Combining elements from different genres is a risky proposition, but Ironclad has managed to create a truly unique hybrid with Sins of a Solar Empire. It may leave purists of either genre confused, but it will undoubtedly cultivate a following of its own.
Sins of a Solar Empire bucks the current RTS trends of break-neck speed and small-scale battles, and allows strategy gamers to think big and control an entire war in real time. [Apr 2008, p.58]
How is it possible not to like this game?! Well, maybe multiplayer junkies. Epic space battles, uber campaings (sure they are technicly skirmish games, just get over it!). Who doesn't like an uber battles between multi-hundred ship super-fleets?! This game lives up to its discription. EPIC!!!
Single player game play will consist of skirmishes. You will be leading one of three possible races: TEC, Advent, or Vasari; all with their own well fleshed-out bonuses and tech trees. These tech trees are separated into Combat, Civilian, Defense, and Diplomacy if you have all three expansions; or Combat and Civilian if you have none. Your armada will include ships to fulfill every niche of combat. For anyone who looks for a game's ability to involve strategy and timing: this is your game. I'm not usually one to comment on visuals in a game but SoaSE has them in spades. Space feels massive and beautiful, like it should feel. There is a silly implemented achievement system designed to test your abilities (e.g. beating four or more Hard AIs at once and for winning a map without researching ANYTHING in the combat tree). Really I can't say enough good stuff about this game. Will be a permanent fixture in my gaming library.
Even though there have been many space-combat strategy games, Sins of a Solar Empire does a really good job of mixing various 4X and RTS games, and gives players a game with deep strategy that will keep them busy for a while.
The reason that Sins of a Solar Empire works is that it truly respects and celebrates both styles of strategy gaming. It marries the grand scope and Nietzschian will-to-power embodied by the best "4X" conquer-the-universe titles with the adrenaline-fueled immediacy and moment-to-moment decision making of a great real-time strategy game.
Overall Sins of a Solar Empire is an easy game to recommend to strategy fans. It may put off RTS gamers who live off of rush tactics or turn-based gamers who like the luxury of taking all the time that they want to plot their next move.
The slick blend of genres and the sheer size of the game make it hard to give an unreserved recommendation: Sins of a Solar Empire will not be everyone's cup of tea. However, if you've been hooked to titles like Galactic Civilizations, experiencing '4X' strategy in a real-time environment may be a revelation for you.
The problem with Sins isn't that it begs, borrows and steals; it's that it combines everything improperly and streamlines it so much that it whittles away its own soul.
The amount of depth, strategy, and amour of stuff you can do in this game is mind boggling. While the story is limited and there is no campaign, Sins offers endless hours of galactic warfare, and getting the Trinity version deepens the experience further. There is also a large modding community and an upcoming expansion on the way!
4x Space RTS? Yes please.
Sins of a Solar Empire was for me a hotly anticipated game, given the potential for greatness that it showed, that is until it was released. While it was fun to play, with stunning graphics and a decent UI, it didn't really have any wow factor and it did, as some other reviewers have said, feel bland. There weren't that many ship models/types either, not to mention the fact that their designs were... unimpressive. I mean come on, capital ships are supposed to be awe-inspiring, but they weren't anything special other than they were a little bigger than normal frigates/cruisers. Although it is fun to conduct and watch massive fleet battles, I do admit.
One of my biggest gripes is that there is so much potential and material for a single player campaign and yet there is none, which to me is a genuine travesty. That would have helped me (if done well enough) to get invested in the races. I understand what they wanted was for you to "craft your own experience" with each game, but they could have let that happen while also still providing a storyline of some kind.
As for gameplay, combat is nice in that if you're more of a hands-on player it isn't too difficult (as long as you prepare properly with control groups and fleet assignments, though even without those it's not too bad) then you can control micromanage pretty easily. If you're more of a hands-off player, you can just send your fleet into the fray and watch the fireworks too. Though it could be argued that it is a little light on the strategy in that you can, if you wanted, simply build as many ships as possible and send them barreling towards your enemy that isn't really the case since I've defeated enemies with bigger fleets before using backdoor/multiple front strategies or simply by having less, but more powerful ships in a battle.
fun game to play every once in a while, but the thing that really kills it, is the fact that there is no story mode or single player campaign at all. this is especially important since the game has an opening sequence that seems to hint at an epic story, and then you get to the main menu and find out that theres absolutely nothing...
So glad i picked this up for pennies in the bargain bin of i would have wasted a lot more money than i did.
Good:
-Style
-idea
Bad:
-Terrible AI
-Too tong to play
-unhelpful interface
-story with no campaign (needed both or none)
Horrible effects like shots passing through ships and ships exploding, but you can see the ship just disappears into thin air, repettetive micro managing and then just sending your ships in to an orb with something in the middle asteroids, planets etc... They fight someone wins and repeat. There IS a lot to do, always something to upgrade or keep an eye on. But it doesn´t ever get exciting, its just a matter of how many ships and how good they are. Pour them in and wait, the graphics could have made me stick with it a lot longer but it agonizes me to watch a flak frigate with bullets flying at a 90 degree angle out of a barrel! At least make the barrels point at the targets! Worse even with big ships, beams shooting straight through the hull of the ship firing to hit something to the sides, look stupid and breaks emmersion....
SummarySins of a Solar Empire represents the birth of the RT4X genre, seamlessly blending spectacular tactical combat with grand-scale space strategy. Players must conquer worlds, engage in diplomacy and trade with other civilizations, and use the resources at their disposal to enhance their economy, develop new technology and increase military...