|
| Sins of a Solar Empire | 
 enlarge
| From: Stardock
Category: Video Games
List Price: $39.99
Buy New: $27.90
You Save: $12.09 (30%)
New (8) Used (5) from $20.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  79 reviews
Sales Rank: 1246
Format: Cd
Platforms: Windows Xp, Windows Vista
ESRB: Teen
Media: Video Game
Batteries Included: No
Age: 12 - 20 years
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 0.1 x 0.1 x 0
MPN: 708192010608
UPC: 708192010608
EAN: 0708192010608
ASIN: B000YFOGS8
Release Date: February 5, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Customer Reviews:
Maybe I'm missing something March 13, 2008
15 out of 17 found this review helpful
First off, my bona fides: I've been playing computer games for over 30 years; heck, I was designing computer games nearly 30 years ago. I don't even want to think about how many hundreds (if not thousands) of hours I've spent playing various games (mostly 4X and RTS) over the years. You can check out some of my other game reviews here on Amazon (via the link above) to get a sense of my preferences and biases.
I gave SINS four (4) stars overall because it is way above average for the clean, innovative user interface and general quality of the software. It's slick, professional, and absolutely solid. The user interface takes a bit to learn, but once you get the hang of it, it helps you get things done very quickly. And the ability to zoom smoothly from very close to very far out make operating at different scales very easy.
On the other hand, I have a hard time giving the game more than three stars for fun because every game I've played so far (and I've played a lot) ultimately degenerates into shuffling fleets from system to system as your remaining opponent(s) attack. And since ship movement is so slow (yes, even on the 'quick' setting), I find myself spending a lot of time just staring at the screen, watching my fleets inch their way to the current system(s) under attack. Resources (credits, metal, crystal) and 'slots' (logistical and tactical) tend to be so constrained that it's very hard to set up a system that can really defend itself without a decent fleet on hand.
There are no real politics beyond very simple agreements (cease fire, peace treaty, trade agreement, share intelligence). Other (AI) factions make demands of you -- initially for resources, but then for attacks on other factions. You are under a time limit and you have no option to decline gracefully; you either fulfill the demand (and receive a reward comprising some mixture of good will, credits, metal, and/or crystal), or you fail to do so, and you lose goodwill with the faction. Note that you cannot turn around and make those same demands on the AI factions -- an asymmetric disparity that is (IMHO) a serious flaw.
A typical Sins game starts out interestingly enough, but tends to become tedious towards the endgame. Because both movement and construction are so slow, progress in the latter portion of the game tends to be slow as well:
-- Faction A attacks Planet X occupied by Faction B
-- Faction B starts bringing its fleets from elsewhere to Planet X
-- Faction A manages (or not) to wipe out the population on Planet X
-- Faction B manages to bring enough ships to bear to force Faction A to retreat
-- Faction A starts the slow process of building new ships to replace those lost in the attack and then moving them (slowly) to where its fleets are
-- Faction B starts the slow process of recolonizing Planet X (if necesary), after which it can start the slow process of rebuilding the logistical and tactical infrastructure of Planet X, as well as the slow process of building new ships to replace those lost during the battle for Planet X
Or, alternately, Faction B retreats from Planet X, in which case it is Faction A that has the slow process of recolonizing and rebuilding Planet X.
Fleet tactics during battles mostly consist of aiming all your ships at one of your opponent's ships for the 30-60 seconds it takes to destroy it, then repeating that until your opponents flees or is destroyed, or you flee or are destroyed. The variety of technologies that the different capital ships can have are nice, but if you have two or more battles going on simultaneously, it's pretty difficult to do any actual tactics or maneuvering for more than just one battle.
Now imagine that you're doing this simultaneously against 2, 3, or 4 AI factions. It's easy for them to wear you down, but hard for you to make real progress against one of them.
Did I mention the pirates? If you have pirates in the game (some games exclude them), they'll show up out of nowhere and attack your systems also. You can bribe them to go attack other factions.
In the end, it's that combination of simultaneous attacks, slow production, slow movement, and slow progress that pretty much makes Sins very tedious in the endgame. Based on the glowing reviews I've seen here and elsewhere, there must be people who really enjoy that sort of thing and/or have some magic strategies that make all this work.
In sum: great technology, great UI, great initial gameplay, and very tedious endgame. YMMV. ..bruce..
Jack March 12, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
The game is fun and I have spent many hours playing it. The strategy was challenging at first, but once I got the hang of it, it seems the same strategy works just as well against difficult opponents as easy opponents.
I feel the diplomacy in this game is a bit tedious, and I found the game more enjoyable by locking teams and eliminating diplomacy, but others may enjoy that aspect of the game.
Overall, it is very enjoyable and has good replay ability, so I am giving it 4 stars. It is definitely a good strategy game which have been lacking in recent years.
 Impressive Game March 10, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was looking for a fun interstellar RTS and found this. The game can range from 1 hour to several days in skirmish mode against computers. Depending on how big of a match you feel like playing. The ships blow up very nicely, fleets are relatively easy to control, and building an empire is good fun. There are several things in the game I would have personally liked to be different. Like culture, and the economy; which are too simple. Although for some that is good because they prefer huge fleet battles... which the game has plenty of. Overall this game is a great title, and hopefully other games will develop along these lines with varying complexities in game-play.
Excellent game that no PC gamer should miss out on. March 4, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Sins is an amazing piece of work. This game is a marvelous epic of a space strategy game that combines 4x gameplay with real time gameplay. Play this game at your own risk! Start a game among friends and you will absolutely play into the wee hours of the next morning, and you wont even regret it. Not too bad for 40 dollars a box is it?
EPIC March 3, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
When an Indie game outsells Call of Duty 4 and the Orange Box in it's first month, a gamer has to take note. Sins of a Solar Empire (awesome title by the way) is grand in scope, and may be intimidating to gamers unfamiliar with the RT4X genre, but when you get used to ruling several planets, you'll discover an incredibly deep strategic experience. A story spanning thousands of years and several star systems brings all the incredible gameplay aspects together, resulting in a tight, polished experience that could please even a hardcore FPS addict (me)
The only caveat so far, the interface is not as streamlined as it could be.
All in all, one of the best indie titles available on PC, buy it.
|
|
|
Copyright
©
2006 Adminpal LLC | |
