Sins of a Solar Empire Preview

Most strategy games on the market offer their own takes on the genre, but unfortunately fall into the same ol’ formula. Sure, there have been a few great entries to the strategy genre in recent years, like Company of Heroes and World in Conflict, but more often than not new games in the strat genre leave little diversity for seasoned fans. Therefore, it’s all the more reassuring when a game comes out that not only puts its own unique spin on the genre, but adds great elements that makes the overall experience feel like a lot more original than other titles out on the market.

Stardock’s latest strategy game, Sins of a Solar Empire, seems to do just that. A space simulator, Sins of a Solar Empire has many of the familiarities and mechanics of the turn-based strategy genre, from resource gathering and unit building to space battles, but does things a little differently than most turn-based strategy titles by doing away with the end turn concept, instead unfolding in real-time. However, the game has a lot more depth than your typical real-time strategy playing out more like a Civilization game than, say, Company of Heroes. Plus, the lack of an end turn option serves to add more tense moments, an eventual mastery of the game’s system of menus and a keen understanding of the overall mechanics.

The beta preview build of the game presented only one race available for play, the Trader Emergency Coalition, but there will be two others in the final build (the Advent and Vasari Empire). The game will require you to explore the universe and exploit resources a lot more than actually fight enemies, and requires a great deal more diplomacy than your typical RTS. You’ll have to form shaky alliances with other races, complete with trade routes and so on. Not to say that the game is very low on the action, as you’ll be fighting with broken treaties and enemy forces pretty often.

Aside from military elements, there are a fair amount of political elements that you’ll have to contend with in order to be truly successful. There is a civilian element that will require you to keep your population happy, or else you’ll experience slower planetary expansion.

Additionally, the game puts a heavy emphasis on researching new technologies. Almost like building a class in an RPG, you’ll go down a variety of research trees, following a path and basically playing the game according to your preference. There are a lot of options and roads to take, making for a bit of a sandbox experience.

Graphically, even though the game isn’t set for release until early next year, it still looks pretty impressive. The ship models are very well done and the game runs very well on mid-range PCs. The camera angles are pretty varied, allowing you to zoom in and out very closely or far away to see the full brunt of the empire that you have amassed.

All in all, Sins of a Solar Empire is showcasing a great amount of innovation and tense gameplay, as well as some very deep research and diplomacy elements. Check it out next year.