We saw a ton of cool stuff when we sat down with
Ironclad Games to discuss Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, the
upcoming stand-alone expansion to the beloved 4X strategy series. We saw
giant space battles, we saw greatly enhanced graphics, and we saw
different races and factions engaging in absurdly large intergalactic
wars. But two things we saw during our time with the game stood out more
than anything else, and rose above the rest: the inclusion of playable
pirates, and Death Stars.
Alright, well, we should probably clarify both of those features. There's no
pirate faction or anything, and you can't actually build the real Death Star per
say, but both of these elements have been added to the game in some form.
First,
let's go through the other things you need to know: Rebellion is an
expansion to Sins of a Solar Empire that moves the series' story a few
steps forward. The original games' three factions, TEC, Advent, Vasari,
have been split (as the "Rebellion" name implies), creating six factions
that sound like they play a good deal differently than each other. Each
side now has a "loyalist" and "rebel" side, and each side has its own
tech trees and abilities.
The TEC Rebel side, for example, has a
unique ability to team up with pirates. No, not the kind that download
illegal games and post angry comments on videogame websites complaining
about DRM - the other kind. The kind with eyepatches and scurvy and rum
and parrots and stuff (though we don't know if the pirates in Sins have
parrots). Fans have been asking for years to control the space pirates,
and Rebellion finally opens up that option. Besides being able to
recruit them, you can also use them to your advantage, hiding out in
their special pirate areas. They're also sort of a comedic relief,
making pirate quips that sound gleefully out of place in outer space.
The
different factions also have access to different Titan ships. Titans
are a new class of ship that reminded us, in a way, of an Imperial Death
Star from Star Wars. It didn't actually look like the Death
Star, but it was essentially the same thing: a moon-sized ship with
power unlike the universe has ever seen. Each faction can build their
own personal Titan, gaining access to the strongest ship there is.
There's a caveat, though - you can only build one, they take a long time
to build, and starting the building process alerts all other players of
the intent. This, obviously, speeds things up a good deal, forcing
everyone to act.
Or else, you know, they can deal with a bunch of
Death Stars showing up and messing up their day. But we're guessing you
won't want to deal with that. We wouldn't want to, either.
Other
additions include an Artifact Planet that can be captured as a win
condition, turning the game into a massive match of King of the Kill,
and a slew of Steam improvements including voice chat and Achievements.
On that same note, the game will cost $29.99 for anyone who already
purchased a Sins of a Solar Empire game in the past. If you're new to
the series it'll only be $10 more, but it will come with the full
version of Sins of a Solar Empire: Trinity, which includes the original
game and expansions. Ironclad hopes this will give gamers a chance to
unite their digital games, as the originals weren't released on Steam
until fairly recently.
We were also told that you're finally going to get some solid hints as
to what the Vasari are running from, which has been a plot point teased
for several years now. Apparently little bits of info will be hidden in
the code, and Ironclad is anxious to find out how long it takes the
community to sort through it all and crack the clues.
Our guess? Seven
minutes. Before the game comes out.
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