The last thing I want to have to do is go into the “education” screen for each of my 30 planets and allocate spending to train the next generation of cooks so that I can outfit a fleet with chefs 10 years from now, while bartering with the planetary trades union and constantly monitoring their contractors to make sure they are getting the job done on schedule.

There is a great possibility for depth in ship design and creation, but the question is all in scope. A typical 4x game has to abstract a great deal out, or else the whole thing becomes a giant nitpicky micromanagement festival.

While Sins is good in single player, Sins can also be played in online multiplayer with human allies and opponents. (It’s also possible to play comp stomps, which are games of humans v. AI, which is good for groups of friends who are just starting out.) Contrary to popular belief, online games really do NOT take forever to play. If you have 2 hours to watch a movie then you can play Sins online. Most of the games are 3v3, 4v4, or 5v5, which means that instead having to kill or purchase an alliance from 9 AI opponents, you only need to kill one opponent because your allies will match up against your other enemies. Also, in the online game it isn’t necessary to kill every one of your opponents’ planets. Once the outcome has been decided, the players on the losing team will call it “gg” (good game) and just quit or surrender so that you can start a new, fresh, competitive game. Most online Sins games take less than 1.5 hours to play with epic games (where the teams are well-balanced and competitive) sometimes lasting for up to 2.5 hours.

Playing Sins in single player against the AI just does not compare to playing it in 5v5 with human teammates and allied opponents (normally with pirates turned off and locked teams). In an online game, the human players start out on equal footing with one another and the game is about strategy and tactics, including team strategy and teamwork, and not about fending off pirates or how much of an artificial economic buff the AI receives.

Online multiplayer games are more challenging, more intense, more suspenseful, more fun overall, and more fulfilling. The AI isn’t bad as far as AI goes, but there’s just no substitute for having a human intelligence controlling the other players. Humans can surprise you and they can formulate a long-term game plan and have real teamwork. Online multiplayer is also great for groups of friends who can also get together on a voice comm chat program, such as Teamspeak, Ventrilo, or XFire.

To discover Sins online, click the Ironclad Online button on the Main Menu. Just register an account, add a player name, then select and use that player name.

Also note that there are also several user-made mods and custom maps available for this game though the mods may not all work in the newly-released Diplomacy just yet.

Sins is a great game and anyone who enjoys 4X or RTS games should purchase it.

Be sure to visit the game’s website and active discussion forums at http://www.SinsOfASolarEmpire.com

I can’t see myself buying a game without MMO.