Star Control 3

Build an empire and solve a great mystery

• Star Control 3
• By Accolade
• PC CD-ROM
• 486/66, 8MB RAM, 2X CD-ROM
• MSRP $59.95

tar Control 3 takes the traditional build-an-interstellar-empire theme and bonds it to an adventure/mystery plot. It seems that the fabric of space is breaking down, Hyper Space (faster than light) drives no longer work, and there are signs of impending galactic Armageddon. Players are given command of the only remaining spacecraft capable of interstellar travel and, along with a smorgasbord of aliens that make up the League of Sentient Beings, are sent to the unexplored Kessari Quadrant to fix space and ward off doomsday.

In the Kessari Quadrant players must set up colonies for the various League members -- which will provide resources for the player's fleet -- and explore, searching for answers to the mysteries. Along the way they will be challenged by new aliens, quests for artifacts, and the complex political and social web of the Kessari Quadrant.

Star Control 3's emphasis is on exploration, negotiation and, when that fails, combat. The game is played in four basic views: first the Quadrant screen, used to navigate from star to star. For navigation within a solar system there's the System screen, with sensory readouts on each planet. Then comes the Orbit screen, which shows a global map useful for finding artifacts and establishing colonies. Finally there's the Colony Screen, where players can monitor colony activities like mining and fuel production and assign priorities to the different tasks.

Solving the mystery of the missing Hyper Space is accomplished mainly by talking to the 11 League races as well as the aliens native to the Kessari Quadrant. Accolade pulled out all the stops here, using Hollywood special effects experts to create lifelike models for the aliens. They range from cute to creepy and beyond. Each has a particular voice and manner of speaking, but while watching the aliens is terrific, listening to them can get rather tedious. Everyone has a lot to say, forcing players to wade through mountains of exposition, especially early in the game. It would be nice if this stuff could have been broken into smaller pieces for easier digestion.

The game has a good hint feature in the form of ICOM, a computer/communications system, but ICOM focuses only on the mystery, leaving players high and dry when it comes to colony management. This is the weakest link in the chain, because resource production is crucial, but very little information about how to go about this is offered either in the game or its manual. The game's pacing is also a bit slow, although that may be a matter of taste. The plot revelations, while fascinating, are widely spaced with a lot of wandering around in between.

Overall this is a big, solid entertainment package that combines arcade action, mystery, and strategy. It's often humorous and contains some mind-bending science fiction ideas.

This game requires some serious time commitment, but has depth to match. -- Brooks

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