Star Control 3

 PC
User Score
5.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 37 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 37
  3. Negative: 15 out of 37

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  1. JasonPlott
    Aug 31, 2009
    5
    Star Control III is an oddity. The writing, while not quite on par with Star Control 2, is certainly better than many modern titles and is enough to keep you playing through the weak strategy sections and boring exploration. The overall effect, however, feels like you're playing a fan game.

    Unfortunately, SC3 fails to trump SC2 in any way with its uncomfortably foreign melee mode    Star Control III is an oddity. The writing, while not quite on par with Star Control 2, is certainly better than many modern titles and is enough to keep you playing through the weak strategy sections and boring exploration. The overall effect, however, feels like you're playing a fan game.

    Unfortunately, SC3 fails to trump SC2 in any way with its uncomfortably foreign melee mode and forgettable soundtrack. It's an interesting diversion, but don't expect it to be better than or even as good as SC2.    … Expand
  2. GaryH.
    Jan 4, 2007
    2
    A travesty. SC2 was a classic; this is an ugly and almost unplayably bad cash-in on the name of its predecessor. Avoid.
  3. PavelC.
    Sep 10, 2007
    1
    This game was extremely disappointing, especially considering Starcontrol II was an infinitely better game.
  4. ColbyA.
    Dec 29, 2007
    1
    This game was terrible. Save yourself some money, and go to the Star Control 2 Sourceforge site and find the Star Control 2: Ur-Quan Masters port/recreation of the old classic. Definitely worth the time.
  5. OlegO.
    Nov 17, 2007
    1
    The combination of RPG + action + adventure doesn't get any better than Star Control II..... It's such a shame that Star Control III was such a fiasco in every way imaginable. When playing SC3 you get a feeling it was programmed by a high school drop outs.
  6. Nesterhews
    Oct 1, 2012
    2
    This game is aweful. Play starcontrol 2, my top game of all times tied only with Xcom. It's as GaryH. Said, just cashing in on how amazing - TRULY AMAZING the last game was.
  7. montdidier
    Jun 4, 2015
    7
    As I was a such a fan of SC2 I was super excited when Star Control 3 was released and went out and purchased it immediately. Unfortunately while it is a relatively solid game in itself it fails to reach the heights of it's predecessors. Where it really falls down is the ship combat and melee mode. It was topdown in the originals and it was finely tuned, razor sharp and balanced. In SC3 theAs I was a such a fan of SC2 I was super excited when Star Control 3 was released and went out and purchased it immediately. Unfortunately while it is a relatively solid game in itself it fails to reach the heights of it's predecessors. Where it really falls down is the ship combat and melee mode. It was topdown in the originals and it was finely tuned, razor sharp and balanced. In SC3 the 2.5D was quite distracting, the ships were less fine to fight with and it just seemed poorly balanced in comparison. The SC3 story line was still relatively solid but lacked a lot of the subtle punchy humour and intrigue of in-particular SC2. The sound track was also much less memorable (in SC2 it was a highlight).… Expand
  8. Rox22
    Dec 11, 2012
    5
    To be honest, this game was a huge let down, IF compared to Star Control 2. On it's own, and not holding up to those godlike standards, it's not bad. Just a real shame at how incomplete it is. The game was clearly rushed out in an incomplete state. What allot of people forgot is that it was almost cancelled. An incomplete game is better than no game at all.
  9. MMCD
    Jul 24, 2014
    2
    It seems there was a failure to understand what was good about Star Control II, this was a disappointment. Play Star Control II, this game doesn't have the magic that one did.
  10. sendingsignal
    Feb 16, 2011
    10
    Ok, yes. It's not Star Control II, arguable one of the very best games ever made.

    But it doesn't deserve all these 1 star reviews. SC3 actually had a lot of great moments, beautifully crafted aliens, and well performed dialog. The ship mechanics and gameplay weren't as good, and the story not as satisfying, but this game had amazing personality. I've played it through again and again and    Ok, yes. It's not Star Control II, arguable one of the very best games ever made.

    But it doesn't deserve all these 1 star reviews. SC3 actually had a lot of great moments, beautifully crafted aliens, and well performed dialog. The ship mechanics and gameplay weren't as good, and the story not as satisfying, but this game had amazing personality. I've played it through again and again and will always remember it fondly. Star Control II is better, but if you've played it a million times and know the story by heart, Star Control III is the nearest thing available.

    It's a shame there aren't more recent options out there and there was never a true sequel, but at least they tried. If you just want to go out there and talk to aliens, this game is awesome. And that's my ideal videogame, one where I just wander around and talk to aliens. For that - thank you Star Control 3, thank you.    … Expand
  11. gmanIL
    Nov 7, 2013
    6
    Trying to do a sequel to one of the greatest games of all time, is not an easy tasks.
    The main core remained, but the story is weak, the graphics are no more then decent and the game overall tends to be boring. It's worth a shot if you're an SC junkie but if not you can pass this one up.
  12. ShadyAlligator
    May 14, 2020
    8
    A flawed but still enjoyable game. Ship combat is as good as ever, and improves aiming from the previous games. The voice dialog is really strong, arguably better than Star Control 2. The storylines for the individual aliens are pretty interesting. There's some characters who you'll wish got more screen time, but at least the characters are there. The Arilou, the Spathi, the Pkunk... YouA flawed but still enjoyable game. Ship combat is as good as ever, and improves aiming from the previous games. The voice dialog is really strong, arguably better than Star Control 2. The storylines for the individual aliens are pretty interesting. There's some characters who you'll wish got more screen time, but at least the characters are there. The Arilou, the Spathi, the Pkunk... You always wish there was another sequel to Star Control 2, one that was made by the actual creators of the series, but you can tell that the authors of this third game were genuine fans of the original content. They consulted with the original creators, properly licensed the content with their permission, and were done by some veterans of Infocom and Legend Entertainment. (Two great studios of yesteryear.)

    Some obvious criticisms. It's just really hard to compete with Star Control 2 in terms of story. The gameplay hasn't aged that well. But then, neither has SC2's, and you have to remember that 2D top-down ship combat was on its last legs in the early 90s. The colony management system is a little opaque, but it's at least far less tedious compared to planet landing, and you can mostly ignore it and focus on the story.

    The story is really enjoyable, with truly distinct characters. The humor is maybe a little off, and the ending has some eye-rolling corniness. It can't help but feel like fan-fiction. But the most complete fan fiction we have, until a real sequel comes out.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. TotalGames.net
    92
    There''s ''playing hours a plenty'' here for all strategy fans, the soundtrack and speech are great and the story is complex and intriguing. Put it this way, it's my present number one pastime apart from swivelling my microscope.
  2. Computer Games Magazine
    90
    One of the best games of the year. It migh t even be the best adventure game of the year. The plot is deep, the characters are brought to life effectively, I haven't found almost any bugs, and they didn't leave anything out.
    Read full review
  3. PC Gamer
    90
    Even with its few faults, Star Control 3 is a worthy successor and a blast to play. [Dec 1996, p.260]
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