A Complex Game with a Simple Goal - Control the Universe
Computer strategy games have long been divided into two major classifications: real-time and turn-based. The real-time strategy camp is where you'll find games like StarCraft, Command & Conquer and Supreme Commander while games like Civilization, Master of Orion and Panzer General fall into the turn-based category. RTS games favor fast action and precise unit control while turn-based games are typically heavier on strategic thinking and unit statistics.
Combining the two has been done before in games like Star Wars: Empire at War, Dawn of War: Dark Crusade and The Battle for Middle-earth II but this is usually accomplished by keeping the two game modes separate. A Risk-style meta-game is laid over the top of the existing RTS structure that gives a sense of the bigger picture to the individual skirmishes. You move your armies about the map and when a fight breaks out you're taken down to a straight-forward RTS level. Sins of a Solar Empire - the new strategy title from developer Ironclad Games and published by Stardock Entertainment - is an elegant mixture of both the turn-based 4X principles and RTS gameplay wrapped up in an epic space conflict package.
In Sins you'll start with a single-planet and shipyard with the goal being nothing short of total domination of the Universe - or at least the section of it represented by your current map. The game plays out in real-time but since you're dealing with interstellar distances the style is more that of a turn-based game mixed with the ominous feeling that you aren't building fast enough. You choose from one of three races: the familiar human Trader Emergency Coalition, the spiritual Advent, or the remnants of the once-great Vasari Empire. Each race has a different backstory, a unique set of units and individual technologies to research. The races aren't so different that you'll have to learn each one from the ground up but they each have their subtle advantages and weaknesses.
This is a space game and as such takes place in outer space. There is no terrestrial fighting at all - although you will bombard planets from orbit. The maps are made up of multiple planets, asteroids and sometimes multiple stars and solar systems. These heavenly bodies are connected through a network of "phase lanes:" corridors through space that allow uninterrupted faster-than-light travel.
Not all planets are accessible from every other planet so it is possible (and recommended) to find and colonize the hub planets. That way you can set up bottlenecks where you can defend the deep sections of your empire by fortifying a few front-line planets. Each star, planet or asteroid is surrounded by a gravity well where you can control your ships. In the case of planets and asteroids that can be colonized this is where you build your bases and defense structures. Sins makes use of three resources: crystal and metal that are mined from asteroids and credits that come from trade routes and taxes levied on the populations of your colonies.
Much of Sins is played from a high altitude but it's worth it to get in close from time to time.
There are a couple of things you should know about Sins of a Solar Empire right off the bat. First and foremost is that this is not a fast game. After completing the tutorials I started my first game on a "small map" and it took me seven hours to beat it against one computer opponent. Admittedly some of that time was spent learning the game and I'm more of an economy-and-upgrades player who prefers to build fewer, stronger units rather than engaging in the often-used Zerg tactics or tank rushes. That play style tends to extend games but regardless of your tactical choice you probably won't get in and out of a full game in under two or three hours.
The time doesn't drag on endlessly however; there is always plenty to occupy your attention. Even with the game's comparatively slow pace you'll find yourself overwhelmed sometimes by dealing with priorities like pirate raids on the fringe colonies, diplomacy quests from other empires and maximizing population growth and allegiance on your own colonies. It's a complicated game with many facets that require attention.
What Sins? What Empire?
The other piece of information that is important about the game - and this may be a deal-breaker for many of you although I'll argue that it shouldn't be - is that there is no single-player campaign at all. The only way to play single-player is in what's commonly called skirmish mode in RTS circles where you load up a map and set the parameters. The choice was made by Ironclad and Stardock to put all available resources on the development of the core gameplay rather than splitting the team and working on a campaign simultaneously. Representatives from Ironclad have already stated that the story is written and campaign ideas exist but whether they will pursue a campaign mode as a big content patch or an expansion has yet to be decided.
The lack of any single-player campaign hurts Sins a little. The lore paints an interesting picture that wants to be fleshed out and there are story questions asked in the manual that go unanswered - the most important being who or what is pursuing the Vasari across the reaches of space. Even the game's name screams for elaboration. If it was called Star Conquest or Space Emperor or something generic like that I'd be more willing to give it a pass but with a name like Sins of a Solar Empire... you've got to give me something. The name's practically poetic.
Single-player campaigns in strategy games are also great ways to slowly introduce new units and structures without overwhelming new players by giving them all the options right off the bat. My first game of Sins took as long as it did because much of the time was spent reading the details of every ship, structure, upgrade and technology. Sins has tutorials that will get you to where you're comfortable with the controls and the interface but you'll still know very little about the game. Even if you're a big fan of single-player RTS campaigns you shouldn't get discouraged by the lack of one in Sins. There's still plenty of game here to enjoy.
Join our discussion on this topic
