A good package for a space sim.
The Graphics are amazing. I'm playing it at 1900x1200 with everything turned on and it's just awesome. (Thanks to the ATi x1800 XT) However, as soon as you begin to tweak the settings to something lower, man, the game suddenly begin to look awful. Also, the in game briefings and such, were created at a low resolutions and they look very pixalleted. Even though that does not matter since it's the game graphics that matters, it is kind of annoying that a good looking game has such flaws.
The Gameplay is nice. Better than X2. The gameplay will depend on you, if you like scripted games and knowing what to do, well, you may get aggravated with this game. If you like open ended game where you decided what to do, well, you are definitely going to love it. I do wish there was a bit more interaction with the AI characters.
The Sound is okay. I think they could have added more stuff, and the music is similar to X2... if not the same.
This game will keep you busy for hours and hours and hours. So for $39, pretty worth it.