Star Controller

“This is kind of like Intergalactic Street Fighter II”
‐ Bithead1000

I came across this review on YouTube by Bithead1000. From the video, I gather that he has played this game before the DOS version. This version tries to make use of the Sega Genesis hardware, despite fact that it was inferior to PC hardware at the time. Because of this, the gameplay was slower and the audio was a lower quality. He describes the music in this version as something reminiscent of 80s horror movies.

For those who don’t know, Accolade created the label, Ballistic, to publish a handful of unlicensed games for the Genesis. This included Star Control, which was branded as “the first 12 megabit game”. These unlicensed games resulted in a lawsuit between Sega and Accolade, which Accolade won.

Here, Bithead1000 plays through the melee mode, “the meat and potatoes of this game”. I like how he chooses ships at random and learns how to utilize each ship on the spot. It actually reminded me of how I learned the game when I first played it. By selecting a ship and pressing a button to load that ship’s “starship databank”. It’s nice to know what to call the ship and all of its components. Of course, the best to learn to play is to choose each ship, play around with it, and develop a strategy.

Another thing I like in this video is how he describes the ships. It’s not a simple fact that some ships have stronger weapons than others; ships can vary in speed, primary attack, secondary function which isn’t always a weapon, etc. It makes it easier for players to choose a favorite ship and even select a certain order of ships to play against an opponent’s order or ships.

Like many games, not only is it fun to play, it’s also fun to watch someone else play. There is something to learn from losing such as better evasion and what ship to choose next in the event of a imminent defeat.

Thanks Bithead1000 for making this video. It brings back memories of my first experience with Star Control, though it happened a very long time ago.

Have you ever played the Sega Genesis version?

Links
YouTube: Star Control Review by Bithead1000
Star Control Promotional Card
Star Control on Other Consoles
Star Control on Sega Genesis

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