Rating

A

Specific Ratings

GameplayA
GraphicsA+
Learning CurveA-
Replay ValueA-
SoundA

Pros and Cons

Pros
  • Excellent graphics
  • Very easy-to-use interface
  • Great new ships
  • Ships with multiple functions
  • Excellent new technologies and weapons
  • Realistic sounds
  • Command ship with intergrated modules
Cons
  • Final battle was too difficult
  • No tutorial mission

Homeworld: Cataclysm (PC)

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Summary

Homeworld: Cataclysm takes you on another great 3D space adventure in which you must maintain a mining fleet and survive the many dangers of space travel

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Description

Homeworld: Cataclysm --- Most people think this is an expansion game for the first Homeworld game, but in fact, it is a separate (stand-alone) game that continues the epic tale of a colony of people trying to survive the harsh challenges of space exploration.

This game starts several years after the planet Hiigara had been found at the end of the first game. The Taidan Republic have since colonized it and called it home for several generations, but there has been a split within the clans, and the result is an imperialist faction that has gathered it's own fleet of ships, and continues to cause instability within the Republic. In addition to these problems, there is also a mercenary group known as the Turanic Raiders, who prey on mining vessels and other groups of ships. As the game progresses, you will also encounter a new threat to the galaxy, and they are known as the "Beast". This dangerous race has new technology that will actually infect ships with some kind of disease that drives the crew crazy, and slowly eats away at the ship until it is destroyed.

The main differences between this game and the first one was the types of ships, and the fact that resources in this game were not as abundant as they were in the first one. You still can collect asteroids, but now there are also new resources called crystals, and they can provide lots of resources. A new feature with the ships, that I thought was really "cool", was that some of them have many functions. For example, there was a "worker" class that can Harvest, Repair, and Salvage. So instead of having to build a single ship for each of those functions, like you had to do in the original "Homeworld" game, you can just build one ship that will do ALL of those tasks. Some other new ships include: Ramming Frigate, Acolyte (which is a fighter class that has the ability to link with other acolytes to form a bigger corvette class ship), and the Seeker (which is your basic recon ship). This time your main ship is a mining vessel called the "Kuun-Lan", and you have been sent out on a routine mining job, but as the game goes on, it quickly turns into a mission of survival.
I really liked the command ship in this game, because all your needed sections (building manager, research manager, etc.) were actually built on the mining ship as part of it, instead of separate sections.

There are also new technologies available in this game, and here are some examples of them. The Leech ship can clamp onto enemy ships and spy on them to collect needed info. or slowly eat away at the hull until the ship is destroyed. As I mentioned earlier, there is also a Link option with the Acolytes and Mimics that enable two or more of them to merge into one bigger vessel. There is an EMP weapon that can be used on enemy vessels that will stun them and sometimes immobilize them. There are Mimic ships now that can holographically emulate friendly ships, enemy ships, or asteroids. The Ramming Frigate mentioned earlier can ram enemy ships causing damage, and more often used to push enemies away from the fleet. Towards the end of the game, you will be able to build a Siege Cannon section on the command ship, and this weapon will prove to be very useful.

The trading race known as the Bentusi are back in this game, and they will once again help you along your journey. During a few of the missions you will also be able to control another fleet of mining vessels, and that was a challenge. Combat is still automatically initiated when an enemy fleet arrives, and the same formations and tactics are available. Capturing and salvaging enemy ships was also available in this game, and once again, it proved to be the best way to build up a formidable fleet.

Gameplay was very good in this game, and basically set-up the same way it was in the original Homeworld. Once again, a very easy to use interface that was almost entirely mouse driven with keyboard short cuts to manager screens.

Graphics once again were excellent in this game, just like they were in the original Homeworld, and it was a 3D space gaming screen that let you pan in ALL directions. The ships looked somewhat different in this game, but still had an awesome design to them. The space environments looked very real, and combat situations kept you on your toes.

Learning curve was good in this game, and I mainly did not give it a better rating because there was NOT a tutorial mission in this game like there was in the original Homeworld. It does help to have played the first game before you play this one, but it is not a necessity. The game interfaces and controls are so easy to use that it would not take you too long to understand everything if this was your first time playing a Homeworld game.

The replay value was not very high in this game either, and that is mainly because unlike the first game, you did not have an option of choosing fleet types. You are a Taidan mining fleet, and the only thing you can change about that when starting the game is the ship colors. But there are difficulty settings, and other unique settings that can make playing the game again more challenging, so I would say that the replay value is not a total zero.

Sound was very good in this game, and there were many ship sounds and background music to keep you involved in the story. There were unique voice sounds for flight command, the Bentusi, and even for other fleets (both friendly and not so friendly). About the only thing not on the soundtrack this time that I really missed was the great songs from the band "YES"..

The only thing that comes to my mind as a CON for this game was the final battle with the "Beast" fleet. Most of the battle was not too difficult to get thru, but the "Beast" main command ship was very hard to take down, took me several attempts before I could take it down.

In conclusion, I would say that this was a very entertaining and challenging game that will put your fleet command abilities to the test. The "Beast" race was a very unique adversary that had some devastating capabilities.

If you are a fan of 3D space adventure, than you definitely need to pick this one up!

Your Fellow Gamer,
Bobby

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