273
Mass Effect 1 is still my favourite sci-fi game of all time
(media.piefed.social)
This game made me feel like the captain of a space ship. There was nothing like it at the time it was released, and even now I have not experienced any other game making me feel this way. I loved Fallout 3 too, but Mass Effect had something special. It was so well crafted, I listened to every dialogue of every NPC. The characters are so memorable with amazing voice acting. The Citadel is the best city in video games, felt really alive. Most sidequests add to the story instead of just padding the gameplay time.
After playing the game, I wondered how Star Wars (movies) sucked so badly, when a video game could create a much more interesting sci-fi world and story.
Unfortunately Bioware is no longer the same company.
When it comes to Star Control II, the controls are actually quite simple, the difficulty of playing mostly come from a lack of quest logs. If you can handle Mass Effect's controls, then SC2 is definitely within your ability.
Through this link, you can get the most modernized experience of SC2, and the game is also freeware. Be sure to opt for 3D0 style, since that has the best presentation.
Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters - HD Megamod
When it comes to the Star Trek adventure games, 25th Anniversary can be considered to be Part 1, with Judgment Rites as Part 2.
Ah, check out that Bone Pit page. You have the choice of three different presentation styles of SC2 - original, 3DO, DOS, plus optional HD graphics to go with them. The 3DO was a extremely powerful and expensive console back in the day, created by EA's Trip Hawkins. That EA, before it went bad. The 3DO mode is pretty akin to what the original developers intended, as Toys for Bob - the Skylanders company, is now making Children of Infinity, a proper sequel to SC2. If you check out the trailer, it is very similar to SC2 3DO.
Free Stars - Children of Infinity
More important than the graphics, however, is the voices and soundscape. The 3DO edition was a voiced game, and they added a huge amount of character to each species that you encounter. They are pretty much why the 3DO version became the gold standard among the SC2 releases. It is the same reason why System 1 and Star Trek 25th Anniversary were best on CD, because the format allowed them to use audio that wasn't possible on the floppy versions. SHODAN just isn't the same without that voice of hers, nor Kirk's style of speech.