Sins of a Solar Empire [PC]

Over-ambition can kill games faster than an installation bug, and at first blush, Sins of a Solar Empire seems destined for such a fate. But thanks to superb design work, it manages to squeeze a multi-layered space strategy game into a real-time world and remain playable - accessible, even - despite its depth.

Like any strategy game, you start with a modest base, but you'll need to expand quickly if you want to survive. The many planets of a Sins map are home to tax-generating citizens, logistical structures like shipyards, trade stations and propaganda platforms, and defensive emplacements like static guns and fighter bases.

Meanwhile, you'd better be assembling your military. Vast, expensive capital ships, which gain experience and skills as they make kills, are the mainstay of any Sins fleet, but support craft are plentiful nevertheless. A committed (in the "perhaps he should be" sense) player over on the Sins forums has assembled a fleet of over 20,000 ships. Your total is limited by your available time, not the game.

Even if you're not planning to amass forces of such ludicrous proportions, Sins still asks a lot of its players. Not only do you have to contend with rival civilizations, you must manage your empire's resources, oversee its expansion into new areas, direct its research projects, develop its planets and participate in a continual "auction" to buy off pirates or divert their attentions to your competitors. You'll never be short of tasks, and the action doesn't stop while you think.

Where Sins succeeds most of all is in its interface. It would be easy for this intricate game to collapse under its own weight, forcing the player to make too many decisions and do too much busy-work. Not only is it playable even when taking a vast empire through a major military struggle, it remains every bit as manageable as any RTS of more modest scale.

Which is great news for newer players. If you've ever dabbled with turn-based strategy games like Civilization or Galactic Civilizations but were turned off by the ponderous pace, Sins is exactly what you need. It smoothly packs all the drama and scale of space battles from movies like Star Wars and Starship Troopers, with you in the role of general, president, manager, diplomat, civic planner and war hero.

It looks the part, too: Zoom right into the action and you'll discover decidedly attractive visuals. Smartly, the game replaces its detailed models with icons once you pull the camera out far enough, which is where you'll spend most of your time. Presentation isn't a big focus of the genre, but nevertheless, there's little wrong here.

Sins' one key sin is the absurd time commitment it requires. Even on a small map with the speed slider cranked to "fast," a game can easily take a few hours to play. While it will be a gripping and addictive chunk of time, it's nevertheless a substantial investment, and depending on your availability, either a recommendation or a death-knell.

If you're looking for a traditional story-based campaign in Sins, you won't find it. Single-player gaming is limited to fighting AI civilizations in skirmish games, but the opposition is stiff enough to keep it engaging. Better yet, if you can find human opponents prepared to put in the hours to complete a full game, it's a superb multiplayer title, some glitches in the matchmaking interface notwithstanding.

So be honest: how much time do you have? Expect Sins to swallow a significant amount of it, but all the same, this innovative and beautifully designed strategy game is a rare treat. Not only is it accessible enough to recommend to the casual RTS player, it's got more than enough depth to please even the most propeller-headed of strategy nerds. The only sin it will commit is the theft of your sleep.