Rating: 
Summary: Addictive!
Review: This is an absolutely amazing game. I've lost jobs because I couldn't go to sleep until I beat a level. I'm an old guy, I'm supposed to be responsible. I first found Homeworld, the predecessor to Cataclysm, in the $10.00 bin. It said "Game of the Year" on the box, so I decided to buy it. Cataclysm is a 3 dimensional real time space stragegy game. However, it is not of the Descent or Tie Fighter genre, where the question is how fast you can shoot. The thing that make it so addictive is that it also includes elements of a simulation (such as sim city) and the battles involve stragety rather than how fast you can point and shoot. The basic story is that 15 years after returning to their homeworld in the epic game Homeworld, a Hiigaran mining space vessel, the Kuun-Lan, inadvertently releases an intelligent interstellar virus of sorts which can subvert living and inorganic matter, almost instantly turning your own ships against you. Eventually, it allies with your enemies, the remnants of the old Taidan Empire, which you (hopefully) wiped out in the first game. You have to conduct scientific/engineering research, build ships, mine resources, and upgrade the mining vessel until you become one of the most powerful armadas around. You get to be the General, rather than the pilot! The game graphics are excellent and very detailed. In fact, they are so good that the scenes between missions use the game's graphics rather than specially done animation. In fact, on the DVD "Yes -- live at the House of Blues," there is a music video of the Yes song "Homeworld" which uses only video from the first Homeworld game.
Rating:
Summary: ooooo
Review: For those who like space shoot em ups with a bit of masterclass and variation, its winkin at u in the eye, if ur not sure about this type of game, let me make it easy for u. imagine command and conquer generals. make it 3d, better gameplay, b-e-a-utiful on high resolutions plus the ability of a superb skirmish, and ur there. no doubt an absolute classic
Rating:
Summary: Not "too difficult"
Review: I own both Homeworld 1 and Cataclysm and finished them both. With the same basic strategy employed to win those games, I finished HW2 in about 3 days. It is unfortunate that there aren't multiple difficulty levels in the campaign game (though in the "multiplayer", you can set the computer skill level), but I found the game sufficiently challenging. As others have stated here, it is an excellent game, beautifully rendered and engrossing.
Rating:
Summary: Too difficult you say?
Review: As of yet, I only still have the demo, and will soon venture to get the retail version. I hear that many of you who posted a review say it is hard. It is and is not. When I first got it, even vs the CPU on EASY, it took me about 10 games to get the hang of it, and now I clobber the other 3 comps. Now I just gotta beat STANDARD difficulty again and again to bring the action notch up to MEDIUM. I do not say it is really easy, but to be easy would not be worth it. To learn how to beat the AI, which is a heck of a lot better than the AI of other RTS games I own. I actually get a challenge out of it. For people who are frustrated, just take a few days to cool off before taking on the comp again. Eventually, you will find the proper strategies to overcome the AI, though those must change when you change the difficulty. All in all, a very good game. I do not own the first 2, but will perhaps if they will actually run on my rather current comp. Hate to find out that HM1 and CATACLYSM wont run on a 1.4ghz w/ WINDOWS ME in it. Just keep at it, and eventually you get the 'skills' as many of us other hard RTS gamers say.
Rating: 
Summary: Basically a game box rail game
Review: I'm a big fan of both HW1 and Cataclysm. Both are enjoyable, paced well, and actually beatable. With that said, after reading many reviews here I decided to download the demo and see how bad the latest release is. Well, if you like stunning graphics and atmosphere, then it's incredible. If you want enjoyable game play and strategy, forget it. See HW2 fell off the wagon when they decided to treat it like a "port to PC" game. It's more like a game box rail shooter, auto-save, rampant attacks, little time to explore, gain knowledge, build. It's just point and click, shoot to kill. It got so bad I expected to get secret codes to get to the next level like a Nintendo game boy title. Sorry Relic, you should have tweaked the engine and AI and improved the graphics and stopped there. If it ain't broke don't fix it.
Rating: 
Summary: Worst of the series. Too Difficult.
Review: The first 2 Homeworld games are my favorite all time games. This was unplayable for me. Even on the Easy setting I could barely get past the first couple of missions. The other games were much more relaxing and enjoyable. I found this game a complete frustration because of its difficulty. There are many other features I did not like such as the way one is just taken from 1 mission to the next without the chance to regroup.
Rating:
Summary: HW2 may be difficult...but that is half the fun!
Review: I am amazed that people say this game is bad just because they find it challenging. So what if it is difficult? Learn from your losses. It helps later on if you choose to do player vs. CPU and/or to go online and face off with up to six HUMAN players. Anyway, I loved this game (Sure, the SP campaign could have ended better), and I have no real complaints against HW2 or Relic. Here are some pros and cons I discovered while playing: Pros: Many new ships with many new uses Cool nebulas that you can hide in and electrify with ions Neat new maps for both SP and MP Excellent graphics Very balanced game Overall, just plain sweet Single player missions are creative and fun, especially mission 12 A new, challenging enemy: the Vaygr. Cons: Platform Rushing. Should be fixed in the upcoming patch. The game could have been better if Sierra hadn't rushed Relic to finish it (Plat rushes and other minior MP issues would have been solved). That's about it. In conclusion, I would recommend this game to anybody who plays or wants to play strategy games. You'll love this game!
Rating:
Summary: Too hard for a newcomer
Review: I bought this game today and played it tonight. First, about me: I'm 35. I'm not new to computer games - I'd list computer games as one of my top, if not the, top hobbies. I don't consider myself stupid: I have both a helicopter and plane licence. I enjoy RTS and first person shooter games. I have owned an N64 and Dreamcast, and I now own an XBox and a high-end (gaming) PC. I saw this game and thought I'd give it a try. I like RTS and this was labelled as RTS. An earlier reviewer said 'Trying to fight off the constant barrage of enemies whilst also trying to get at the resources whilst also complete your objectives' (my words paraphrasing). It's true - I too just want to relax and play, not be driven out of my mind and frustrated at this game. This game will be returned tomorrow. If you're a Homeworld fan, then perhaps you're used to it, if you're a newcomer, you'll probably be tearing your hair out at this game - I am. Oh, one more thing: the tutorial is *NOT* comprehensive enough. It teaches only the basics, and you're left to fathom out the rest in game (whilst constantly being barraged by enemies, etc, etc, etc).
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing and frustrating
Review: The original Homeworld had concept and graphics going for it, if not gameplay. Amusing, if tedious...I remember setting things in motion and literally going away to eat lunch, then returning to see how it was proceeding. Homeworld 2 has exactly the same concept, noticeably improved graphics, a modified interface, and abysmal gameplay. Those who enjoy RTS titles and play games for enjoyment--and is there any other rationale?--will be frustrated beyond tolerance by H2. Long missions with multiple objectives, wave after wave of too powerful opposing units, inadequate resources, intrusive cutscenes and no provision for adjusting difficulty settings remove most of any sense of fun and adventure. With more imagination in the design and testing, this could have been a worthwhile successor to the original. Instead, you will either find yourself searching out cheat codes--which remove any point to playing a game--or uninstalling without finishing. Despite the many negative reviews, if you are still tempted to try this title wait for the reduced price jewel case version.
Rating:
Summary: Visually spectacular, very hard, not for casual players
Review: In light of completing Homeworld 2 twice, the review is a brutal truth of what the game is---a game so challenging, so hard, it just simply isn't worth your bother. Ordinary gamers will derive no enjoyment from this. In a manner of words: this is a game with spectacular graphics, breathtaking naval fleet warfare, all hampered by arduous game play. Fifteen missions long, the average player will find themselves struggling by just the fourth, if you finished the third by the skin of your teeth. Rapidly changing mid-mission objectives, wave after wave of enemy forces, you'd better be up to the challenge of preventing your shipyard from hostile takeover to graduate to the real fun. Then mission 4 hits you, hard and heavy. Players are simply not prepared so early in the game, after such breezy missions, for one of such difficulty. Continual enemy attacks never leave you alone, never giving you a breather, to collect resources, to replenish your ragtag fleet. Don't grin that smile yet, that massive frigate assault will wash it away. There's no time to get a feel for ship classes, what works best against which enemy unit, to experiment on new technologies. Took a stunning number of weeks to beat that mission alone. Just concentrate on bombers and pulsar corvettes and she'll be right mate. Homeworld 2, it seems, is one heavy mission after another, broken up by occasional missions so quiet you could sleep through them. Those restful missions would be ideal to build full your fleet to full strength and maximum unit numbers. A detrimental mistake! An unbelievable attribute of the game---the stronger you are, the heavier the next mission's enemy forces will be. The astounding stupidity of this is simply shocking. Try full unit limits from the tenth mission onwards, when enemy forces are already considerable, you'll see. This isn't so bad, really, but it makes hill into a mountain. Homeworld 2 is a Real Time Strategy game of its own, nothing like Starcraft-type games. Even the hardest Starcraft mission gave you time to rebuild a weakened army, fix your base up. You could explore the darkened map, tease the enemy from different sides. H2 won't let you do that. This game demands strict obedience to the mission objectives. You play to fulfil them, not your own agenda. Even more absurd, whatever forces you have left you begin with next mission. Scrape a mission too finely, and what are your chances of survival, really, when the enemy hordes come, and come in numbers they will. What H2 steals from you is enjoyment. This is for the determined player. Who doesn't want a challenge in a game? But it's not fun. Move! You can't sit idle at any time; you can't split your fleet up, to feint at an enemy base from different angles. You want to live, keep all eggs in one fleet. The menu controls are shocking. Mouse scrolling doesn't work in H2. It takes valuable time to position and drag the tab down the page. You can't even press the ENTER or ESCAPE keys, only mouse commands. Such is the Idiotic Intelligence of the developers, that you can't authorise commands with an ENTER tap. The screen panels where you click to load or save games are so slim you really have to position your mouse precisely over them. The method of saving is a joke. Strict alphanumerical order, the starting letter or number determines its placement in the list. It's better to save games chronologically, like Starcraft and Jedi Outcast. In-game auto-saving works against you; replay a mission, and you might re-save over it. Where in the game booklet does it say docked strike craft repair automatically? Just an offhand mention in the Vaygr Battlecruiser. How would you think to dock your fighters when you need them active at all times? It's pointless to target warship subsystems like engines or weapons, when destroying the ship takes just as long. It's pointless to capture an enemy ship, not only from limited unit numbers you're allowed, but the ship will always target your marine frigate. Still haven't gotten cloaking technology, despite playing the game twice. You'll spend considerable time looking at your radar screen. It's the only way to see enemy units and positions, and easier to select targets for attack. Like viewing a sphere of blinking red and green dots all game long? Graphics are awesome, ship details commendable. A mouse-wheel scrolling allows easy panning and rotation of the camera angle. Fun to follow behind a bomber group on their attack runs, or zoom right in at besieged warships about to be missile volleyed. With high comp system requirements the occasional slowdown when too camera-close to ships is only an infrequent bother; a close-up exploding warship is cool. Mid- and inter-mission cutscenes are simple but satisfactory. Fleet Command voices sounds too similar, whereas Makaan is chilling as the Vaygr warlord, smooth and polite. Game music is largely repetitive. Only two tracks stand out. The oriental Hindu-like music of the Keeper missions, and those too-brief scores in missions 9 and 12. Hammered by endless Vaygr fleets, your heart pounding as fight for survival, why did they finish after a few minutes? It was haunting and daring, before fading to that mundane battle music. There is nothing special about the mysterious Sajuuk, the one hope of your homeworld. It would be a spoiler to say, but the game designers are criminal fools to make the guy just that. If that doesn't inspire your outrage, behold the short, simplistic final cutscene of the game. This is Homeworld 2. Visually stunning, but badly designed. You'd do well to think long and hard before sampling this farce of fun. It's all well and good to spout rave reviews and the shine the five-star flag, but honest and informative feedback goes a long way to whisper the truth.
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