This game manages to stay true to the original despite the many updates to gameplay and visuals. The fleet-based system that is introduced in this game makes replacing any ship losses a lot less cumbersome, and makes moving your forces around the galaxy a lot easier in general. There is an incredible amount of versatility when setting up each campaign in regards to the exact enemies and allies you want to have and how powerful you want them to be. The new minor factions can add a lot flavour to each campaing if you choose to enable them, and the options menu is amongst the best I have ever seen with the amount customization that it affords. Despite the troubled development the delivered product was of good quality, and the only indication that it's development wasn't entirely smooth that I noticed was the occasional untextured-looking ship for some the minor factions. The graphics were recently updated (at the time of writing) so visually the game now looks fully finished and gives all the minor factions their own clearly defined style. I have had no problems with performance in this game at any point, and it runs perfectly on my laptop. I only noticed a few bugs during gameplay, all of minor or trivial impact on the game, and they are quickly fixed when reported. The music is of high quality and has a lot of calm and quiet songs. This may not be to everyones taste, but I think it is very fitting. This is not a game that benifits from a soundtrack full of pulse-pounding music. Careful thought has to be put into how you expand into the galaxy and on what battles to take, and when. Faster, more excitable music could lead to rash decisions, or get grating on the ears as you are contemplating your next move. I also feel the melancholy in some of the songs is very fitting considering most of humanity has been exterminated. I think I would give this game a 9 out of 10. It's not perfect yet, but it is very good fun and it's going to be further refined over time.
