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Well, a little research revealed FreeOrion, but it looks like it's not terribly far along and, if their FAQ is any indication, had to take some shortcuts to make a workable AI.

It is being remade:

Free Orion

I enjoyed MOO2 though I have to admit I've ditched it these days in favour of Galactic Civilizations 2. I've not played Free Orion yet, I don't think it's that mature a release yet, but it certainly looks interesting.

http://www.freeorion.org/
http://www.thousandparsec.net/
http://www.startreksupremacy.com/
http://abandonia.com/
http://gog.com/

I played X-Com just a few years ago for the first time, back when it was already a well over a decade old and yet it was nothing short of a mind blowing experience where nothing I have played more recently came close and I don't even like turn based games.

X-Com: Enemy Unknown is generally regarded as one of the best PC games ever. Last year at IGN it was voted the #1 Best Game Ever, ahead of Civilization IV at #2. For a game released in 1994, that really says something. I bought the game when it came out and could only barely play it on my 386SX16 machine. 14 years later, I still play that damn game once every few months. I still occasionally play a few old games (e.g. Master of Orion 2 and Master of Magic), but none really compare to the full-bore "replayability" of the original X-Com.

-Steam has all the original X-Com games available for download. Take-Two, who owns the rights to the X-Com franchise, has even patched some of them recently.
-Rumor has it that Take-Two is working on a new installment in the X-Com series, but I'm not hopeful. All the sequels have failed to capture some key aspect of the original game.
-Some crazy russian dude actually created a freeware PocketPC/Windows Mobile version of the original X-Com. Not only is it completely true to the original game, it actually works a little better. The only drawback is that you generally are stuck playing it on a screen about the size of a business card. Still, it keeps me occupied during long, boring "all hands" meetings.
- Xenocide is an ongoing attempt to create a modern version of the original X-Com: Enemy Unknown. Like most such fan projects, it's perpetually about 30% done. (yes, FreeOrion, I am looking at YOU)

I wrote for the Adrenaline vault during the summer of 2002. I ended up leaving over a disagreement about the editor changing what I'd submitted and then posting it without informing me, but it was a pretty straightforward disagreement and his prerogative to do as he wished with his site.

One thing they never did was tell me or hint that reviews should be weighted. I got a free copy of the game and usually a week or so to review it. Provided I backed up my arguments, I don't think they ever cared what I said with regard to the final rating of a game. In the short time I was there, I never got my hands on anything I would have trashed, so I don't know if it would have been harder to write a really horrible review. But whatever my disagreements with them at the time, they certainly valued journalistic integrity.

Previews were probably a different matter, but I don't see how else to cover previews. You (probably) don't get to play the game. You get to look at pictures and possibly a short video and to read about the game. How are the gaming mags supposed to cover this? It's entirely possible for a game to be great in a preview (take MOO3 6-8 months before release) and then fall apart between then and when it hits the shelves.

In other words, if you're so hot and bothered about the quality of game reviews, why don't you write your own?

Aquitaine
Lead Designer, FreeOrion

Not that I'm not on the edge of my seat for FreeOrion, though. :)

Whoah. I thought you was joking, but a bit of googling shows it actually exists... just in pre-alpha now. Now look what you're done! I'm on the edge of the seat, too!

Let's see, my strategy thirst has been largely quenched - we have FreeCiv, MegaMek, Stratagus, and one day we'll have FreeOrion. Now I just wish someone hacks FreeCiv to have Alpha Centauri stuff, and I'd be happy happy happy! (Hope that happens before Linux SMAC stops working! Or alternatively hope it will never stop working!)

FreeOrion? Where???????
Oh, www.freeorion.org. I see it's still in very early alpha stages.

You see, I still consider MOO2 to be the very best strategy game ever (and MOO3 to stink so badly to be next to unplayable).

FreeOrion is another one. I was disappointed when they decided to put the starlanes in that everyone hated in Master of Orion 3.