Home Expansion
Reviewer: Mark Birnbaum - Page 1
When I purchased Homeworld last year, I must say that the game's biggest draw to me personally was its stunning graphics. The box art caught my attention quickly (excellent marketing techniques, folks) and inspired me to take a closer look. Real time strategy in 3D? That cannot be done! However, after playing the game for only 10 minutes, I was quickly drawn into the game's lush environment. After completing the game, I felt myself begging for more, and upon realizing the existence of a stand-alone sequel in development; I couldn't help but salivate at the thought.
When I opened the box I couldn't help but notice the gargantuan manual. This would come in handy, as I was eager to find out some of the new features the expansion had to offer. Along with a detailed list of all the ships, it also had pictures on every page, with information on formations to linking ships together. One of my biggest beefs with the original game was the inability to focus in on enemy ships. I always wanted to see what they looked like up close, and watch as a fleet of bogies took out one of my poor weak scouting ships. While the game's development was held under a different group of designers, they still seemed to hear the cries of gamers. Simply hold down the alt key and click on any ship to bring it into focus. This immerses the gamers into the action, and brings even more micro-management to your fingertips.
If you are new to the Homeworld universe I would highly suggest taking part in the game's tutorial. The tutorial explains every aspect of Homeworld: Cataclysm, from selecting ships to mining resources. There is a complete audio narrative during the tutorial, which helps, as the 3D environments can be overwhelming. Once you have completed (or omitted) the tutorial, it is time to jump into the action. Because of the raw power of the game's 3D engine, all cutscenes are handled without the need of pre-rendered movies. There are however animated movies in between missions that develop the story. The in game cutscenes are breathtaking, and the camera angles can also be manipulated to the player's content. The interface has been left intact, so veterans will be quite familiar with all of the commands. One noticeable feature is the merging of all the research departments. Instead of having to build research ships and each devoting its time to separate technologies, everything is handled in one menu.
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