To say that Sins of a Solar Empire had a great would be putting it mild, we had a FANTASTIC year! The end of the year means gaming and tech sites/magazines publish their “best of” lists along with features like user picks, special spotlights, and all that good stuff.
Over the last couple of weeks we have seen Sins of a Solar Empire just sweep through nominations and awards, and IronClad Games and Stardock just couldn’t be more pleased. I thought today we would post a wrap-up of the awards and mentions of Sins over the last couple of weeks.
| Best PC Game Awards and "Best of" 2008 |
IGN awards Sins with the honor of the PC Game of the Year!
This is a controversial choice, to be sure, as many games scored higher than Sins of a Solar Empire. Yet during our discussions it was the one game we kept coming back to; considering it shipped way back in February that was telling. This is the game that we may have easily played the most in 2008. It's that much fun. It's also a game that has had incredible post-release support in the form on free enhancements and additions from developer Ironclad Studios, which proved to be the little studio that could. Thanks to its wildly original and fresh take on RTS and its compelling gameplay that kept us up late at nights, this is our PC game of the year.
IGN also gave Sins the top honor in the following categories:
GameSpot announced Sins as their Best Strategy Game of 2008.
An armada of capital ships, frigates, and fighters amasses in preparation for its next planetary invasion, its number so great that it blots out the sun. Now this is real-time strategy. Sins of a Solar Empire boldly goes where no RTS game has gone before, deftly combining the empire-building of 4X strategy games (explore, exploit, expand, exterminate) with the tactical precision of real-time strategy.
GameSpy placed Sins in the top 10 PC games of 2008.
“The concept of marrying the small-scale moment-to-moment strategizing of an RTS to the big-picture conquer-the-
universe gameplay of a classic "4X" would seem ridiculous. It took the brilliant insight of new developer Ironclad Games to make the impossible possible with its brilliant Sins of a Solar Empire. Sins casts players as wannabe galactic despots with little more than a single planet and burning ambition to conquer the universe. From that beginning, players send out spacecraft to conquer enemy worlds, battle rabid space pirates, and deal defeat to other AI or human-controlled empires.”
Gamasutra places Sins in their top 5 PC games of 2008 list.
One of the year's great success stories was this space strategy title from Vancouver-based Ironclad Games, which put the small developer on the map and scored another hit for its increasingly influential publisher Stardock. Ostensibly a member of the "4X" genre of domination-oriented titles, Sins of a Solar Empire, with its explicit focus on battles and its real-time nature, is more like an RTS with 4X scale.
Wired.com puts Sins in their top 5 PC games list.
Expand, explore, exploit, exterminate. Become the master of the universe in this elaborate interstellar strategy game. "Epic" doesn't even fully encapsulate the scope of Sins of a Solar Empire. The depth of the gameplay and the customization options are amazing enough. But when you extrapolate them out over the game's nearly-endless virtual spacescape, you see why Sins fans regularly claim to have spent thousands of hours immersed in it.
Big Download awards Sins of a Solar Empire as Best Strategy Game of 2008.
Developer Ironclad Games knocked this one out of the park with their debut title. This game combined 4X space strategy with real time combat and a graphics engine that looked great without the need for a overpowered rig. A huge patch later in the year that improved the game and the promise of three micro-expansions all combine to make Sins of a Solar Empire an easy pick for this category.
Videogamer.com's top 10 PC game list also featured Sins.
Sins of a Solar Empire will not be everyone's cup of tea. However, if you've been hooked to titles like Galactic Civilizations, experiencing '4X' strategy in a real-time environment may be a revelation for you. Likewise, if you got a kick out of Supreme Commander, but wanted to have freedom to explore the fictional setting, rather than play through a fixed campaign, then you're going to find a lot to like here. Ultimately, whether you're going to enjoy Sins of a Solar Empire will depend on whether you prefer deep, slow-burning strategy to the fast-paced thrills of a tactical RTS. With its mix-and-match gameplay, Sins is certainly a title out of the ordinary, but very much an acquired taste.
| Sins of a Solar Empire on TV |
X-Play on G4TV gave Sins the Best Strategy Award on their yearly awards show.
Right before the holiday season began, Sins of a Solar Empire was mentioned on NBC's The Today Show.
View the video here.
GameTrailers.com awards Sins the Strategy Game of the Year for 2008.