FWIW I am really impressed by the graphics in AI War.
The whole ambience the graphics style evokes is perfect for putting me in the right mood to enjoy the whole strategy/tactics thing.
They seem well proportioned - size of ships relative to each other and stations.
The colour scheme I like as well, everything just seems to work together. Pleasing and functional but not obtrusive.
Also I like the minimal animation, like the fading glowing lights on the energy reactors and some ships - the odd rotating bit.....
I am not a minimalist generally - I really like the graphics in, say, Sins of a Solar Empire and GalCiv, although I never really appreciate them unless I am not enjoying the rest of the game so I sort of zoom right in out of boredom.
I suppose it is a personal thing, for example, I hate the graphics in EVE On-line - even though I can appreciate them I just don't like them.
Anyway, felt it would be negligent of me not to put my voice into this thread, as the choices made with the graphics was an aspect of the game where I consciously said to myself "they did that well," and contributed to me buying the game - it gave me the impression that it was being taken seriously so I then thought, "ok, I will buy this"
Anyway, my 2 pence/euros/cents/yen/roubles/DM....
dM