Ever since reading Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card’s science fiction masterwork, I have been continually searching for a way of putting myself in the shoes of a conquering Ender Wiggin. Over the years, the only 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit and eXterminate) game that ever came close was the ‘90’s classic, Stars! Designed by two former Microsoft employees, Stars! was the preferred title of hardcore strategists and often described as the “Harpoon of 4X games.” Unlike other games that seemed determined to force the gamer in the role of ship-designing engineer or paper-pushing bureaucrat, Stars! kept the gamer focused on the big strategic picture with an interface that resembled a war room more than anything else. Stars! has now passed into gaming history and I have been on the prowl for a suitable replacement ever since. Well, at long last, I can say that the successor to Stars! is here and it is called Sins of a Solar Empire, a 4X strategy game as deep as it is beautiful.
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