Sins of a Solar Empire

Homeworld meets Civilization in this unbelievably deep real-time strategy game that goes where no other in the genre has dared gone before.

With World War II strategy games a tired lot and ancient Rome tapped, Sins of a Solar Empire embarks on a different course. Beyond its stellar setting lies a unique game that ventures to the fringes of real-time strategy. The risk of failure runs high when exploring new territory, yet Sins of a Solar Empire succeeds in discovering an innovative breed of strategic gameplay that is unfathomably deep and fun.

Rush hour in the Milky Way.

Rush hour in the Milky Way.

Go Big or Go Home

Huge is the best way to describe Sins. From its dramatic back story and enormous maps to the sheer wealth of strategic options and depth of play, the game goes big on everything. The visual scale is the first thing that catches your eye, as Sins boasts an unprecedented zoom that enables you to seamlessly zoom in from full galactic view down to the outer atmosphere of a planet. What's even better is that you don't need a monster machine--the game runs smoothly on mid-range PCs.

Sins plays much like a real-time variation of Sid Meier's Civilization set in space. You lead one of three factions--Trader Emergency Coalition (humans), the Advent, and Vasari--in an epic battle for galactic supremacy. As such, your ultimate objective lies in dominating a map by colonizing every planet within it. Colonization requires a mix of battling enemy forces both alien and pirate, spreading culture, and raising infrastructure to expand your population. All of this occurs in real-time, although the pacing is rather slow. It's a deliberate style of gameplay that encourages pouring over potential strategies versus bum-rushing enemies.

Without a campaign to speak of, the intriguing premise sadly has nowhere to really go. The lack of a story-driven campaign is without question the game's greatest shortcoming. Instead of working through a slate of related missions, you can only play a series of individual scenarios. At least these maps can be used for multiplayer matches too. In fact, you're able to save multiplayer rounds and come back to them later.

Revenge is a dish best served on the outskirts of an ice-locked planet.

Revenge is a dish best served on the outskirts of an ice-locked planet.

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