As a Star Control II superfan, should I play Starflight and/or Elite?

[blissfulnoise]

I typically hate these sorts of "X or Y" threads, but I figured I'd ask a hopefully educated audience.

I'm a big fan of Star Control II (not necessarily SCI) yet I have never played Starflight or Elite. I see these two games normally mentioned in the same breath as SCII. Should I go back and play Starflight and Elite based solely on the connection to SCII?

I know both of these games are highly recommended and are quite acclaimed regardless of possible links to other games, but I'm asking just in relation to SCII.

Right now I'm trying to play through some big PC titles I never got a chance to really play (Fallout 2, Wasteland, Ultima IV, etc) but as I'm nearing my yearly SCII run, if these games fit in perfectly, I'll bump them up in the queue.

Thanks for your input!

[GM80]

I, too, am an SC2 superfan. To me, SC2 hit the sweet spot in almost every way. Deviating from this point, I felt that Elite was too technical for my tastes, and Starflight was a bit boring and unforgiving.

That's just how they compare to SC2, in my opinion. Having said that, they're both excellent games. I still have a giant hand notated starmap from Starflight stashed somewhere in my desk.

I'd recommend bumping them up over the other titles you mentioned.

Out of curiousity, are you using The Ur-Quan Masters (http://sc2.sourceforge.net/) for your SC2 run these days? I think the team has done an excellent job, and I like being able to add in the 3DO media assets.

[blissfulnoise]

I, too, am an SC2 superfan. To me, SC2 hit the sweet spot in almost every way. Deviating from this point, I felt that Elite was too technical for my tastes, and Starflight was a bit boring and unforgiving.

That's just how they compare to SC2, in my opinion. Having said that, they're both excellent games. I still have a giant hand notated starmap from Starflight stashed somewhere in my desk.

I'd recommend bumping them up over the other titles you mentioned.

Out of curiousity, are you using The Ur-Quan Masters (http://sc2.sourceforge.net/) for your SC2 run these days? I think the team has done an excellent job, and I like being able to add in the 3DO media assets.

The 3DO release is the de facto one I play every year, but UQM is always installed on all of my PCs and I putz with it frequently.

[Mangar]

I'm something of a Starflight superfan. I love the game, and I feel it's been long enough where I may just dig it out and give it another whirl.

I hate Star Control 2 however. I realize it's one of those games people just love, and I can see how it can be somewhat enjoyable in small doses. But overall, I find the game just very average.

So in terms of similarity: I'd say that they have little in common other then an overall space theme.