More Sins Reviews Arrive...

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WOW. On behalf of Stardock and Ironclad, I can say we're just incredibly pleased and thankful for the positive reviews that Sins of a Solar Empire has gotten.

Most gamers probably think of games they see at the store being developed and published by huge companies. But the truth is, both Stardock and Ironclad are just a bunch of guys (and gals) who love games and got together to create a game that could bring classic 4X gaming into a real-time experience. 

And even though people seem to really like Sins now. We are working hard to make it even better. Even as I type this, Ironclad is hard at work on Sins of a Solar Empire v1.03. A free update that is almost entirely comprised of new features, tweaks, updated AI, etc. We should have more info on 1.03 soon.

You can now get Sins of a Solar Empire at nearly any store. You can also get the Collector's Edition (digital or full version) directly from us where you can download immediately while waiting for your box to arrive.

 

20,667 views 19 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
Seems to be very well recieved. I would be surprised if it wasn't though. Congrats.
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Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top
I'm starting to get the feeling I'm not the only person that likes this game. ;)
Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top
You guys made an excellent product, and your success and accolades are well deserved. Keep up the top-notch work.
Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top
Well deserved and congratulations.

With Galactic Civilizations II last year and Sins this year, I think Stardock should be looking at some kind of "Publisher of the Year" Award. If I had one to give I would give it.

Stardock has built a reputation with me that will have me go buy any of their games if it looks even halfway decent (until they do something to make me loose it). The developer and publisher support and contact with the community is a model that any other gaming company should emulate. It feels as if commercial victory for games like this and GalCiv2 is a victory for every one of us die-hard since-we-were-kids PC gamers.

Not only that, but being on the forefront of digital distribution services with Stardock Central only completes the package. I've even bought WindowBlinds (not a game, great Windows skinner app) based on the description and Stardock's consistent track record of product support and improvement. I am excited to see how Sins will evolve with every patch.
Reply #6 from Sins Forums Top
Not to forget, Toms Hardware also posted a review yesterday from their home page. Here is the link:
http://www.tomsgames.com/us/2008/02/18/sins_of_a_solar_empire_review/

This one is a little odd because he showers the game with praise and then gives it an 8 out of 10 for the score. That had me scratching my head.
Reply #7 from Sins Forums Top
This one is a little odd because he showers the game with praise and then gives it an 8 out of 10 for the score. That had me scratching my head.


Haha, yeah me too! I was like, huh?
Reply #8 from Sins Forums Top
Hi Guys,

I wrote the Tom's review. At Tom's we don't subscribe to the 7-10 scale. We'll go all the way to 1 if the game calls for it and we consider a game that just exists with no really good or bad points a 5. With that in mind consider an 8 an excellent score.

Thanks,

Travis Meacham
Senior Editor Tom's Games
Reply #9 from Sins Forums Top
I wrote the Tom's review. At Tom's we don't subscribe to the 7-10 scale. We'll go all the way to 1 if the game calls for it and we consider a game that just exists with no really good or bad points a 5. With that in mind consider an 8 an excellent score.


Well, that just about answers my question, lol. I like Tom's Hardware's scale a lot better than most other sites. Because honestly folks, some games really do deserve a freaking 1. Ever played "Big Rigs?"
Reply #10 from Sins Forums Top
Are these seriously the minimum specs for the game ROFL. Who came up with that? That is like 10x better than my PC :(
Reply #11 from Sins Forums Top
I wrote the Tom's review. At Tom's we don't subscribe to the 7-10 scale. We'll go all the way to 1 if the game calls for it and we consider a game that just exists with no really good or bad points a 5. With that in mind consider an 8 an excellent score.


Thank you for shedding some light on Tom's rating system, Travis. That does make sense and also makes the score of 8 appear A LOT higher considering games can actually be rated a 1. :) I would hate to be the game that receives that score. Yikes!  :CONGRAT: 

Reply #12 from Sins Forums Top
You can now get Sins of a Solar Empire at nearly any store.


Indeed. I even saw it at "Tar-jay" (Target) the other day.

Reply #13 from Sins Forums Top
I wrote the Tom's review. At Tom's we don't subscribe to the 7-10 scale. We'll go all the way to 1 if the game calls for it and we consider a game that just exists with no really good or bad points a 5.

So you basically have a 5 point scale (6 to 10) since anything rated 5 or below is not worth bothering with, at least as I see it.

With that in mind consider an 8 an excellent score.

It's not a bad score, granted, but reading the review text where the game was given enthusiastic praise and only minor, qualified criticism (i.e. "Even if you're a big fan of single-player RTS campaigns you shouldn't get discouraged by the lack of one in Sins. There's still plenty of game here to enjoy.") it just struck me as odd that the score was anything but a 9 or 10. Was it really worth dinging it 2 points because of no campaign?

I think Siskel & Ebert had it right with a simple thumbs up or thumbs down.
Reply #14 from Sins Forums Top
It's not a bad score, granted, but reading the review text where the game was given enthusiastic praise and only minor, qualified criticism (i.e. "Even if you're a big fan of single-player RTS campaigns you shouldn't get discouraged by the lack of one in Sins. There's still plenty of game here to enjoy.") it just struck me as odd that the score was anything but a 9 or 10. Was it really worth dinging it 2 points because of no campaign?


Even with a fully-fleshed out single-player campaign I would not consider Sins a 10 game. Here's the thing about reviews of any kind be it movies, music, games, food or whatever; it's one person's opinion. It's always important to remember that. My proclivities for the things I like to see in games don't align with everyone and that's why we include the sections near the end of the reviews about "Where I'm Coming From." It kind of forces us to come clean if we're reviewing a game in a genre we're not completely familiar with or don't tend to favor. I'm more of an RTS guy than a turn-based guy and I think the review and the score reflect that.

Are these seriously the minimum specs for the game ROFL. Who came up with that? That is like 10x better than my PC


You may be looking at the specs I listed in the review. Those aren't the minimum specs required for Sins those are the specs of the computer I used to review it. We put that in there so people can see what is driving our experience of the game. It's not really necessary for a game like Sins but it comes up for games like Call of Duty 4 and Crysis.
Reply #15 from Sins Forums Top
Even with a fully-fleshed out single-player campaign I would not consider Sins a 10 game. Here's the thing about reviews of any kind be it movies, music, games, food or whatever; it's one person's opinion.

It's not your opinion I have a problem with. I'm simply noting that there appears to be a discrepancy between the review text and the score. The review reads like it's describing a perfect 10 game, so it seemed a little inexplicable to me that it wound up with an 8. That's all. I suppose Roger Ebert offers the best explanation for this phenomenon:

I have here an e-mail from Adam Burke, a reader who says, "I'm tired of reading your reviews where you give a movie three stars but make sure we know it isn't a great movie. You always seem to want to cover your ass, making sure we know you're smarter than the movie." He has a point. Of course I am smarter than most movies, but so are you. That doesn't always prevent us from enjoying them. What Burke doesn't mention is my other maddening tendency, which is to give a movie 1-1/2 stars and then hint that it's really better than that. (Source)

My proclivities for the things I like to see in games don't align with everyone and that's why we include the sections near the end of the reviews about "Where I'm Coming From." It kind of forces us to come clean if we're reviewing a game in a genre we're not completely familiar with or don't tend to favor.

Which I think is an excellent feature of your review system and one I commend you for.

Thank you for taking the time to discuss this.
Reply #17 from Sins Forums Top
Terrific news, I've been checking regularly for Eurogamer's take on Sins (even though I love the game already). Top review from a top site with reviews I trust.
Reply #19 from Sins Forums Top
Total PC Gaming has a review in the March issue; you can find it here: WWW Link