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Star Control II is a game based on exploration, space combat, diplomacy and resource gathering. Your main starship is the Precursor vessel and it can be used to travel between star systems. This uses fuel which must be processed in exchange for raw materials. In addition to providing fuel, raw materials can also be used to make purchases. You can use them to improve your starship, buy ships for your fleet, and hire crewmembers (who represent your ships' "health").

Raw materials are found on surfaces of planets throughout the galaxy; you have to send a landing module to the planet and then guide it around the surface as it picks up the materials you found earlier with your scanner. Each planet is unique in the type of minerals and metals it is formed of. Some planets are plagued by natural dangers such as lightning storms, earthquakes or lava which can damage or destroy your landing modules. Non-sentient lifeforms can also be found and stunned to obtain biological samples. Special installations, objects and ruins can also be found on certain planets.

While in "deep space", your starship can approach any star you come across, and then you can guide your ship around its system and land on its planets and their moons. Space is treated as two-dimensional and presented in a top-down view. There is also a starmap available which shows the entire galaxy and allows you to set your ship on auto-pilot to any star.

Throughout space are different alien civilizations. These are represented on the starmap by a sphere of influence. Within the sphere, the aliens have a controlling presence and their ships will venture freely. Outside the sphere, encounters are rarer. Aliens can be dealt with diplomatically, through a series of dialog options, or in combat.

Combat utilizes the same engine as the first Star Control game, where action is controlled from a top view and influenced by the gravity of nearby planets. Each alien vessel is controlled uniquely and has unique abilities. Combat can also be played as a standalone game ("melee mode"), separate from the main storyline.

Star Control 2 Remixes:
The Ur-Quan Masters - Soundtrack I: Super Melee!
The Ur-Quan Masters - Soundtrack II: Neutral Aliens, Don't Shoot!