Star Control 2

We can't imagine anyone not getting past the Star Control 2 opening sequence (in the Sol System) - but there's always one. So here's a very (and we mean very) brief walk through.

In the beginning

1. Go to Mercury and collect some radioactives - if your lander gets destroyed by fire you can get another from the satellite orbiting earth.

2. Go to the moon and destroy everything you see.

3. Go to the satellite orbiting earth and talk to the geezer. He explains everything so much better than we could, so we won't bother.

4. Go hunting for minerals on the inner and outer planets of the Solar System. On Pluto you'll meet Fwiffo, a Spathi. Don't kill him because he'll join your crew - and Spathi ships (once you've got used to them) are pretty handy against virtually anything.

5. Return to earth, unload your minerals, buy as many planet landers as you can afford and then head out into the unknown.

Beyond Pluto

"Now you're cookin" as a particularly naff person would say. because you've got to increase your wealth (and therefore firepower) by visiting every single local star system and mining it until - well, until you haven't got any cargo space left on your ship. You'll need to make a few trips. Remember to save quite regularly, and take note of the following chart: it tells you which are the best systems to go for, and once inside which are the best planets. Oh, and note that if a star is particularly large then the chances are that all the planets are going to be too hot for your planet landers. The rule is that if the outermost planet is too hot, then all the others will be too.

Overall here, the idea is to try not to stray too far - all that'll happen is that you'll have to spend more mone on fuel, and you might even stray into enemy space by accident and ge blasted to smithereens. (Not that it matters if you've saved recently, but you know what we mean - "live the game" and all that).

Things to buy

As you keep revisiting the Sol Space Station and receiving dosh for your minerals, invest in turning jets, thrusters, cargo holds, fuel pods and landers - you'll need heaps of lander, if you intend to stock up on biological cargo.

The traders

Before very long you'll find yourself straying into the Alpha Centurii System. Here you'll encounter the Melnorme, a friendly race of traders. What they want from you is (a) data on biological life forms and (b) locations of what they call 'rainbow worlds'. The rainbow worlds are few and far between, but will earn you 500 credits apiece.

From the Melnorme, it's worth buying the technological upgrades first (as they make life a little easier)... but you'll eventually need to buy their information as well, the reason being that as far as the program is concerned, if the Melnorme haven't told you about something, then you don't know it - and so certain questions or statements won't pop up when you're talking to the other races. (If you don't know that alien A has made a bomb then obviously, you can't ask alien B about the thing).

The A-Z Of Alien Artifacts And Races

IF you can't finish the game with this comprehensive guide at your side, then you may as well commit suicide now and do the world a favour. Everything you need to know is here. Locations, the lot...

ADMIRAL ZEX:

He has a female Shofixti in his menagerie. Homework!: Alpha Cerenkov, planet one.

Admiral Zex is perfectly approachable, and unlike other members of the Vux race, he doesn't find the sight of humans too distasteful. What you want from him is his female Shofixti. To get her, you'll need to supply the Admiral with a beast he has been after for some time. The beast in question can be found in the Delta Lyncis system. Go scanning for biologicals, find it, return it to him, collect the female Shofixti. and leg it.

AQUA HELIX:

SeeThraddash and Ultron.

ARILOU:

More friendly than your own mum. the Arilou. Homcworld: Quasi-space To enter quasispace (and thus meet the Arilou) you need to find the portal, which lies somewhere between the Chandraskhar and the Columbae constellations. Once in quasi-space, the Arilou's homeworld is blindingly obvious, as it's separated from the main cluster of'stars' by about a zillion miles. If you can give the Arilou a Warp Pod, they'll give you the ability to warp into quasi-space any time you damn well please (without having to return all the way to the portal).

BOMB:

To complete your task you're going to need a powerful bomb - and as luck would have it just such a bomb exists.

FINAL BATTLE:

The big one. Location: Delta Crateris. When you've done absolutely everything else, fly to Delta Crateris and look for the planet with the Sa-Matra in orbit. (You can't miss it - there are about 200 Ur-Quan and Kohr-Ah ships in orbit as well). Have a word with your Dynarri and he'll cause a diversion. You'll be left with three Ur-Quans and three Kohr-Ahs. These you take out yourself. Then it's time for the end of game nasty... the Sa-Matra itself. Good luck. (Hint: don't bother with weapons on your mother ship... just fill her up with crew. And for your battle with the Ur-Quans and Kohr-Ahs you should take a fleet of Chmmrs... although obviously it is a matter of personal taste at the end of the day).

ILWRATH:

Religious, manic nutters... deadly, with it. Homeworld: Alpha Tauri, planet one. This lot have been told to kill you (among others) by their Gods, Dogar and Ka/.on. In reality, and unbeknownst to the Uwrath, their Gods are the Ur-Quan, who are transmitting messages into Ilwrath space. Should you happen to have the Caster, however, you can transmit messages of your own - use the Caster from just outside planetary orbit.

MELNORME:

Friendly traders with lots on offer. Homeworld: Various... they're space nomads. The first Melnorme you'll encounter will probably be in Alpha Centurai. Make sure you've got plenty of biological units (locations of rainbow worlds are even better). Sell whatever you can to the Melnorme and buy whatever they're offering. If you get stuck in hyperspace without fuel, you can hail the Melnorme by using the Caster. They will fly out to you and refill your tanks - for a price.

MYCON:

Rather unfriendly. Homeworld: Beta Brahe, planet one. You won't get much joy from the Mycons until later in the game, when you give them some information you received from the Syreen. When this information exchange has happened, most of the Mycons will disappear to another region of space. However, five Mycons will remain in orbit around a planet - in the vicinity of coordinates 635:225 - and you have to do battle with them. If successful you will be able to collect, from the planet's surface, an item called the Sun Device. This is the device needed by the Chenjesu.

ORZ:

If you can make any sense of the Orz, then well done. Homeworld: Gamma Vulpecnlae, planet one. Try and jolly the Orz along, in whatever way you can. and they might eventually decide to give you some of their ships - which is brilliant, because Orz ships are among the meanest in the universe. What you want to be careful of, though, is mentioning a certain 'word'. This 'word' makes the Orz very unhappy.

PKUNK:

Very friendly. Over friendly, if anything. Homeworld: Gamma Krueger, planet one. One of the first things you'll receive from the Pkunk is the Clear Spindle. You need it later in the game. Another thing the Pkunk supply you with is as many of their ships as you desire. They may be slightly on the crap side, but for free? Can't complain. You may notice, at some point, the Pkunk venturing towards Yehat space. If you can you really ought to attempt to talk them out of it.

PORTAL:

To the nth dimension. Exact location: Coordinates 50.-650 The portal is a worm hole between hyperspace and quasi-space. You will meet the Arilou in quasi-space. The portal between the two dimensions appears only once a month, on the 17th. It remains stable for a couple of days and then disappears again.

QUASI-SPACE:

You could can quasi-space hyperspace's hyperspace. But whatever you call it, there's one thing for sure... it's the only way to travel. Each of the 'stars' in quasispace is a worm hole back into hyperspace - and if you want to know how to get around using quasi-space you might need to take a look at our map. An important note about journeys via quasi-space is that not only do they save you fuel consumption (i.e. zero), but also time: a one month hyperspace journey can be completed in one day using quasi-space.

RAINBOW WORLDS:

The equivalent of cash. The Melnorme pay mega bucks for the locations of these 'special' worlds, which means, in turn, you can upgrade/buy info to your hearts content. When you've got enough fuel, it's worth checking out the following coordinates (which aren't totally exact, but we don't want to make this too easy - you'll be asking us to wrap you in cotton wool next)...

Rainbow World 1—50:750 Rainbow World 2—380:780 Rainbow World 3—540:830 Rainbow World 4—850:875 Rainbow World 5—750:500 Rainbow World 6—600300 Rainbow World 7—460:90

RED PROBES:

Dangerous during the early stages of the game. Homewortd: Beta Cotvi, gas giant. All will become apparent when you make the visit.

ROSY SPHERE:

See Druuge and Ultron.

SHOFIXTI:

Warlike, but not dangerous at all. Homeworld: Delta Como, planet one. When you meet the lone Shofixti, he will want to engage you in battle. If you find yourself drawn in. don't kill him. You'll have ample time to escape (not that he'd hurt you very much if you didn't). Keep engaging the Shofixti in conversation, and use insults on him. Eventually he'll become friendly and tell you that he needs a female Shofixti. There is one. and you will find her in the Vux system, on a planet inhabited by Admiral Zex.

SPATHI:

Cowardly. Homeworld: L'psilon Gruis, planet one, moon. The Spathi are scared of a 'beast' who roams their planet - which is why they've moved to their moon. Kill the 'beast' and the Spathi will become your bosom buddies. See Caster.

SU-MATRA:

A massive Precursor battleship. This is 'the prize'. This massive spaceship is what the Kohr-Ah are in the process of winning in their battle with their 'brothers' the Ur-Quan. Once the Su-Matra is definitely theirs, the Kohr-Ah will engage in a mass 'genocide tour' of the universe. Yikes. And this all happens in the year 2159 if you haven't done anything about it.

SUN DEVICE:

See Chenjesu and Mycon.

SUPOX:

Ridiculously friendly sentient plants. Homeworkl: Beta Librae, planet one. The Supox will hand you something called the Ultron. It is broken. You have to fix it. If you can fix it. it's worth talking to the Utwig (who live 'nearby', in interstellar terms).

SYREEN:

Very accomodating 'space babes'. Original homeworld: Beta Copernicus, planet one. Current homeworld: Betelgeuse. To get most joy from the Syreen, the Melnorme have to have sold you this information: "The Syreen homeworld, Syra, was destroyed by the Mycons." If you have bought this information, you'll get the chance to prove to the Syreen that what you say is true (as they're labouring under the misconception that their planet was destroyed by volcanic activity). All you need for proof is an item you'll find on the surface of the original Syreen homeworld. It's an eggshell fragment. As well as getting to actually bonk the Syreen you talk to (really), you'll also be given some information which you should take to the Mycons. You do need to do the Syreen a favour, though. They want some of their ships collected from another planet. The constellation you need to check out is Camelopardelis.

TAALO:

Either extinct or 'somewhere else'. Homeworld: Delta Vulpcculae, planet two, moon. While the Taalo were thriving, they made a device called the Taalo Shield. This shield protects one from psychic energy - more specifically it protects you from the psi emissions of the Dynarri. Apparently the Taalo Shield is still lying around somewhere on the surface of their now abandoned planet.

THRADDASH:

Extremely warlike and brash. Homeworld: Delta Draconis. Whenever you get the chance to kill a Thraddash. do so. They respect you for it. Keep talking to them every time you meet them (i.e. before you kill them) and eventually you'll notice a change in their attitude. It's totally hilarious. There's a crucial item in Thraddash Space called the Aqua Helix. It's on the surface of a planet in the Zeta Draconis system. Get it.

ULTRON:

A device required by the Utwig. Location: Various, as it's in bits. The magical ingredients for the Ultron are: (1) the Rosy Sphere. (2) the Aqua Helix. (3) the Clear Spindle and (4) the Broken Ultron itself. Once you have all four parts, simply 'use' them and you'll have the all new. all working Ultron. Take it to the Utwig. See alsoThraddash, Druuge and Supox.

UMGAH:

Mildly dangerous practical jokers. Homeworld: Beta Orionis, planet one. The Umgah have a 'talking pet'. It's real name is a Dynarri.

UTWIG:

Morose and depressive, but friendly nevertheless. Homeworld: Beta Aquarii, planet one. The Utwig are - well, let's not beat around the bush - they're totally pissed off Why? Because they've broken their Ultron. They've given the main part of it to their neighbours, the Supox. The other bits are scattered around the universe. The Utwig are pretty handy to know, because they have access to a very powerful bomb... it's the sort of bomb that helps you finish an entire computer game. They keep this bomb on another planet. If only you could reunite the Utwig with their Ultron, repaired...

VUX: Not

friendly in the slightest. Ugly too. Homeworld: Beta Luyten, planet one. About the only good thing you can say about the Vux is that they're not too hard to kill. WARP POD: A device that warps the fabric of even hyperspace. If you can take the Warp Pod to the Arilou, well, it'd be well worth it. But where is the Warp Pod? See Wrecked Dreadnought.

WRECKED DREADNOUGHT:

A stuffed up Ur-Quan ship. Location: Alpha Pavonis, planet seven. There's something inside the wreckage of this long abandoned Ur-Quan Dreadnought. It's something that can be squeezed onto a planet lander and brought back up into the ship. (And it's not a biscuit and raisin Yorkie bar).

Take heed all you sci-fi fans, Star Control II is here and there's never--been anything quite like it! Combining the incredible fun of an RPG and the all-out action of a shooter, SCII is a blast from beginning to end.

Based on the wildly successful PC version, this one employs a full-motion, silicon graphics rendered intro featuring the ship in the game and the whole story of what happened.

Basically, your mission is to seek out the answer to removing the slave shield put around Earth by the Ur-Quan. an evil race that believes all inferior life forms should either be enslaved or join the ranks of the Ur-Quan forces.

This game is no walk in the park. Major exploration of hundreds of star systems must be searched for minerals and clues leading to the Ur-Quan homeworld. Alien races that you stumble upon will often help out, but others aren't exactly friendly neighbors.

Loaded with actual voices, incredible music, and a story that will take weeks to solve adds up to one heck of a winner. This game is exactly what the 3DO needed and Crystal Dynamics came through in a big way. You don't want to miss the adventure of a lifetime.

The Alien Races

Throughout the game, you will encounter many alien races, some friendly, some hostile. The races shown are just a small portion of the total number you'll meet. Remember to speak nicely and watch out behind you at all times.

Super Melee Combat

To break up the tension of the Normal Game, there's the Super Melee Mode. Here, one or two players get to fly the ships that the alien races possess during the Normal Game. With 25 ships at your disposal, this mode can be played forever! As an added bonus, you get to utilize all the special attacks that each ship has.

At the Selection Screen, each team can choose a fleet of 12 ships for battle. There are two windows on the right side of the combat screen that show the status of your crew, which act as hit points, and a power meter which shows the battery charge of the ship. Simply fly around and try to blast each other while avoiding pesky planets and asteroids that get in your way.

Normal Game

The Normal Game is the RPG section where you must try to free the Earth from its slave shield put there by the Ur-Quan forces. Piloting a Precursor starship, you must seek out allies who wish to aid you on your quest. Of course, there are other races completely faithful to the Ur-Quan and will resist you. You'll explore hundreds of star systems in search of minerals, life forms, and information needed to defeat the Ur-Quan hierarchy.

On the Surface

The surface is where you'll mine for minerals to lug back to the Starbase. When you enter a star system, you can scan the planet and get information such as seismic activity and scan for mineral, energy, or biological life. You can then land on the surface and rake up the riches.

Hyperspace

Using Hyperspace is the only way to get around the galaxy. Use the StarMap to locate a star system you wish to explore. Out in Hyperspace, you will run into the many life forms and often battles ensue when you enter unknown territory. Travelling in Hyperspace uses a lot of fuel.

Encountering Races

It is inevitable that you meet alien life forms in space. Each race has a unique story and can either be allied with you or try to blow you out of the stars, depending on how you talk to them. Some races, like the Melnorme, are very helpful at giving information in exchange for alien life forms you pick up from the surface. Be a good negotiator and you might just succeed.

Solve Mysteries

There are many little twists and turns in the plot to keep you involved through your entire trek. Mysteries such as the Rainbow Worlds, the Spathi slave shielding, and the fearsome Dnyarri race are just a small part of what you'll come up against.

THE GOOD

What isn't? The plot is fantastic, the music is awesome, and the game is simply too much fun!

THE BAD

Um ... okay, the voices of some of the aliens are a little difficult to understand.

THE UGLY

The entire Pkunk race looks like distant relatives of Toucan Sam. How about some Froot Loops?

When extraterrestrials finally come to Earth, what will happen if they come as conquerors, not friends?

In Star Control II, Earth is enshrouded in a Slave Shield, courtesy of the vile Ur-quan Hierarchy. You lead a secret mission that has built an awesome starship. Your goal: Set your people free!

Universal Appeal

A strategy game with limited combat action, Star Control II turns you into sort of an outer-space detective. In this epic quest you must figure out how to defeat the Ur-quan and free Earth from slavery. To acquire the information and resources to accomplish your mission, you literally chart a course through the Star Control universe to track down a galaxy of clues.

This long, moderately paced game is definitely not for action junkies. You explore solar systems, sometimes planet by planet, and try to uncover information by talking to a staggering variety of malevolent extraterrestrials. However, if you need to stretch your trigger fingers, the Super Melee feature fires up an overhead-view shootout with the various spacecraft in the game.

Control's Controls

You orchestrate the action with an easy-to-use, all-purpose interface screen. A sharp display enables you to fly to and through star systems via a slick outside-the-ship view and the directional controls. When you orbit a planet, the screen reveals vital information as you scan the surface.

Using the interface, you do everything from warp through space to manage your inventory, but the easy controls make the sometimes lengthy operations a breeze.

Dazzling Effects

The graphics are literally out of this world. Control II sports beautifully drawn spacecraft and excellent animated story sequences. Even the interface screen serves up stunning views, particularly as you approach a planet.

The sounds are imaginative and crystal clear. Each race speaks with a unique vocal inflection: For example, the cold arachnoid llwrath hisses and the blustery Spatis spouts in a pompous tone of voice.

Starry Destination?

This nicely crafted outer-space adventure definitely challenges the space between your ears. If you're into sci-fi and strategy games, Star Contrail II should keep you under control for days.