Sins of a Solar Empire

Is the Biggest RTS in Town the Best?

I came across this game by accident. I was skimming a magazine for random articles to read and one on this game caught my eye. After reading the article I went online and found that it was due the next day. I pre-ordered it (can you really call being one day early 'pre-ordering?') and picked it up the instant it was available to me. I'm glad I did, too, because this game is something that I need every minute I have to review, being as big as it is. How big is it? How does, 'as big as you want it' sound?

Sins is designed to expand with technology there is no hard limit on units, planets, systems, players, or even stars. Yes, you can have multiple star systems in one game, although that makes this tremendously huge game even bigger. It's so big and epic that one 'small' three-player game takes hours to complete. There may not be a story-based campaign, but for multiplayer or skirmish fans, this game could suck up your days and nights with just one game.

The game is your basic RTS in most regards. You build your base, harvest resources, and then set off to conquer the universe. What makes this so unique is the way it's presented. For one, the graphics are well done. They're not the prettiest in town, and the effects are lack-luster (especially after player Eve Online: Trinity), but they work very well, and the sense of scale is unparalleled. You can zoom in on one ship, and then seemlessly zoom out to see your whole solar system and then all of the systems in the game. It's amazing. Units become icons at a distance to increase controllability, but do so dynamically so that your capital ship that you can still see doesn't turn into an icon just because the now-too-small-to-see fighters did.

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