Short of repeating what others have said about this space-sim game, I'd just like to add one point - the game works swell under Windows 7! In fact, all earlier problems reported in the DSO forum about the game not running under Vista have been corrected. If the game works in Windows 7, I am sure it would have no problems running under Vista.
This game is akin to X and Freelancer, and I'd say I am going to have a great Xmas spending my time cruising through space in DarkStar One. It may turn out to be monotonous according to earlier reviews, but that should not be a problem - after all I was bred on Elite and Star Flight and Star Control 3; so I am ready for whatever this game will throw at me!