Pump out units you don’t care about, never get attached to, and send them at the enemy as fast and as often as you can. This is pretty much the formula they’ve followed since, well, forever.

The only bug exception I know of was the original Age of Empires. Those were the good old days of RTS gaming–when a ‘defensive’ strategy also worked. You could build walls and be safe behind them. You could plot and plan. There was time to think, and I love thinking.

Wow, was I ever excited about the game Supreme Commander. Those overhead shots of red vs blue units in tactical array really had me. Or should I say, tricked me. For all it’s hype ingenuity, the S in RTS was still the same: Click click click to pump out the units, overwhelm with numbers, zerg. To me, at least, this game was an utter disappointment. It got great ratings though, so obviously it was great for others…but not for me. I wanted more. I wanted…deeper.

If you like strategy games and you’ve never played Galactic Civilizations 2, you’re missing out. Stardock, the publisher of ‘Sins of a Solar Empire’ created a masterpiece with that game, catering to a niche of fans eager to relive the glory days of Master of Orion 2. But Stardock outdid themselves, and GalCiv 2 has surpassed it’s 4X strategy forefathers (including Civilization) and in a few months time, when it’s next expansion arrives, will get even better.

Point is: They make great games, and more importantly, are committed to improving and enhancing those games in light of the desires expressed by the players who buy them.

Sins of a Solar Empire is deep, immersible, customizable. It is made for a gamer who loves to think and plot and plan, who likes their games saturated with lore and steeped in tactical balance. Yeah, games last long. This, to the strategy gamer, is a good thing. It means one mistake won’t cost you anything. It means a struggle that promises rich fulfillment at the end. It means, in a word, ‘Epicness’.

No, that’s not a real word. But you get the idea, I hope.

My favorite game(and I feel far and away the most universally strategic game of all time) is Rome/Medieval 2 Total War. I’m not here to argue the point, but I don’t think anything comes close to the grand scale and immense tactical decision-making present in those games. Time will tell how Sins of a Solar Empire stacks up, but what it is now is close, and what it will likely be in a years time may surpass anything I could hope to imagine.

My review? This game is incredible. You can read about the gameplay mechanics elsewhere. I’m here to tell you that if you like your strategy games long and complex, but exciting and vastly challenging as well, sit on the fence no longer. Hop into the yard and jump in the pool, my friend.

Epic space strategy on a colossal scale is here. And it’s equipped with three banks of laser cannons, front and rear missile bays, roving fighter squadrons and a Gauss cannon.

I’ve wasted enough time trying to convince you. Time to play.Â