Sins of a Solar Empire is pretty darn awesome. It takes 2+ hours on large maps, and rarely takes less than 1 hour, but it's worth getting. You can play it a lot, make your own map criteria in game and actual maps out of game, and is a general good experience. It runs on my laptop (+2), looks great (+2), and plays awesome (+1) for a total of five @'s. The only qualm I have is the lack of more in-depth actual diplomacy. It's only thirty dollars, so it's worth at least a shot of the demo with a mind towards buying.