As the Space Pope would say, 'as sure as my skin is green and my fourteen hearts still beat, Jesus Mark VII will always be my Saviour-Bot'. It also means there's no real story or campaign mode to speak of, simply a huge list of scenarios and maps to play through, some small and others so big that a single play through would take much longer than most full retail single-player games out there.
It also means the battles themselves will take quite a long time to play themselves out, with fleets taking upwards of a minute just to line up their space guns and ion cannons at nearby enemy ships. It also means that there's a steep learning curve, one that equates to hours spent exploring nearby planets, mining resources, shoring up defensives and building a fleet of starships. What exactly that amounts to is a game that is as much about colonising planets as it is building hulking space frigates that shoot laser beams at other alien ships and space stations. At its core, Sins of a Solar Empire is a strict 4X strategy game - that being 'explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate.'
Although the title itself conjures imagery of a futuristic Catholic guilt simulator (hands off Will Wright - that's my idea!), this space-based real-time strategy and exploration game would probably appeal to about the same size audience.
