Sins isn't bad. I have both Homeworld (1 and 2) and Galactic Civilizations II, so I can easily see why people are calling it a cross between the two.

At first I absolutely hated the game, but it does have its own style which will grow on you after a round or two. I played for about 4 hours straight over the weekend and it was all pretty fun. Sins doesn't do either of the things that Homeworld (RT space combat) and GalCiv (turn based galactic conquest) do all too well, but it does have a nice mix of both (without the turn based part).

All in all, I was expecting better, but in the end I would have to recommend the game. I simply needed some time to get those previous expectations out of my head and play the game for what it is, which really is not too bad at all.

I would love to see a BT and 40K (Battlefleet Gothic) mods for this game.  Like Spartan, it has grown on me.  There are some quirks I still do not like (pirates) but the developers are already working on addressing those complaints.