Paradigm Backshift: Sins of a Solar Empire

Let me preface this by saying that I have not played this game. I have kept up with its previews, reviews, and videos for a long time, though. And I'm satisfied that Sins of a Solar Empire is a very, very good thing. Ever since 2002, I've thought that the great age of PC space strategy gaming was over with the exception of a few big titles and hiccups...or maybe just Civ. The likes of Homeworld, Conquest, Starfleet Command, O.R.B., and Rebellion just dissapeared into the black hole of time and were replaced with...well...crap.

Over the years of emptiness (in which I had no new strategy games to play), I developed the theory that 2001 saw the maximum potential that could be reached using the mouse/keyboard/flat projection interface. The 2001 space RTS games offered users the most options and strategies they could without crossing the complexity threshold. By complexity threshold, I mean Master of Orion 3--the 2002/3ish game that nobody has ever beaten to my knowedge without help from patches and mods and that had so many level of gameplay that even the developers can't figure out a way to fix some AI and balance flaws. That game possibly killed the marketability of space strategy games for two years...it also happens to be one of my favorts. :)

Time demonstrated that I was right. Compare Starfleet Command 3 with any of its predecessors, compare Galactic Civ. 2 with its predecessor, or Empire at War with Rebellion, or ST: Legacy with Klingon Academy. The new games are prettier, but they are laughably easy to the point that an incompetent cimpanzee with a brain disorder could beat them given the correct "angular velocity."

I thought all hope was lost... And after trying EVE: Online and seeing that it is nothing but a unit-tanking orbit and blastfest, I think I might have cried.

But in walks Sins of a Solar Empire. Published this past February, it has all the recipes for success: three balanced but diverse playable races, a graphically pleasing yet still controllable combat interface that allows strategy to go beyond "the right build," a tech tree that surpasses third grade level, and a decent economic sim to complement the military aspect of the game. When I first saw it, I thought, "Hey, this looks like Conquest: Frontier Wars times ten!" Of course I also remembered thinking that about Galactic Civ 2 when it first came out. I promised myself I would never purchase a game again without an online demo (which is the one thing Sins doesn't have going for it), and besides--this game couldn't be any good because it didn't come out in 2001.

Well, it turns out I'm wrong. Everyone loves this game. People I haven't heard or seen talking about games in ages are getting worked up about the replayability of the 4-D missions and the online multiplayer awesomeness. The learning curve is steeper than most gamers are willing to take on (which is a good thing), but not so bad as...say...O.R.B. or Homeworld 2. And people seem to be willing to tackle the difficulty for a game that is so ripped. So far it has sold more copies than any other game this year!

I am really hoping that this jewel revitalizes the open-ended, in-depth RTS genre in space as Supreme Commander did on the ground. It would be awesome to see a few years where good, heart-pumping tactics simulators have a place in the market again. Please, please pave the way for more of your kind, Sins. The industry and people like me need you!