Gamespot has posted our first new Sins gameplay trailer for the masses. The video (available in both high-res and low-res versions) features Stardock's Brad Wardell as narrator as he walks gamers through the various features of Sins of a Solar Empire. Check it out here .

To help celebrate the release of Beta 4, we've posted some new screenshots of Sins and a brand new wallpaper!  The wallpaper is available in a variety of resolutions that should cover most standard desktop sizes. Head over to the Downloads section to check out all the new goods.

Ten millennia have passed since you and the few survivors of the once mighty Vasari Empire fled from an unknown threat that all but exterminated your kind. You now find yourself at the fringe of the galaxy in a sector occupied by a pathetically primitive species - one obsessed with trade and lacking any central organization or military technology. Calling themselves the Trader Emergency Coalition, they would have been ideal slaves in the glorious days of the past, but time is of the essence. U...

Tyler Sager over at Gaming Nexus has just posted his hands-on preview for Sins of a Solar Empire. The article gives a nice overview of the game for new players concluding with, "I have a feeling this is going to be the Really Big strategy title of 2008, and I anxiously await the final version of this galactic empire gem." Give the full preview a read at: http://www.gamingnexus.com/Default.aspx?Section=Article&I=1614

We've just completed the first version of the Sins of a Solar Empire retail box that will be showing up in a store near you come February 2008. This is the box for the standard retail version of the game; we're currently looking at a premium Collector's Edition edition too. Click on the image for a larger version and let us know what you think!

Lead Sins producer and developer, Blair Fraser, has posted his first developer diary on the game. In his first article Blair discusses the ongoing issues with getting AI targetting priorities just right. Give it a read at the link below: https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/?forumid=452&aid=165619

Continuing on with all the new Sins coverage, GameSpy has just published their first hands-on look of our upcoming RT4X today. Here's a snippet of what they had to say, "...even at this early stage, Sins of a Solar Empire looks and plays great." Check out the full article at the URL below: http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/sins-of-a-solar-empire/827936p1.html

GameZone has published their first hands-on preview of Sins of a Solar Empire. Here's a quote from their article, " All in all, Sins of a Solar Empire is showcasing a great amount of innovation and tense gameplay, as well as some very deep research and diplomacy elements." You can read the entire preview here: http://pc.gamezone.com/gzreviews/p30977.htm

GameShark has published their first hands-on preview for Sins of a Solar Empire, giving readers a two-page article on their thoughts of the game. Here's a quote off the preview, "Even with this relatively sizable article, I can’t help but feel I’ve barely scratched the surface of what the game has in store for gamers." You can read the entire preview here: http://www.gameshark.com/previews/3279/p_0/Sins-of-a-Solar-Empire-Preview.htm

We will be closing access to Sins of a Solar Empire Beta 3 to new customers tomorrow, October 12th. Anyone who pre-orders the game after Beta 3 is closed will be able to join up when Beta 4 launches next month.

FiringSquad has published their review for Sins of a Solar Empire today and rated it 91% with an Editor's Choice award!  Here's a quote, "It’s been a long time since a developer has taken such risks in development and it is deeply impressive that so many of these risks have paid off for the members of Ironclad." Read the entire article at:   http://www.firingsquad.com/games/sins_of_a_solar_empire_review/  

EuroGamer has published its Sins of a Solar Empire review today and rated it a 9 out of 10!  Here's a quote, "You can file this next to the Total War games, the Ground Control/World in Conflict lineage, Defcon, and all those other glorious individualists who are implicitly against the tank-rush rush." You can read the entire review at: http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=93758

GameAlmighty has posted a two-part review for Sins of a Solar Empire today saying, "Think Homeworld meets Galactic Civilizations and you have Sins of a Solar Empire...only it's better than either of those games and represents a stunning achievement." Read the full review text at: http://www.gamealmighty.com/story-individual/story/Sins_of_a_Solar_Empire/ And the scoring here: http://www.gamealmighty.com/game-review/review/Sins_of_a_Solar_Empire/  

Games site, ArsGeek, has posted a preview blog for Sins of a Solar Empire today with their first thoughts: "It’s been a long time since I can honestly say I’ve been so captivated by a game of this type that I’ve lost track of time." For the full article, check out: http://www.arsgeek.com/?p=3509

GameSpy has just posted their initial pre-review of Sins of a Solar Empire stating, "If all strategy games sinned this much, the world would be a much better place." You can read the full article at: http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/sins-of-a-solar-empire/849840p1.html Editor's Note: The on-line issue he ran into (and us too) has been fixed internally and should be up in a few days. The issue was that games in progress didn't always disappear from the available games list with users ge...