7. Sins of a Solar Empire (2008)

The game plays on a huge scale

Developer: Ironclad Games

Genre: Real-time strategy

Sins is impressive in every way

The TEC (Trader Emergency Coalition), Advent (a religious faction that pursues transhumanism –there will be a link here), and the Vasari (aliens on the run from an unknown enemy) duke it out for control of the galaxy in this amazingly detailed space RTS.

Featuring no single player campaign, SoaSE places you into open space against either a human or AI opponent, where you must expand, gather resources and muster your forces for the inevitable showdown. You can build a large number of different vessels, and your capital ships can even gain experience and advance in levels, unlocking special abilities.

Strategy games based around space combat are nothing new today. But Sins takes what’s best about the genre and incorporates elements from the Total War games, with amazing results. Planetary colonization, diplomacy, leaders (in the form of capital ships) are all here, and anyone who enjoys either 4x games or space action will find themselves right at home.