Sins of a Solar Empire Collectors Edition - PC

I was very pleased with the game. It is always fun seeing large fleet battles. When you can control the events, it's even more fun.The game is easy to learn and conquer. I can't imagine anyone playing this game 3-4 days a week, however it is fun to go back and play one or two times a week.If you warp an overwhelming fleet into a planet's system, the enemy will simply warp away. This gives them a chance to regroup, build, and counter attack. So warp a small fleet in and wait for the enemy fleet to fully engage. Then warp the assault force right on top of them. Focus all you have on one capital ship at a time and watch them try to scurry away.

This game is pretty fun. I'm a micromanagement type of player so I couldn't say I enjoyed every aspect of this game. But, for someone looking for a good looking, 4X space RTS, who doesn't care for too much detail/micromanagement, this is the game for you.There are a wide variety of scenarios and maps to let you play just about any type of game you want. When I say wide, I mean it. Loads of maps.Ship building is simpler than other games in that you get a couple of starting ship types and then research to gain the others (there are 5-6 frigate class ships, then corsairs). You start with a capital ship and need to research the ability to expand your fleet and the number of capital ships you can have. Other research upgrades your fleet's abilities while your capital ships level up with experience giving you a sort of mini-RPG game as your capital ships gain new abilities.Resource management is simplified down to two resources (not including money). Crystal and Metal are mined from asteroids in the various systems you control. You can also trade them on the black market in case you have a surplus. Each planet produces taxes and you have to...wait for it...research the ability to colonize harsher worlds like arctic and volcanic worlds (not sure how you colonize a volcanic world but hey, it's science FICTION).The visuals in the game are pretty nice (the trailers are part of the reason I was drawn to this game). You can scroll down to the individual ships and watch them as they fight your opponents ships. They aren't crazy detailed at the highest zoom, which is unfortunate, but then again, you can smoothly go from close up to galactic view with a quick scroll so, I guess there's some give and take.The AI, even on easy, has a tendency to do a better job of building out crazy fleets...I guess they know how to play the game better than I could so I must be missing something. :)Diplomacy is very simplistic. It has an interesting twist but it's one sided in a way. You can propose treaties and such but that's about it. They can offer you bounties if you accomplish something or if you do something for them (like give them resources). I'd have liked to been able to offer the same sort of bounties they offered and/or have the ability to bundle an offer with a request (sort of like Civ 4).All in all, it's a good game to grab if you're into this genre. I've played a number of games like this over the years and each one has had good things and bad things (no one ever really gets it "right" for me anyways).The good here include the graphics/visuals, variety of maps, general simplicity of gameplay (in that it allows you to oversee your empire without having to spend too much time worrying about system 22939 in the middle of nowhere), ship RPG gaming, and simple resource management.The bad here are the simplicity of features that I'd think some people would like complex like diplomacy, ship designs/abilities and the like and some confusion in the research tree (I needed to research some ability to allow myself to expand my fleet or something for one of the non-human races and I could not find the ability ANYWHERE in the research tree!).

This game takes a little to get used to, kind of hard at first getting used to the commands and units. It reminds me of battlestar galactica in a way.

Love this game.

This game is pretty awesome. As far as space combat goes, it really is top notch....a little like Eve. My only gripe about the game is that there is no ground combat. You glass a planet and then have to build a fresh new colony on it.

Game is different from most others. No story mode, just skirmish or multiplayer. 3 factions, scalable maps, and ability to easily design your own maps by choosing number of stars, nubmer of planets, and planet types. Game does get repetitve after awhile though. Massive maps could take a very long time to complete.

Not sure how this game got the reviews it did. "Game of the Year?" Oh, no...somebody was paid for favorable comments.Graphics are...tiny.Game play is like going to school - tedious and boring.I've played realistic flight simulators that are easier and more interesting to learn (you know, the ones with the dictionary flight manuals?)

Honestly, I don't know how fun this game is, it was a gift for my husband....haven't heard him say much about it yet...