What do we look for in RTS games? Strategy, multiplayer modes, and of course, an engaging single player campaign. With the good number of great real time strategy games around (Command & Conquer 3, Supreme Commander and others), what will a newcomer like Sins of a Solar Empire offer us? Some of us might just find out in advance.

Stardock and Ironclad Games has announced that they will be offering slots for the Sins of a Solar Empire's beta test. To whom? Well, the offer is open to those lucky bas- err... people who pre-ordered the game from the game's official website and those who so are in possession of five Totalgaming.net tokens.

The beta goes live on March 27 and will feature a single player (for the meantime) and just a single playable race. As is normal with all betas, this will help the devs iron out the bumps on the game and test the game engine's for full compatibility with a variety of PCs.

Stardock and Ironclad Games coined the term RT4X as the Sins of a Solar Empire's genre. It mixes tactical combat, diplomacy, trade, and a universe-wide strategy. Blair Fraser, a producer from Ironclad Games said:

When players go to bed after playing Sins we want invading alien armadas, desperate planetary defensives and collapsing intergalactic empires to haunt their dreams. Giving players a chance to help shape Sins as early as possible is critical to this objective and we couldnÂ’t be more excited to get the mission started.

Hmm, interested? We"ll wait for the beta testers' feedback on the Sins of a Solar Empire. Stay tuned.