I'm not actually a very public person, but in order to get one of these shiny Steam Award badges, I actually have to post a review for something...and I feel like if there was ever a game I needed to talk about, this one would be it.

Joking aside, this game has become almost a part of my daily routine at this point. After dealing with the rigors of work, family issues, health issues, and all that good stuff, I find myself coming back to this game to continue my ever-important career of space...important guy. That's one of the first things I could touch on, there is no real set -goal- for this game, you aren't corralled into some plot line where you make or break the sanctity of the universe. Note that my experiences do involve a couple of mods such as XRM, but as they are totally free I feel that it shouldn't take away from some of the points I'll bring up here.

Do you want to build a massive commercial empire, complete with your own factories that produce anything from weapons to foodstuffs? Go for it.

Do you want to develop a huge armada of warships and ethnically cleanse all other species from the galaxy? Harsh, but you can do that.

Do you want to just cruise in your little trade freighter making deals both legal and...less than legal? All while playing your music of choice in the background? Have at it, lad.

This game never jumps in the way of what you want to do and screams about some overshadowing metaplot that you're supposed to be crux of, leaving you free to make your career into whatever you want it to be. While some may find the graphics lacking in the current age, I found they placated me nicely. Plus, let's face it, it's going to be hard enough to process having the massive fleet engagements that take place at the drop of a hat if you drift into the wrong (or right, depending on your viewpoint) sector. I will agree with critics of the control system though, it does seem rather easy to crash your ship into another, and autopilot isn't always reliable either. I find myself at the 'Game Over' screen far more often due to bouncing off of a capital ship than I do for it actually doing me in with laser fire.

All in all, the game does have certain control and UI flaws, and there will be times that you may find some of your losses to be unfair due to collisions and the like, but I honestly don't find myself to be enough of an expert to come up with proper solutions to these problems. Regardless, I didn't find that these detracted from my experience enough to keep me from playing, though I did unsurprisingly need a break if I lost a hard-fought engagement.

If you want to have an expansive universe to explore, combat, or colonize, I can't think of a better game to do it with. While there are other wonderful excursions into making your mark on a galactic scale, such as Stellaris or Endless Space, not as many actually give you the chance to start off as some wayfaring vagrant in a tiny scout ship. From there, it's up to you to upgrade your starting ship, find ways to acquire more, and learn to deal with the ever-present threats of pirates, xenophobic swarms of uncompromising aliens, and even a Skynet style set of automatons that want to terraform your face off. Few games have left me with so many options while retaining a living, breathing galaxy full of factions with their own economy and conflicts. In a world where we may not feel like we have any control left, at least in the realm of X3, you have a galaxy within which you can forge your own destiny...and confront the consequences of doing so.

Late 2018 Edit (Mostly for a steam badge, honestly):
Even with all the new space-based games I've been fiddling with that seem to be coming out in droves lately, I still find that I have yet to uninstall this one, and I still play it weekly. Though I eagerly look forward to the new installment on the horizon, I must say I'd be amazed if it manages to top this one.