Sins of a Solar Empire (PC)

Sins of a Solar Empire is one of the best strategy games of the decade. Don't miss it.
2/26/2008 12:00 AM | 2 Comments | Page 1 of 2

Ironclad Games, developer of Sins of a Solar Empire, set out to pull off the seemingly impossible task of creating an epic space strategy game in a real-time environment. Most games of this type only come in turn-based flavor, Galactic Civilizations and Master of Orion being the mainstays of the genre. With so many balls to juggle, the idea of dealing with production, exploration, diplomacy, technological research and combat all in real-time is enough to make your head spin. Not only does Sins succeed in pulling off this design feat, but it does it with such a surprising level of competence that even die-hard turn-based fans should take notice. This is truly a magnificent game.

There are several aspects that stand out, but in order to make this grand design work in real-time, Ironclad made a few brilliant decisions. First, the designers set the pace of the gameplay so that you never have to frantically click on units and structures in fear of being overrun. Sins of a Solar Empire moves at an almost leisurely pace, and as a result it's not as much about being the master of the hotkey as it is about planning and tactical decisions.

Second, the interface allows players to quickly survey their growing empire. In a game like this, if you play on a large map, you will be in control of several planetary systems spread all over the galaxy. A mini-map simply would not suffice. Instead, Ironclad came up with the Empire Tree. This places your empire directly at your fingertips. Along the left-hand side of the screen, you can view your domain and even issue orders to units, add items to a build queue, you name it. You can play the game, if you wish, without leaving the comfort of your home planet's view. If you did that, however, you'd miss out on witnessing the game's artificial intelligence and its gorgeous visuals.

If you have played the real-time strategy game Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns, then you have a general idea of what combat is like in Sins. With such a large canvas with which to work, it is crucial that the AI be able to take care of itself without constant babysitting. Sins succeeds, just like Kohan did a few years ago, by programming units to use all of their special powers without the need of human input. When a fleet enters a hostile system, it immediately branches out into formation and begins the attack without as much as a nod from you.

The ship commanders usually know what they're doing -- but there are times when direct input is needed; this usually revolves around when you retreat. The AI tends to let ships take a pounding without cycling in reinforcements. Still, the AI is very adept at using a ship's special power, so the gameplay is driven around using your ships tactically, knowing which ship is best used for a certain task. Just throwing a mass of units at an enemy without good intel on what type of ships are in the enemy fleet is pure suicide.

There is also a great sense of controlled chaos -- this is thanks in part to how ships travel around the galaxy. Ships aren't able to just zip from planet to planet, taking whatever route they wish; they are forced to travel by Phase Jumping. This simply means that there are direct pathways linking planets and you must use them in order to leave a system. These paths actually work like mountain passes or chokepoints in a traditional war game, because you know that in order for a fleet to enter an area it will have to do so at a certain location.