Beautiful graphics and interface make this game very easy on the eyes, but the gameplay comes up short.
Without getting into too much detail on the gameplay shortcomings, what Endless Space really needs is the ability to fine tune startup settings for every game. The added customization would greatly enhance the control and experience of each game, to the benefit of picky players like myself. For example, the current game as-is makes ship production and fleet costs way too cheap, enabling a massive stockpiling of navies. This results in numerous repetitive battles that seriously detract from my enjoyment. If I could reduce galaxy wide resources at the startup, players could field fewer fleets. This in turn would make every fleet engagement mean more, creating a more exciting and strategic experience.
Another example. If you could modify the tech tree, you could disable warp drive. Forcing fleets to move along wormholes and cosmic paths would create choke points akin to Empire at War.
If you are a fan of the Civilization series, give this game a shot. Endless Space isn't as deep and complex as GC2 or SoSE, but its worth a look.