Universal Combat Gold

Recently I finally got around to getting back into Gametap, and I got addicted to two games: Comanche 4 and Universal Combat Gold. The latter is more blog-worthy, so I'll talk about it.

Universal Combat Gold is a somewhat recent addition to the Battlecruiser Millennium series, which really is a fascinating concept. Basically, you can work in space, planet atmosphere, and ground, for trading, combat, etc, and even move between them. The problem is that it's poorly executed. The graphics are primitive at best, the controls and UI were designed by monkeys working in combination with the geniuses behind Falcon 4.0, and it's unbelievably buggy (do not, I repeat, do not minimize the game. You end up having to kill it with the task manager). And if you're a marine, you die a lot. Irritatingly much, in fact.
So I have a simple question: Why, oh why am I addicted to it?

Graphics: 3/5 - Quite primitive, but there are enough different environments to allow me to forgive that.
Gameplay: 2/5 - Unbelievably stupid. Fascinating in theory, though.
Stability: 2/5 - Playable, but just barely.
Tilt: 4/5 - Don't ask. I have no clue either.
Bottom line: 2.75 - Buggy, bad graphics, complex gameplay, but strangely fun.
Extra comments: According to the Gametap description, you're supposed to spend hundreds of hours mastering this game. Honestly, I don't have that kind of time. Also, for that reason, this is primarily a review of the ground and atmosphere modes. Space seems less buggy, but also less playable.