Star Control series

Release: 1990

The original that started it all. From what I remember, it was mostly melee (very little if any story behind it) and multiplayer melee on the DOS version was awesome!

Also on Sega Genesis/Mega Drive and Amiga 500 systems.

Release: 1992

If any game can be called 'best sequel ever', it is most definitely Star Control II. They kept the same addictive melee battles, added better graphics and sound, added new aliens ships (and the great thing is nearly all ships had strengths and weaknesses, so a good player knew exactly how to tackle certain battles), and best of all, a very rich, detailed, captivating, and even funny story was developed that sent you as commander of a special command ship flying thru uncharted space, exploring planets and solar systems, meeting different alien races, and engaging in insane battles all the way to the end. This game is perfect, and so glad that there is a strong open-source community keeping this legacy game alive for the next generation of gamers. (See the Ur-Quan Masters entry below).

Date: 1994

The hit game was ported to the 3DO system, and its this source code that the Ur-Quan Masters project is based on.

Release: 1996

If any game can be called 'worst sequel ever', this comes close to it. It was developed by a different team than the ones that brought us SC1 and SC2, and was a near identical rip-off story wise of SC2, only some names were changed around, better graphics and voice acting was added, and the addictive and challenging ships battles were dumbed down. As a stand-alone game (if you've never played SC1 or 2), this game would appear decent, perhaps even great, but it left thousands of Star Control fans downright pissed.

Release: 2002

After the code of Star Control II for 3DO was released to the open source community, 'The Ur-Quan Masters' project took off. Visit their site at sc2.sf.net to download a 100% free version of their updated Star Control II game, playable on modern computers.