This is the best space sim to come out in years. It has gorgeous graphics, solid sound and voice acting, an immersive story, a detailed universe, and fun game play.
Your ship is actually organic, and "grows" with experience, giving you automatic upgrades the longer you play. As the ship grows, you can also add purchased upgrades, so there's a level of customization allowed, but not the degree that economy driven games require. The universe is vast, and you can explore freely, though the story line leads you along and exploration is essentially optional. The side missions are pretty minimal, so there's not a big reward for exploring outside the story line. The various races feel alien, so it's intriguing and threatening to interact with them.
The story line is solid - a SciFi epic that it's fun to get swept up in. The heroine/love interest is just average - not someone to go to the ends of the universe with - but she adds to the overall story.
Controls are very playable and easily customizable, and the flight model is easy and predictable.
There are lots more story possibilities in the universe they've created, so this is one I'm hoping will have a sequel.