IGN give SEV a 6.6. This sux. How is the patching going? What is Aaron's take on these reviews.
http://pc.ign.com/articles/749/749070p1.html
Here is the summary from IGN
Closing Comments by Steve Butts
If the 4X genre keeps heading in this direction, it's going to become even more marginalized. While I definitely don't agree with dumbing games down for the sake of mass appeal, games like Space Empires V just don't have a broad enough appeal to inspire other developers to imitate and refine the basic 4X model. Civilization IV struck a nice balance between depth and approachability but we've yet to see a similar success in the sci-fi setting.
Space Empires V really does deliver one of the widest and far-reaching 4x experiences we've ever had but the resulting lack of focus and direction will leave even fans scratching their heads with confusion. Poor AI and general stability problems make learning the ins and outs of the game through trial and error much more frustrating than hardcore types are likely to stand. It may be worth checking it out once the basic performance problems are fixed with a patch, but until then it's just not worth the aggravation.
http://pc.ign.com/articles/165/165204p1.html