Despite it's numerous faults, this is an AMAZING game that should not be missed if you are into empire building 4X games
The reality is that this game is not perfect. It starts off rather quickly (almost too quickly IMHO) but has a STEEP learning curve. There will be many who just get turned off by the numerous controls and the difficulty gettting used to the game or the unending possibilities without a clear linear goal. However, for those willing to put the time in, this game can definitely be a pleasant (mostly painfully addicting) way to kill many, many hours.
EGOSOFT is not a huge company and X3 is not as slickly designed as some games. There are numerous controls which can get frustrating (i.e. trying to board and capture a large ship with marines can be a total click-fest through a myriad of option trees). Quite frankly, I would have gotten too annoyed by the game in it's vanilla version to be still playing it, as I do.
However, this is where the EGOSOFT forum, scripts and mods really take the game to the next level. There is a huge dedicated international fanbase for this game and a lively forum that amiably answers lots of stupid questions that NOOBs like I was asked frequently. When you're stuck or need guidance, they will help you. When others are stuck, you'll hopefully help them.
Further, when stupid issues like the myriad buttons for pirate boarding a ship get annoying, there are scripts and mods to correct this. These scripts have been the gamesaver for me and have turned a great game idea which did not reach it's full maturity into one that will immerse you into a world that sucks the hours away. Egosoft has very smartly embraced this concept and even incorporated some key scripts from X3 Reunion into their latest: Terran Conflict.
All in all, I must say that it is an unbelievable experience slowly marching from having a tiny ship and a few thousand credits to your name to amassing over a billion credits, dozens of giant station complexes, and fleets of capital ships worth over 100 million credits each. The key word in that sentence is SLOWLY. You have to work for a lot of it. It is definitely not handed to you on a silver platter. This is good for those who are patient and love the building aspect of things, not cool for others who want to get to the end and win quickly. I've done all the above and I'm still not done with the game.
Granted, near the end, each specific mission takes forever. It takes a very long time to amass 85,000 microchips or 400,000 silicon.
My personal feeling on the game is that I love it. It's the most entertainment that I've gotten for $50 in a very long time. And as I said, I'm still playing the game and I still think it's awesome. If you're like me, you will too.