While astronomers debate how the universe was formed and creationists debate how astronomers were formed, for fans of space strategy PC games, the Big Bang happened in 1993. Microprose's Master of Orion pioneered the concept of strategic space domination and defined the rules that all subsequent games followed. Before purists start banging out angry emails - yes, Reach for the Stars did implement some elements first - we're talking about games that went beyond Ascii.
Fast-forward 15 years and Sins of a Solar Empire has arrived. The game is remarkable in many ways, not least because - at the time of going to press - it has yet to find a UK publisher. I'd like to say this is because firms have been falling over themselves to snap up the rights, but it would be a lie. The game's lack of a publisher is indicative of how turgid and timid the games industry has become, as it waits for yet another generic first-person shooter to pad out its end-of-year profits. For now, the only way to get hold of this game in the UK is via digital download.
As with other games of its ilk, Sins of a Solar Empire uses the time-honoured 4x style of play: eXplore, eXpand, eXploit and eXterminate (shouldn't that be four 'e's?). Set in the distant future, it pits three sides (two human and one alien) against each other in a ruthless battle for galactic domination. Starting with a single planet, you'll need to expand your fleet, colonise new worlds, research technology, and stay one step ahead of the competition, using a combination of diplomacy, cunning and ultraviolence. On paper, this all seems very predictable, but Sins is one of those rare games that sucks you into a vortex of addictive gameplay.
Here's how
After a brief tutorial and a fantastically contrived explanation about the origins of the game's name (something to do with deported deviant humans), you're thrown in at the deep end. Interestingly, the game deals with the action on a micro, rather than a macro scale. Instead of conquering stars, you conquer planetary systems, However, with more than 120 worlds to conquer in the largest maps, you can't just dip in and out of this game.
Each system is linked via an obligatory star lane, although quite why they're called lanes is beyond us. Why not interstellar boulevard? Dark-matter dirt track? At the end of each space lane is (usually) a planet, along with an area of navigable space, where battles, orbital buildings and resource mining occurs.
Planets come in four varieties - Terren (Earth, basically), Desert, Ice and Volcanic - although the last two will need specialist technology researched before you can set foot on them. Some systems contain only asteroids, which serve as basic outposts, while others have intersystem wormholes - or pretty but useless gas giants.
Assuming that you find a planet that can be colonised, and isn't occupied by hostile forces, landing people on its surface adds it to your empire, enabling you to harvest both planetary and orbiting resources. As your new colony grows, you can add space yards, defensive satellites and research laboratories, although there's a finite limit on how much you can add.
In addition to cash, which you acquire by taxing your citizens and building trade routes, you need to harvest metal and crystal material. These three resources are the universal currency for all your actions, be it researching new technology, building interstellar dreadnaughts or establishing new colonies.
Of course, you're not alone, and with as many as nine other teams all vying for the same space, you'll eventually come to blows. To help you in this task of astro-genocide are a plethora of ships, ranging from nippy but defenceless scouts to lumbering behemoths bristling with weapons. Some of the battles are truly awesome, with dozens of spaceships wheeling around in space as laser beams rend the sky - not unlike certain movies with a Jedi theme.
Technology plays its part too, and the game has enhanced weapons, improved colonisation and additional utilities on offer. Of course, this requires precious resources that might otherwise be used for building spaceships. Sins does a fantastic job of balancing out your different 'needs' depending on the play type. It's challenging, but manages to avoid the territory known as 'Aghhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!'
The diplomacy options have also been given the once-over. At the start, teams are hostile to each other, but other teams will often ask you for help, asking for cash and tasking you with killing enemy objects. Do so and they'll warm to you; ignore the request and they'll hate you a little more.
To say the visuals are out of this world would be shoehorning in a pun too far, but they'rereasonably decent, and the nerdy among us will be pleased to see real-time planet rotations in full effect.
Sins still has a few teething problems though. The bloom effect doesn't work (unless bloom is a codeword for 'turn everything into a cube'), and there are some pathfinding issues. However, the team at the official forums (http://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com) is excellent at responding to player feedback.
Conclusion
With its fresh and intelligent approach to both game mechanics and gameplay, Sins has revitalised the concept of strategic space domination. It may not be a game you can dip in and out of - even the smallest maps take a good few hours to play through - but it's also the sort of game that's so engrossing you don't even notice the time slipping by. It may only be March, but we already have a contender for the RTS game of the year. Miss it at your peril.
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Author: Daniel Emery
Sins of a Solar Empire