If you have never played the original Star Control 2 (and you'd have to either be living under a rock or have started gaming quite recently for that), let me try to convince you why this is a must-play computer game no matter what your genre preferences are. Consider some statistics for starters: over thirty unique alien races to interact with, nineteen different ships to control and customize, virtually countless star systems based on real astronomical data – each containing planets that can be explored, hyperspace and quasispace travel, plenty of non-linear quests, attractive VGA graphics that look great even ten years later, and a cool soundtrack. Add to that a well-crafted plot and backstory (the "big foozle" in the game, the Ur-Quan, consistently win votes as all-time best computer game villains), hilarious dialogues, and a truly epic length, and you will begin to realize there is nothing wrong with this gem. Your goal as captain of the mighty Precursor vessel is to rescue the entire universe from the Ur-Quan and inevitable enslavement.

What makes Star Control 2 so endearing to gamers across all camps is its unprecedented success of melding different genres by offering several different "modes" that are tightly integrated. In exploration mode, you travel among the planets of a star system. When you touch a planet with your ship, you go into planet mode, where you scan for minerals, life, and so on. You can launch a planet lander onto the surface of the planet if your scan turns up anything of value. Planets have different hostile elements in the form of flora and fauna, intense heat, earthquakes and lightning. In the dialogue mode – most people's favorite – you get to talk to a wide range of unique and funny aliens with names like Umgah, Druuge, Spathi and so on. This often leads to the combat mode, which is one of the most fun parts of the game – especially after you amass a huge fleet in the course of the game.

In combat, the game puts your ships and your enemy's ships in random places on the screen, simulating a hyperjump into the battlefield. You only have to fight one ship at a time: other ships wait their turn. Blowing up enemy ships gets you RUs, or Resource Units (the unit of money in the game), and sometimes vital plot-related clues. If you don't feel like playing the whole game just to experience the combat, you can choose the "Super Melee" option from the main menu: this also allows going head-to-head with someone on the same keyboard.

Technologically, the game was years ahead of its time: it featured very smooth VGA graphics and digitized music (in the form of MOD files)... all on a 12-MHz 286 computer.

To summarize, The Ur-Quan Masters is the best version of one of the the best games ever created. I would have gladly paid for this version that is now being distributed for free thanks to the generosity of Toys for Bob and the dedication of die-hard fans. If you have played Star Control 2 before, the funny voices and cool beginning and ending sequences from the 3DO version make it all worthwhile to jump back into the Precursor's captain chair and experience the addiction all over again. A must-have.