Homeworld Cataclysm

Rating:
Summary: This is Homeworld 2...Not Cataclysm
Review: Dear Amazon Customer,

Please pay no attention to negative reviews of Homeworld 2 that are actually directed to the Homeworld expansion ...Homeworld:Cataclysm.

Homeworld was ground breaking, moving, and finely balanced for an incredible gaming experience. Nuff said... buy the first if you haven't already.

Cataclysm lacked the impact of the first but was pretty cool in its own right. I replayed one of the cataclysm missions over and over again until I could save all of the passenger ships. Cataclysm had something to be proud of also. And you know you're lying if you didn't get a giant grin every time you zapped an opponent with your beast ray online and heard their entire crew scream in agony because you knew your opponent heard the same cries on the other end. If you haven't bought cataclysm yet wait until you get bored of the first and the third (which I guarantee won't happen for a number of years)

Homeworld 2 hasn't come out yet but download the trailer (which is actually video of in game action) and you will see why I gave this game 5 stars before I have played it.

So in a couple weeks there will be three Homeworld games don't get them confused. Homeworld 2 promises to be very cool and unlike another review at amazon it IS made by Relic, the people who made the original...besides there are gonna be space marines as we know all games containing space marines are must buys.

p.s. Amazon...please remove the reviews that confuse Homeworld 2 with Homeworld Cataclysm.

Rating:
Summary: Homeworld 2 a major jaw-dropper
Review: You know, alot of people usually say a sequal, whether for a game or a movie or something else, is rarely as good as the first.Well my friends, I think we're gonna prove that wrong.

The first Homeworld was a beautiful spectacle, taking imagination,masterful graphics, and a complete immersion into the Homeworld Universe.On level 3,As you play out the level, seeing that first cryo tray full of over 100,000 people on board be murdered, I almost cried.Then, with burning hatred and revenge, See the kushan people chase after the fleet that massecred their home and their people, I cheered for them.

If Homeworld 2 can take us as deep into the video game as the original,watchout people, we got Homeworld zombies on the loose!

Rating:
Summary: Hopefull
Review: Homeworld was "Amazing". Cataclysm was "Good". This trend better not continue or I would have to give Sierra the "Confederacy of Dunces" award. I really loved Homeworld and what was done with that game....

If you dont understand what Im saying here then I hope to God you dont work for Sierras dev. team. Your probably "management".

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Summary: Home World 2 should be Great Fun
Review: Home World 2 is going to be a great game. I'm desperately waiting for its release in Hong Kong, although I have not played Homeworld 1. The graphics look great on the magazines, and the RTS Style fully 3 dimensional should be spectacular. Space is the setting of the game, and should catch your attention very well. If you are going to get only one game this coming month, get Home World 2. I promise that it is going to be a fun filled September for you. On the other hand, Sierra always churns out nice games.

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Summary: Homeworld returns
Review: In 1977 Star Wars set the pace for science fiction films up to the present day. In 1999 Homeworld had a similar effect, carving a niche for itself and creating a dedicated following of fans. Still after 3 years, epic space battles are played by people of all ages, both new to the game and veterans.
When I first sat down to play Homeworld in 1999 I was totally blown away, so much so I have not bought a new game since. The multiplayer element of the game means that there are almost limitless possibilites, I still get an adrenaline rush each time I play the game on line. This is why for me Homeworld 2 is so eagerly awaited. At 34 I am like that small boy waiting to see Star Wars again.
Without doubt, this game is what computers were designed for.

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Summary: One Game to Change Them All
Review: The First Homeworld was given a special life I've not seen in games before. The Manual was filled with a race's history, their culture, their people. It read like a novel by one of the great Science Fiction authors. Mission 3 truly brought out everything I had learned about the Higaarans from the Manual..and burned it before my eyes. The background music (Adagio For Strings, Samuel Barber's piece, but done with vocals), the sight of the burning world...not being able to save the first Cryo-Pod before the Taidaan Frigates destroyed the 100,000 lives sleeping within..The knowledge that a beautifully made culture was gone...
It did what no other game, movie, or story could do, and hasn't ever since.

It made me cry.

The 'expansion' if it could be called that, Cataclysm, did not have the same effect...no, instead, it did something different, something else again. Yes, I've been surprised, yes, I've been startled. Yes, thanks to Dark Forces I'm deathly afraid of venturing into water for fear of dianogas.

It made me cringe. The screams of your crews as they died a horrible, painful death. A single snip of conversation embodies that game for me: "Wow...look at these organic circuts..we could learn so much from this!" "...Just keep in mind that those were once your Kith-Brothers and Sisters."

And now Homeworld 2 comes. It has plenty to live up to, but I can guarantee it'll meet the challenge and immerse you in a universe thats whole, something which many, many stories could come from.

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Summary: Dear god I can't wait any longer.....
Review: Stay away from my homeworld, its MINE! MINE I say! Oh, how much fun I had with the first Homeworld, working my way through the enemy fleet, my Destroyers flanked by Ion Frigates, flanked by fighters (in Claw formation). As I reclaimed my homeworld, and the sounds of battle died down, Barber's Adagio for Strings rose to fill the silence. I hope they use that music again.

Yeah I'm obsessed. It not healthy, and I admit it. What you don't know is that I just spent £300 on new hardware just so I can enjoy Homeworld2 in all its glory. Well I guess now you do now. hmmm. But I don't care. If ever there was a reason to shut yourself away from the world for a week, this is it. Miss it, and your life is over. You have been warned.

Rating:
Summary: Across the Universe
Review: "Homeworld" is, hands-down, my favorite computer game ever. I like many others -- from the original "Zork" to "The Bard's Tale" to "Thief: The Dark Project" -- but "Homeworld" is the one that takes the cake. I've spent far too many hours playing it, many more listening to its wonderful music, and possibly even more researching its world and writing a story based on one of its featured characters, which is something I've never been inspired to do before or since.

The story of "Homeworld" is compelling from the beginning. A race of beings living on the harsh desert world of Kharak discover an ancient spacecraft beneath the shifting sands. In its ruined frame, they find an intact map leading deep into the galaxy, to a world called Hiigara. They discover that Hiigara is their ancient homeworld, and the entire population comes together to build a spacecraft that will take them there, based on the technology of the buried spacecraft.

As gameplay begins, you test the hyperspace drives of your ship, and you control the building, management, and movements of a ever-growing fleet of vessels, starting from smaller scout craft and resource-gathering vessels, working your way up to larger ships. Your fleet makes its way across the galaxy slowly, toward its goal, meeting four alien races -- some are hostile, while others will help. Your job, as Fleet Command, is to survive and thrive in the dangerous deep reaches of space. The challenges with which you will be presented are dramatic and ever-changing.

The story of the game is perhaps is finest aspect. Despite the fact that the game is essentially "on rails," meaning that it flows in one direction only, with no real branching of consequences other than "win or lose," it never really feels that way. The events follow from one point to the next with many surprises and unexpected turns along the way. Starting with a sudden ambush early on, the game truly keeps you on your toes at every step, often changing direction in the middle of a mission.

The music deserves special attention, because it really helps give the game its feel. The music for the general space exploration segments is hauntingly beautiful, giving impressions of distance and silence. For the battle sequences, the music is an effective counterpoint, providing a steady undertone to the deadly ballet taking place. The use of a vocal version of Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings" underscores the moment of the game's greatest tragedy, and its most moving moment. And the final song, performed by the rock band Yes specifically for the game, is the perfect way to conclude the game.

The graphics in "Homeworld" seem a bit outdated by today's standards, but they remain beautiful and perfect for the tone that the game sets throughout. Nice 360-degree three-dimensional renderings of ships, gorgeous backdrops of nebulae and space vistas, stunningly-rendered action sequences in the form of the battle scenes. I can still look admiringly at the graphics today. The game is an extremely cinematic experience, because of the quality of the graphics and a smart gameplay model.

The gameplay itself is so much fun. Controls are fairly intuitive and easy to learn, including the "camera" controls, which make the game so cinematic. The game is essentially a real-time strategy combat game, set in a fully three-dimensional environment. The single-player game is heavily-driven by the solid story, but it never lets the story aspect get in the way of the enjoyment of the gameplay itself. Whether fighting your way through an asteroid field or preparing to take on a 150-ship fleet or mining the last few resources from a system (there's a lot of that), there's always something to do. Of course, the drive to find out what happens next is always strong as well. The single-player game is also extremely re-playable, thanks to many different styles of gameplay you can choose. I myself have played it at least six times, all the way through the story, and I still haven't exhausted the possibilities.

Multiplayer gameplay is equally fun, with all sorts of different tactics and styles of gameplay possible. "Grunt-rushing," or making an early rush at your opponent with an overwhelming number of weak ships, is certainly possible, but it's not as effective as it is in most RTS games. The wide variety of options open to all players make each and every multiplayer match in "Homeworld" new and interesting.

There's really nothing bad I can say about "Homeworld." From its visuals to its sound, from its story to its endlessly-entertaining gameplay, it's a game that I can relish playing over and over, even as I look forward to playing its sequel, "Homeworld 2." It's the sort of game that can take on mythic proportions and influence many games that come after it, and so it has. "Homeworld" is, perhaps, as close to a perfect game as one is ever likely to see. It has my highest recommendation.

Rating:
Summary: awaiting with eager anticipation
Review: When I first played HW1, it set the standard of all strategy games for me. If HW2 is as good as HW1 I am in for a GOOD time.
HW1 was oft copied, never bettered. Hours of thought,fighting and fun.

Rating:
Summary: Spectacular
Review: Homeworld has been and will continue to be a spectacle of incrediblly beautiful graphics and amazing gameplay. It will keep you entertained for months. I know that I am still playing the original after two years and love it even more than I did when I first bought it.