My weekend was mostly consumed by X[sup]3[/sup] Reunion and later the much-improved Terran Conflict.
X[sup]3[/sup] is a grind - a game to engage in a lot of boring monotony because you anticipate eventually you'll get to the "good" part.
The repetition is definitely there. Right now I'm ordering around a small number of transport ships. I started with one Mercury and a Discoverer (the "trader" start) and now I've got 3 Mercurys (one with Trade Mk3 software), a Discoverer, and a Mercury Hauler after about 14 hours of play.
The "good" part is a substantial "big leagues" experience. Where I've my own space stations and autonomous trade ships making money for me while I snort spaceweed [http://argonopedia.ppcis.org/ware.php?ware=32&sid=026605120feffcc64b884b619e7ae8d6] off the chest of a 47-breasted Boron [http://argonopedia.ppcis.org/race.php?race=2&sid=026605120feffcc64b884b619e7ae8d6] prostitute aboard my luxury death-dealing M1 super carrier... just to exaggerate the apparent capitalistic lust, you understand. At this rate, I'm looking at over a hundred hours of play to get here.
I hate grinds. And yet... there went the weekend. So I guess that, deep down, I like a grind if I think the payoff will be worth it.