I can't rave enough about this game. BUY IT! It will absorb your life faster than WOW!
The graphics and audio are both good, but not unbelievable. That said, the game scales REALLY well on lower end machines, so while the graphics snobs of the world will hate how this game looks, those of us with 2.2 duos and Nvidia GEForce 8600's will be in love. Honestly, the game looks cleaner than Crisis on my rig, and that is saying a lot.
The gameplay is just flat out cool. The game plays like a bastard child of Warcraft III, Supreme Commander, and Civilization 4. One game can easily take 8 hours, which is a clear nod to Civilization, but the game looks like Supreme Commander in motion, right down to the unit symbols that appear when you zoom out. I personally think that Sins does it better than Supreme Commander, though the lack of a mini-map can be a pain. Even Civ 4 has that. Where Warcraft III comes in is the Capital Ships. Basically, they are clones of the Warcraft III Hero units, right down to the 10 levels and 4 skills that the Warcraft characters have. They even went so far as to have the fourth skill unlock at level 6...lol.
Multiplayer is the height of this game. In single player, the end of the game is a little less fun, but it is only because you may not be able to lose. The CPU is smart, but he can't forestall the inevitable. In multiplayer, that changes, as tactics can get an enormous fleet through a tough conflict with a MUCH larger fleet nearly intact. If you only start out with 5 ships, that won't happen, but if you have a swarm, miracles can happen.
That said, it is multiplayer where this game truly shines. I have NEVER played a game that can absorb more than 8 hours with friends, but this game comes VERY close. The lack of a CD key only makes it better, as you can install the game on more than one machine and play multiplayer locally. Take note, game developers, this is how you make a PC game competitive with console games!
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Sins is a wonderfully engrossing, time consuming game. Buy it if you can, because it really will absorb your life. It is the culmination of two genres hitting their height, and cannot be missed.