Sins of a Solar Empire successfully did what other games have tried for years to do. The developers were able to merge the strategy of 4X games with the instant gratification of RTS games. Sins of a Solar Empire became a huge hit with its vast gameplay options and its highly addictive nature. It was only a matter of time before an expansion pack was released, which is entitled Entrenchment. Unlike most expansions, Entrenchment only comes with a couple of additional units for each race, which the developers call a "Micro-Expansion."

The only real additions to Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment is defense-oriented improvements. Each of these additions will help fight off the feared pirates as well as enemy capital ships. The new inclusions are mines, new platform upgrades, and the addition of a star base. Mines are the cheapest of the new additions. Players will be able to lay mines down in hopes of slowing down the enemies from getting too close to their planets. As with all of the new upgrades, each mine really reflects the personality/play style of the faction. For instance, one has mines that slow enemies from coming close to the planet, while others have mines that go all out for destruction of the invading ships.

The next update is the new platform upgrades, which were the major defensive platform in the original game. The Advent platforms boost the shields of other platforms which make it harder to bust through. The Vasari platforms are very expensive but do a lot of damage to any enemy ship. The TEC cannons how do a short-range attack that shred through enemy armor like butter on a hot piece of toast. These new additions will really help out in the defense of the planets, and is made even better due to the relatively low cost they incur.

The biggest and most talked about upgrade is the new star bases. These new bases will make players quake in fear if they run into them by accident. What makes the bases so powerful are players have the ability to place them anywhere in the game, from planets, stars, worm holes, and even the enemy planets. The only issue is the amount of resources it takes to actually get one fully operational. Another good thing about star bases is that players can build as many as they want, or as their tactical slots allow.

Each star base can only accept a handful of upgrades that players will have to choose upon, such as trade wells, armor, weapons, repair docks, and more. This means that players can have many star bases depending on the circumstances that they need. As with the platforms and mines, each of the game's factions has their own unique type of bases. The TEC can use their bases to build new ships and have a special dock that will repair their ships. The Advent bases that spread their culture to nearby worlds which makes them easier to take over. The Vasari bases are extremely tough to take out and will dish out tons of pain to any incoming enemy ship.

These three items are not the only upgrades in this game, but the most prominent ones. There are also various new technologies to research that will help boost the effectiveness of player's trade income, defense, or offensive for the structures. In actuality this is not a full "expansion pack" as players are used to. Instead the developers opted to create several "micro-expansions" for players to pick and choose what upgrades are most important to them. Hopefully they will bundle all the future upgrades into one for a full expansion pack that most players are used to purchasing.

The graphics for Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment are still good looking. The new star bases are very impressive and scary depending on who owns the star base. What will continue to amaze players is how stable the framerate is; especially with all of the zooming in and out players will do during the course of one game. The framerate stays extremely stable even with all of the intense action going on.

Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment is rated Teen and requires Sins of a Solar Empire to be installed on the computer. The cost for this "micro-expansion" is $9.99

Gameplay: 9.0
This game will still keep players from sleeping for months to come. The newest additions are great and will really make games even more intense.

Graphics: 9.1
The graphics for the new star bases are really impressive, and a site to behold. This game still has stable performance and great framerate during the entire course of the game.

Sound: 9.3
The music and sound effects are really still wonderful and help immerse players while they are playing the game.

Difficulty: Medium
Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment still has a deep learning curve. The thing is that most people that will pay for this update already play the game and have a deep understanding of how the game is played.

Concept: 8.8
Players will really love the star bases as well as the other defense oriented items.

Multiplayer 8.9
The multiplayer for this game is still very tight, and players love the fact that they can save a game session and come back at any time to complete it, instead of trying to complete it in one sitting.

Overall: 8.7
Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment is a pretty good, and any die-hard Sins of a Solar Empire will definitely obtain. The only thing that might shun players away is the $9.95 price point for only a couple new upgrades and units. Although playing with the new star bases makes this purchase well worth it.