2007 was to be the year the PC reestablished itself as a force to be reckoned with. High-profile releases like Supreme Commander, Crysis, Universe at War and Hellgate London, each big-budget titles, ultimately failed to delivers gamers to the promised land...and away from their consoles. PC gaming appears to be all but dead, at least in terms of high-profile releases, though it remains a solid platform for new companies to strut their stuff. One of those companies is Ironclad Games and with the release of Sins of a Solar Empire, they have instantly cemented themselves as the new lords of PC-based strategy.

Formed in 2003 by former members of Rockstar Games, Sins of a Solar Empire (SSE) couldn't be further from Grand Theft Auto. They have spent the last 4.5 years developing their own graphics and tool engine, something unique in and of itself, considering how many developers find solace in pre-existing engines as a way to cut expenses...and design options.

4X + RTS = Success

Sins of a Solar Empire is a hybrid game, blending elements of 4X strategy games with a contemporary Real Time Strategy philosophy. I hear some of you ask, what is 4X?

4X stands for “Explore, Expand, Exploit, and Exterminate”. Examples of classic 4X games include such titans as Master of Orion, Civilization, Galactic Civilizations, and Space Empires. These types of games are known for turn-based gameplay, depth of play, complex strategies and a lumbering pace. 4X games were all the rage for quite a long time until Real Time Strategy games came on the scene, ushered in by Herzog Zwei, made popular by Dune, earning its own genre in Command & Conquer...and perfected by Blizzard's Starcraft. Since the rise of RTS, 4X games quickly disappeared, making rare appearances now and then, most notably in Galactic Civilizations.

So what makes Sins of a Solar Empire so awesome? It has successfully taken all of the hardcore elements of 4X games, including extensive research trees, a mammoth universe to explore, random maps, economic and diplomacy management...and wrapped the entire thing in a Real-Time Strategy game. Think Homeworld meets Galactic Civilizations and you have Sins of a Solar Empire...only it's better than either of those games and represents a stunning achievement.