Hi, I had the same issue playing the Uk version on Xbox, I have lost at least 20/30+ hours of game time. I was playing the campaign and was just about to meet the enemy carrier. There is a lot to love about the game and it really reminded me of the fun times I had playing the original. But the thought of having to go back to the start of the campaign is so depressing!
Is there any way to recover any of the save games? I tried to download the patch it kept reminding me to apply, but I couldn't. I had an error message for that.
How can I be sure that taking the action you mention above so I can save again, won't mean that the issue comes back 20 hours down the line again? Please let me know.