It's not that bad. It's buggy and multiplayer is a mess, but if they straighten things out it could be a good game. Let me give you some positive tactical features.
1. 3D weapon arcs. I have found this very challenging, but maybe I just suck at it.
2. Seemingly narrow heavy weapon arcs. I have found it hard to position my ship to get a good photon lock when I want it and where I want it.
3. Limited heavy weapons. Photons and such are not unlimited. Waste your shots and you're screwed.
4. Tough shields. Want to take down a battleship's shields with a mere cruiser? It's damn hard to do, near impossible for me, but then again I suck at the game.
5. A phaser capacitor. It's not phasers all the time whenever you want it. If you pop off a phaser every time you can, you are really wasting energy.
6. Energy allocation. You can direct more energy to weapons, shields, or engines or a combination of the two. This effects the efficiency of the systems. Better speed, better turn, better shields, better weapon recharging.
7. Differing ship roles and characteristic. Battleships are slow and powerful. Cruisers, more nimble and well armed. Destroyers, fast, agile, and pack of heavy weapons punch. Scouts, great sensor for hunting the enemy.
I could list more things but I won't. I am not saying it has the depth of SFC, but it's not utter sh*te either.