which was so rich, complex, and compelling in the prequel, takes some somewhat unexpected turns in Star Control 3. It is understood that the original writers were not on board for this project, which perhaps explains the rather disappointing revelations in the plot.
The combat system is playable in the 2-D seen in the prequel, with the ships rendered in 3-D. There is also the option to experience combat in 3-D, though this is very confusing and not recommended. The selection of ships to choose from has been slightly reduced (from 26 down to 25), but there is a roster of new ships to master (while some of the old favorites have been retired).
On the whole, Star Control 3 is not a bad game. Its weakness is that it walks in the shadow of a much better game that was well loved and lovingly crafted. It is worth a look for Star Control enthusiasts that would like to experience an interpretation of the events that follow the story of Star Control 2, or gamers interested in the space adventure genre.
