All three of the original "Star Control" games feature 2D "melee" ship combat. "Star Control 3" offers the overhead viewpoint from the first two games, as well as a new 2.5D pseudo-3D viewpoint. Each alien race has a unique ship, with a unique weapon and secondary ability. Combat allows more degrees of rotation than the previous games, with more detailed aiming, steering, and scaling. The multiplayer player versus player mode also returns from previous games, with new options for network, modem, and serial connections. However, multiplayer combat only features ships from "Star Control 3"'s story, leaving out some ships from the first two games.