Rating: 
Summary: The Experience Equals its Great Predecessor: Homeworld
Review: The game starts 15 years after the original Homeworld war: the remnants of the Higaraans are divided into two kind of Kiiths(clans?), the ones that was not hybernated and so had to fight their way and later became the inner circles of power in the new homeworld, and the ones that was hybernated and missed the whole, bloody journey and woke up to find their original clan back home destroyed and end up as a less powerful clan. You get to play one of the latter clans called Kiith Somtaw, who mine minerals from asteroids in the near galaxy.The game opens with the two major powers vying for the Higara: The good side: the Higaarans(your people), the new, democratic Taiidan Republic that is on good terms with Higaarans, the neutral Bentusis, and the bad: the remaining Taidanni imperialists and their pals, the Turanic raiders. The balance of power between these two are broken when the Somtaaw fleet finds an ancient emergency beacon that contains a powerful virus capable of eating up organic and inorganic matters. The virus soon turns out to have intelligence and devours anything and everything that comes in its way that includes the initial victim, the research deck of the Somtaaw's mothership that had to be discarded and latter becomes the Beast mothership, and the revengeful Taidanni imperialists literally signs a contract with the devil by joining forces with the creature now known as the Beast in hopes of overthrowing their long time foes... As can be seen, the story is still intriguing, the graphics still superb, 3D functions are still awesome. Nevertheless, some of few downfalls are the lack of new 'enemy' fleet and (still) confusing manuals. Notice only the enemies, whereas the Sometaaw has their own new arsenal. In addition, the part of the manual that explains the past history was still vague(like the original), and that is the reason I wrote the above story line. Overall, having believed what some people criticized 'Cataclysm' as un-original than the 'Homeworld' for a long time and not playing it, I regret that now: this is certainly an improved Homeworld or Homeworld version 1.5. Anyhow, this game is more than good: it is one of the best titles out there for the money right now, and because of this game, I really look forward to Homeworld 2. Grab this title before it becomes a jewel version with no manuals to help you at all. It was a joy to play this game, I applaud the Barking Dogs Studio for their great work, and I definetely give it an A+.
Rating: 
Summary: great game
Review: Excellent game, great game for anyone who likes science fiction many buildings and units the only bad thing is the difficulty in learning how to play it
Rating:
Summary: Exellent semi-sequel to the original game!
Review: After playing the first game, Homeworld, I was having so much fun, it's almost been a year, and i'm still playing it! I couldn't wait for Cataclysm! Now I have it, and it is ALMOST what I was expecting. The graphics are improved, and the controls are better, but I preferred the originals sound. The single-player and multiplayer are not quite as good as the first game, but still very good. This is a very good game, but first, pick up the original, than this game. Can't wait for Homeworld 2. Especially because it's being done by the original's team at Relic Entertainment. ...
Rating: 
Summary: do NOT get this game
Review: Compared to the original, this game is a bust. You basically have to destroy the "Beast", a creature that takes control over machines and humans. you have to battle your way to their mothership, while facing numerous attacks from rebels, and destroy it. PROS: Great graphics, all new ships, 17 long missions, new abilities; interesting new objectives, and it is a sequal to homeworld, so it has to be a little fun CONS: incredibly easy, even on the hardest skill level; levels get boaring after a while; the only way you can lose is to send your command ship headfirst into the enemy base completely unprotected; the "new" ships are basically re-named, re-done, versions of the old ones, it is so easy to replace ships that you can basically build millions of fighters, kamikazee them, and build them again, and since you never run out of resources the enemy can't stop you,capital ships are too strong(i think i only lost 1 destroyer the entire game), the new ships give you an unfair advantage, for example, in some levels you can use a ship called a leach to completely destoy the enemy carrier without even having to fight it, your command ship is too impervious to attacks and you barely have to leave an escort with it, you can't get the best ship in the game to use in multiplayer, and it is kind of anticlimax. there is no final video or anythign like that.
Rating: 
Summary: Not terribly exciting
Review: After purchasing Homeworld (for a great price... always wait until the "Game of the Year" goes on sale for a great deal), I natually felt inclined to try Cataclysm. What a mistake. The whole beautiful "space is a large, lonely place" premise has been completely manhandled with foolish commentary. The music and sound effects are trite. The ships are still huge, but a lot of the "improvements" or other enhancements seem visual or unnecessary. The fact that "Barking Dog Studios" (never heard of them) places their logo on the pause screen helps to solidfy the fact that Sierra and Relic seemingly don't want to touch this one. I'm hoping that Homeworld 2, being developed by the Relic team, is a closer match to the awesome original.
Rating: 
Summary: Crime against original - in space noone can hear you cry
Review: Well, somehow they managed to make a follow-up that is not as good as the first. Please note that the people who made this sequal are NOT the people who made the original, even though Sierra handles the production. Pay attention to the negative reviews this game has received, many fans of the original feel a bit betrayed by this one. Yes, there are some tweaks that are good: waypoints for movement, you can make vessels fly around in circles, some different ships. However this game does NOT have the magnificent ambience of the original, the voice overs are sickeningly American-accented, it simply does not have anywhere near the class and atmosphere of the first. Don't get me wrong, it is a good game and if you are starving for more Homeworld then go for it, but don't expect the beauty of the original. If you do not have Homeworld, GET HOMEWORLD. It's better to enjoy the original first. You won't lose anything by playing that one first. Then play a demo of this one, and if you can stomach it, go for it. Sierra, get your act together and make some cheap original Homeworld mission packs, thanks, that would be well appreciated.
Rating:
Summary: Cataclysm Rocks
Review: I couldn't wait to get this game, once I'd seen the previews on the Homeworld/Sierra site. All of my expectations were met and I could only come up with very few criticisms. The game-play is familiar and should be easy for newcomers to RTS. This one is really the epitome of real-time strategy. The addition of waypoints that all ships can patrol is a vast improvement over Homeworld. The story-line makes sense, the graphics are just as good (truly impressive if you've never played the game), and the soundtrack is good. I like the idea of a central, "unbeatable" enemy. The only criticism I have is the same for Homeworld - no add-in missions. C'mon guys, give us more to play with. Unlike most RTS fans, I like to play alone, and once you've done it, you've done it. A must buy for any game player, and if you don't like RTS, the game will make you a convert.
Rating:
Summary: No! Please! Don't buy this!
Review: The title should say it all. The requisite for the number of stars you give a game is "How much fun is this game?" Amazon.com doesn't recognize negative numbers. Cataclysm is not all bad; very few things in life are. The graphics are pretty darned good, and the control interface has, yes, been improved. Not enough to justify the release of this monstrosity in either case. I bought the original Homeworld the very day it was released. It has now been on my hard drive continuously since that point. It is without any SEMBLANCE of a doubt the best strategy game I've ever played. The game had class; it had flair. The graphics were just _astounding_. The voices were, as computer games go, done very well. The ships were amazing. I spent hours drawing them and designing new additions to them and the like. But that's just me. Anyway, the missions were perfectly scripted and added to the already spectacular game. I remember, I put off the last mission for 4 and a half months because I didn't want the game to end it was that...good! I cried when I had finished the last mission and the thought crashed into my head: "This is it. There isn't any more." So then, obviously, I was near tears again when Cataclysm was announced and I saw in it my psychological salvation. What actually happened when I installed and ran the game was near sacriledge. They took a great game and utterly destroyed it. They removed every last shred of je ne sais croire that Homeworld had (tons of it, by the way) and replaced it with utter, run of the mill garbage. The original game had just the right FEEL, just the right everything. Its creators knew what they had to do and went above and beyond it. Sierra has always been able to tell a story (some of the time, granted, that story is the best part of the game...:P) flawlessly. Homeworld had such a great storyline it could've been (well, "Battlestar Galactica" was, I guess) the basis for a [5 star] movie. Cataclysm's story has promise, and was written very well-just read the manual and you'll see what I mean. But it can't be a part of the Homeworld series. In order for it to work, it needs to be a whole separate game to avoid soiling what the original was. Cataclysm just isn't good. The points I make and more are in the other reviews. Those who give it 4 or 5 stars don't know what they're talking about. Or I'm overly sentimental. Oh well. Please don't buy this game. Please. The only thing its good for it using as a skeet and knowing, as little fragments fall to Earth, that you have destroyed a great evil to the gaming universe. -Baikal
Rating:
Summary: Way dissapointed
Review: The original Homeworld blew me away. From that amazing opening sequence with the Addagio for Strings music throughout the rest of the game. Everything about the game was revolutionary. Game play and intense storyline. Which is why I was greatly disappointed with Cataclysm. Cataclysm didn't invoke any sentiment and failed to completely draw me into the story as did the original. The Catacysm story is a complete waterdown compared to the original. The possibilities in ship building and technologies becomes limited compared to Homeworld. The game is a complete step in about every aspect from the original, except for some nice surrounding graphics. I was very very very very very very disappointed with this. A definitive second rate sequel. I wish I had never heard of this sequel, worse yet played it. I recommend sticking to the original Homeworld. This one will only mar the memory of the original.
Rating:
Summary: Insanely Addictive!
Review: What do you get when you combine flawless real-time strategy, gorgeous graphics, a wonderfully intuitive interface, perfect balances, and insanely addictive gameplay? Well, my friends- The answer is simple- Homeworld: Cataclysm. The strategical depth of this game is so intense, that the experience is far more than the sum of it's parts. 17 Single Player missions force you to use different tactics in every mission. You can't just waltz in and blow everything up. You MUST use the proper mix of ships to ensure victory. The Multiplayer is practically a game on it's own. I've spent many hours playing online day and night. I've even joined a clan to maximize my playing pleasure. :-) Please, buy this game if your between the ages of -infinty to infinity. Trust me. You won't regret it.
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