Sins of a PC Empire

Oh man that is a crappy title. It was either that or just use the actual title of the game that this post is about. Sins of a Solar Empire is the first RTS that I have enjoyed since the Warcraft III expansion. It is a mix of Masters of Orion III and Homeworld II in regards to what I have played that is. Apparently it is a lot like Galactic Civilizations II, but as I said I am basing this off what I have played. Linksplosion in this paragraph aside, SoaSE is the first time I have been excited about PC gaming in a really long time. Outside of WoW all of the FPSs that I have been playing are available on the console and usually look better there too.

It has the pacing of a turn based RTS meaning it is not a hotkey button mashing memory game. It also means you can sit down, relax and enjoy managing your galactic empire. It is near turn based pace though which can on occasion be a little too slow. I am a visual kind of guy, I like to see my ships fighting, exploding and ferrying around space. The graphics are a steep above Homeworld II and you can either get down in them or manage everything from the solar system level. If I can convince some friends to pick it up for some coop play, I can see myself playing for a very long time.

Site Watch
Always a fan of AV and more specifically home theaters I was thrilled to find the audio video interiors blog. It has some rough tutorials, but the main attraction is the user showcases. They have pictures of DIY home theaters that average Joe's have built as well as their parts list and budgets.