Aside from the minor glitches in performance here and there (probably due to my own system), I found the game to be very refreshing; at least until I reached the higher ranks. While I was a Lt and Captain I found that there was a great variety of missions and it was very entertaining. To top that off you even get messages from your "wife" from time to time and she seems to be hinting that she is having an affair. PRetty cool! Needless to say, once you reach Admiral the game, though awesome in its scope and playability from a strategic stand-point, is very dissappointing. No more messages from your wife, or anyone, with the exception of other races. And very little interaction with them. The galactic conquest thing is great, but I enjoyed fighting pirates, blockading worlds that had deadly virus outbreaks and the like. If the subplots continued once you reached the upper ranks and if the AI wasn't so "off-the-wall" when it came to which planets it chose to conquer or attempt to conquer then it would be a great game. I shelved it after winning it the first time and haven't played it since. Of course, it took me quite a few hours (days, weeks!) to win.