The SP basically consists of skirmishes and a tournament mode that emulate multiplayer.  It's not deeply fleshed out, but it is enjoyable.  I wouldn't necessarily recommend it only for that unless you're getting a really good deal...myself I play it with my brother when he comes home.

Sins is to Demigod as an apple is to an orange. Sure they are both strategy games, but they are not comparable beyond that. I'd whole heartedly recommend both games if you are a strategy fan. Demigod is definitely more about the multiplayer, but it sure is a steal at $15 this weekend.

Yeah, that's hard to beat.

Like during lunch!

Yes, there is singleplayer in Demigod. Great way to learn the ins and outs of the different characters and items and maps.

That said here are the differences between singleplayer and multiplayer. Gameplay is exactly the same. Here are the differences:

In singleplayer you have to play against the AI. Which has seen improvements over the past few months but still makes dumb decisions/stands around for no reason from time to time/etc. There is some merit to playing the singleplayer in that you control all aspects of the game. If you never play multiplayer then of course you would be ignorant of human play tactics which could be a good thing because the AI then doesn't come across quite so 'dumb'.

In multiplayer you have the chance of meeting up with people who think they are 'pros' and will flame you the instant they realize you are new to the game. You also have the chance of playing against people who would try to exploit their stats by desyncing the game if they are losing against you. Basically, you are taking the chance of having a really bad experience every time you play a multiplayer game. On that note, however, there are lots and lots of good players who are either helpful or patient or understanding, etc with you and you could have an enjoyable experience.

In my book, the absolute best Demigod experience is in a LAN situation where you know everyone and are assured a good time whether you win or lose. The 2nd best Demigod experience is to (over time) make friends in the Demigod community and try to team up with those people (or play against them in friendly competition) at every chance you can. The 3rd best Demigod experience is playing against the computer AI to test different builds and game settings.

At the current price (50% off) it is a MUST HAVE no matter what experience you are looking for.

In the stardock annual report, Brad Wardell mentions that they've been surprised by how many of its players do NOT play multiplayer. The impression you get from forums is allways that multiplayer is 'the thing' but apparently only 23% of the demigod players has logged on to the multiplayer bit at least once - a very minor fraction of the players.

That obviously means that either 77% of the players are really disappointed, or the singleplayer bit is pretty good.

BUt yeah, the game is basically 100% skirmish play. Single player is skirmish vs. AI's. The game is suitable for it, though, so it works.

There are a lot of games I don't play on the Internet, even though they're "multi-player" games.  One reason, is that I'm not very good at a lot of them.  I'd rather not consistantly get my ass handed to me because I don't have the time to practice and study strategy.  Also, I like being able to pause a game if I need to.  Phone calls, bathroom breaks, food runs, etc, are all much easier if you can just pause (or even save) and come back later.

You should hear my roommate talk about build orders and strategies for Starcraft and Warcraft III.    I don't play with him anymore if I can help it.