I tried it out and played non-stop for hours. It definitely needs more time in the oven though.
Pros-
-Art added is very nice and fits right in. The updated alien dialogue screens look sharp. Although, Captain Hayes went from a tough guy to looking like a nerd.
-New ship is very cool looking.
-It is extremely satisfying to see the repercussions of SC 2. I got a big thrill of seeing Chmmr and Earthling ships flying around in solar systems.
Cons-
-Can’t really upgrade the ship. (Yeah, I know it is a demo but still.)
-The writing is not polished. It fits the correct tone, but it is important to remember that Star Control 2’s dialogue was written by giving out an alien to a different person and allowed much of their voice to color the race’s personality. All the races sound somewhat samey.
-SC2 was enchanting in how you were alone in a hostile universe. The universe doesn’t feel hostile or unknown.
-Too many RPG ‘go here’ and ‘fetch this’ type quests.The game should just tell you to explore and shut up about what you ‘should do’. All that should come from the fruit of talking other aliens.
-Couldn’t really test out the combat.
I predict the fan sequel will be good in its ingredients (such as the additional art) but it will not work well with the story. Paul Reiche III was a sci-fi nerd and SC 2 has many sci-fi book stories inside it. I doubt the author(s) are as well versed. You can’t expect as pretty of flower to grow from less fertile soil.
Oh, and here’s the Lurg.
