This game is a lot of fun despite the crude 1980s engine. The combat system is well designed, and you can customize your units. For example, even basic infantry can specialize in defense, melee attack, ranged attack, or a mix of the three depending on what armor and weapons you give them.
The early stage of this game where you are still exploring and expanding is extremely fun and there are plenty of weird events to keep things varied. It tends to bog down once you run into AI empires on all sides, especially if you're playing on a large map and have dozens of colonies to monitor.
