Starflight™ 1+2

I've been looking for "a game like Starflight" for 34 years now. Starflight is the benchmark that all actual Star Trek games should be aiming for. Everything is there; exploring hundreds if not thousands of procedurally generated strange new worlds; you collect and discover new life and new civilizations. You have to discover the mystery behind the cause of a galactic armageddon, with a surprise finale that is up there with the best that Star Trek ever offered. The game allows you to freely explore an open galaxy with hundreds of star systems and thousands of planets, and yet the game lays the breadcrumbs for you to find incredible discoveries that reliably move the plot along. If you've been hoping for a Star Trek game like this, I fear you'll be waiting for a long time. Star Trek games have always been so overproduced, so top-heavy with graphics and adherance to canon that it gets in the way of a game that should be all about exploration and first contact with alien species. That's what Starflight does in abundance, and better than any Star Trek game out there.

Back when the word "graphics" did not exist, there was unlimited choices and lots of text. "Oh no, not that game again". LOL, my now wife, then girlfriend remembers it too. I'm so glad GOG brought these out again. Although SF1 has trouble playing after "quit without saving" is used, SF2 plays flawlessly. The humor is timeless, gameplay is simple and the fun is endless. One thing I like about these older games is that they move quickly along, because there's no real visuals to bask in, just play the game. Master of Magic, Master of Orion and others use this formula. Well done GOG.

I only recently played these games and I must say they have stood the test of time and are still playable if you don't mine the antiquated graphics. The best things about the games is the large galaxy to explore, being able to land on planets and piecing together all the bits of the puzzle. The answer is very...interesting. There's great humour in the games, especially the spineless Spemins. The second game is more streamlined and there is not quite so much to explore and piece together, but the economy/trading/mining aspect is more balanced. If these games had the intense dogfight combat of Elite they would have been perfect. These are among the game where the Amiga version is clearly superior, with better graphics, sound, controls and saving system.

This game proved that simple play mechanics, tons of systems to visit, different races all put together could challenge even the best of us. Finding a Flux for the first time on your own, nominating a planet for colonization and being right earning 50,000 credits. I so cherish this game in my life, that it is in my top five of all loved games.

This is a hallmark space game that perfectly captures the loneliness and dangers of space exploration. People say, "they don't make them like they used to," and this game perfectly exemplifies that. It's hands-down one of the best "free-roam" space simulators you'll ever find. SF1 is in EGA, SF2 is in VGA. Both use an identical engine. You can't go wrong. Game is long... very long, but well worth it.