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| From: Stardock
List Price: $39.99
Buy New: $26.99
You Save: $13.00 (33%)
New (8) Used (5) from $20.00
Rating:  79 reviews
Sales Rank: 1108
Format: Cd
Platforms: Windows Xp, Windows Vista
Genre: real_time_strategy_games
ESRB: Teen
Media: Video Game
Batteries Included: No
Age: 12 - 20 years
Operating System: Windows XP
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 0.1 x 0.1 x 0
MPN: 708192010608
UPC: 708192010608
EAN: 0708192010608
ASIN: B000YFOGS8
Release Date: February 5, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 11-15 of 79
 A Brave New Paradigm in PC Gaming is Established! February 6, 2008
Spartan (http://www.modcraft.net)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
NOTE: This is a real quick write up a more detailed review to come later when I have more free time.
With that said....
If you are a true PC gamer and you like strategy games then you should be very interested in Sins. It is afresh new concept in gaming with hybrid genera inventing concept. They have elegantly crossed traditional 4X gaming with RTS and have beyond doubt created a new standard for the industry.
The policies of the publisher [...] and developer for things such as licenses and protection as well as updates and support are top shelf bar none. There simply is not a better publisher in the market place when it comes to supporting consumers and for the freshmen title from the developers given how they have developed the title especially throughout the past year I fully expect them to stand at StarDocks side in the near future.
The development of the title was done in the public arena from nearly day one and has really been a very interesting thing to be a part of and watch over the past year. Moreover they [The developers & publishers] are really active on the forums and have made many, many changes to the games design based on the feedback and at fundamental levels. Granted there are some aspects of the process I don't like so much but there is also other things to consider such as trade secrets, development cycle, marketing, financial resources and promotional strategy -etc... All of which are very reasonable.
With nearly all of the other beta programs I have participated in I have felt ignored, abused, placated and simply taken for granted. Additionally the selection processes leave me wondering "WTF?" most times. I don't see a clearly defined plan of action, articulated communication networks, trackers, coherent stages, organized issues lists and corrections -etc... and most of the forums are populated with mindless dribble and flame wars and to add insult to injury are managed by people not doing the actual development work. I simply fail to see the real point of the "testing" except for pure marketing value and or maybe for server load issues.
 Not Impressed February 7, 2008
O. Chambers
9 out of 60 found this review helpful
Sins of a Solar Empire
Ok so I maybe the only guy in the bunch here that has something negative to say about this game. Why you ask? Well first off its just not as intuitive and well designed as I read and now experienced. How so you ask? Well the GUI - or graphic interface just looks like they got some inexperienced guy in windows paint to slap together the graphics. The placement of icons, groupings of icons and color scheming just doesn't make sense. Now aside from the general game's interface, the graphics(ships, worlds general in-game asethetics) definitely does not rank up there with titles coming out these days(World In Conflict or the old school game:Homeworld 2. SINS graphics look really dated(circa early 90's) and uninspired. Lots of blocky polygons and so-so texturing. Kinda amazing since this thing went through so many betas and took soo long in development. Granted tho, it doesn't have load issues, you can move pretty seamless around the enviroment and it has some nifty effects. Voice over work -bad - lets not mince words people. It sucks. No single player campaign but lots of ability to custom make your own scenarios and maps.
Have yet to mess with the multiplayer - but seems cool you can save it out. I suppose I was expecting something on par with Homeworld 2 and as immersive. Should of waited for the demo... Suppose I could try and take it back or use it for a coaster on my table. My suggestion, wait for the demo.
**To counter those who think I didn't crank up the graphics - I did. Got a 8800GTX 768 and a dual core 3.0ghz with 4gigs of ram. Nuff Said - nothing changed. The graphics were bad a medium and didn't change at highest.
*** There is strategy in this game, just no story, no immersive binding element that makes me want to come back for more...I suppose I am old school. Give me a story and then I might hop online if it is worth my time.
Breath of Fresh Air February 6, 2008
Ronald J. Lugge III
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
This game is a breath of fresh air. Just as, once upon a time, Starcraft re-wrote the book for what an RTS "should" be, so too will this game. Its far from a stale, overdone copy of a mediocre clone, which most RTS games are these days. This game incorporates new features and ideas, a new approach to the genre, and the brilliance of one of the best companies out there. I've been a part since the early beta -- which means that yes, my opinion is skewed -- and this game is incredible.
The developers have had the active participation of a large beta community for the last year or so, receiving constant input from the end-users, all of whom were not under an NDA. To get into the beta, you just had to pre-order the game before or during certain time windows when it was opened. Hundreds of people helped them polish it until it gleamed, creating a game that was more stable 6 months before release than most released games.
On top of that, this game incorporates many, many things from the 4X -- eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate -- genre, despite its being real time instead of turn based. You can build up a real economy, and tools like an actual diplomacy system and the ability to sic pirates on someone via bounties allow that to be a semi-functional approach. Obviously, however, a strong military is still important, and there is another place this game shines. Its combat system rejects the micro-heavy approach of most games, and while almost all units have abilities, the unit AI can handle using those abilities for you most of the time.
I could go on for hours, but I won't. I'll just conclude with this: this game is going places. Buy it, and get in on the ground floor of the game that is going to use Starcraft II to mop the ground!
Version 1.03 has significant changes March 18, 2008
Mark Shanks (Portland, OR)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
Don't like the space pirates? Thank goodness the latest release (downloadable from Stardock) has a series of "game options", including one to make them "inactive". In the (admittedly beginner-level) game I'm playing, they're still there on their maniacally-armed planet, but so far I haven't had them putting bounties on my head.
I leave it to the more experienced gamers to fathom how things work. Me - I'm puzzled that, as quickly as I can get a scout ship to start exploring my little corner of the solar system, the "other guys" all seem to have large fleets of frigates and cruisers, even battle cruisers (!), already assembled. And those damned PIRATES! One look at their "home world", and I'm simply ready to abandon all hope. Dozens of defensive platforms, and scores of ships! Does the game START with everyone BUT me ready for massive combat? (And yes, this is with "Easy" mode selected.)
As another reviewer has pointed out, things CAN get a bit tedious. I had a 2.5-hour space battle - I went through three capitol ships and countless frigates and cruisers, but somehow the "other guys" (playing in single-player mode) seemed able to match my output ship-for-ship, PLUS a few extra. Had I left it to AI strategy, it would have been a massacre. But after so long a battle, I simply wasn't enjoying it and bailed.
The system-building option also strikes me as a little unusual. I suppose you could use it to give yourself either a huge advantage or to handicap a game, but in normal play, I prefer the random assignments of resources. Your ability to acquire knowledge and to build ships depends on the availability of vital resources: metal and crystal. If you're fortunate enough to start with or conquer a planet with multiple crystal asteroids, you have a great head start over the poor slob with one or none.
Dedicated gamers will find scope enough to occupy them for weeks, probably months. Casual gamers: don't expect anything to get settled in just a couple of hours. The *smallest* game, a single-system scenario, takes about 8-10 hours of play. Unlike other games I've played, there's no "just putzing around and exploring" - this is definitely a hostile system, with most planets armed to the teeth and itching for a fight. (Diplomacy? Why does someone want to have me perform some oddball "mission" at the same time they're bombarding the bejeezus out of my home planet?)
All that said - yes, I'm having a good time. Very fluid graphics, lots of "good stuff" to work through, and great value for your gaming dollar. If you're on the fence, I hope a demo comes out soon, because it really is a fun and involving game.
 Vastly overrated - I find it boring May 25, 2008
Bob (USA)
8 out of 14 found this review helpful
All the professional review sites are ecstatic over this title. I have no idea why.
You have a map with a small number of planets (14 on a small map, 20 on a medium map, 50 on a large map--I don't see how anyone would have time to play this on a large map), and it takes really LONG time for ships to move between these planets.
The thing you need to know about this game is that it's slow. There's nothing to do besides watch your ships fight it out. Battles can take forever. There's little strategy involved. Once you've figured out the best technology to research and best ships to build, there's really not much planning or thinking required.
The technology research is very generic. You research stuff that gives you more powerful shields and armor, more powerful weapons, or unlock new ships. On the civilian side, the key technologies to research are unlocking trading ports (because you need to build them to get more money), and early warning radar so you know when enemy ships are coming. Other than that, there are no key technologies that alter the game. It's not like Civilization where you really feel the pain of falling behind in research.
The AI isn't very bright. It will harass your planets if you put it on "agressor" mode, but it's really bad at going in for the kill and actually taking you over. On "hard" level, the computer players have massively more ships than you do, but are too stupid to use them effectively.
Thinking of playing it online against humans? The SOSE forums are full of complaints about problems playing the game online, and even if they fix those problems in a future service pack, do you really want to play a game online where it takes an entire day to finish one game? Who has time for that?
If you want good strategy, play Civ 4 instead. If you are unemployed and want to spend hours mindlessly in front of a computer game, then play one of those big online games like World of Warcraft ot Final Fantasy XI.
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