Great strategy game. I'm only on my second single player game so I can't say for sure how long it will draw me in for but so far it is a blast. Yes it is real-time but at Normal speed things move sedately enough that I don't feel the need to pause (well, often!). Feels polished too, things behave as you would expect them to, game has been rock solid for me and the empire tree on the left is a very good idea (once you realise you should pin all the planets and/or ships you care about).
Sins gives me the same epic space feel I had with Masters of Orion 1 and 2… technically I guess it misses out on the “one more turn” phenomenon by not being turn based but I can attest that the end result is the same after two sessions through to 2am!
As if that wasn't enough it is published by Stardock which means they have the Stardock philosophy that customers should be treated as customers, not as pirates. So you can install the game wherever you want, you don't need the DVD in the drive to play it (in fact you don't even need the DVD to install it!) and their whole model is built around delivering ongoing content (not just bug fixes, although I'm sure there will be some of them too) for the games to make sure people WANT to buy the game (the serial key gives you access to download new content). Given how many new features were added to Galactic Civilizations 2 after release I think the prospects are excellent for Sins of a Solar Empire.
High recommended.