I've been playing this game off and on since 1998 and I love it just as much now as I did as a kid. It's a wonky 4x game that's one part Sim City, one part Battleship, and one part Age of Empires. It follows a plot with scripted missions that become looser and looser as you progress into the game until finally you're basically left in sandbox mode with only one objective, to control the galaxy. Events happen out of left field and until you develop the uncanny sixth sense to handle the uniquely awful situations Imperium Galactica throws at you it will seem almost rogue-like in its punishment. This is further reinforced by the fact that every single game is different in at least subtle ways, but often in very big ones. The galaxy is "alive" and the other races are doing stuff while you're splashing around in the early missions, which makes end game feel like you're walking into the middle of a movie. It's always different and it keeps me coming back over and over. The controls are decent, the UI is dated but servicable, the sound and graphics are comforting to me so I really can't describe them objectively, and the game overall is brutally tough with a series of challenges that have no one right answer. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a challenging and fun old space RTS.
