Review Date: Oct 1st
Reviewer: Jon
Official Page: http://homeworld.sierra.com/cataclysm/
Rating: Highly Recommended

15 years have passed since the Kushan won back their homeworld from the evil Taidan. The past 15 years have been difficult for the Kushan, as they didn't fully anticipate the problems of settling their society on a new world. The Kiths, or factions, soon began to bicker and squabble over resources and personnel, each claiming a greater need for them. To add to the problems, Turanic Raiders and Taidan loyal to the old empire engage in battles on the outskirts of the Higarin system. But unknown to them all, an ancient evil is slowly emerging, hungry for the universe it wants to control and conqueror.....

System Requirements:

Windows Me/2000/98/95/NT 4.0 (w/service pack 4.0) CD-ROM 
Pentium® II 266+, 32 MB RAM
250 MB HD Space (Plus 50 MB Permanent Swap File)
4x CD-ROM Drive
4 MB PCI Video Card (16-bit color, DirectX compatible)
16-bit DirectX compatible Soundcard
Windows compatible Mouse 

Internet/Multiplayer
32-bit Internet Service Provider with 28.8kbps (or higher) modem or LAN (local area
network) 

DirectX 7.0a, a common set of components for Windows, is required to run
Homeworld: Cataclysm. If Direct X 7.0a is not detected during install, you will be
prompted to install the update. DirectX 7.0a is included on the Homeworld:
Cataclysm game CD and is also available from Microsoft's DirectX website. 

Introduction:

Homeworld was considered by many to be a groundbreaking game for the RTS genre. It was the first game to be completely 3D, and it did it with an impressive flair. It was met with arms wide open and hailed as a breath of fresh air, to a genre that was being beaten to death by C&C clones. Now Sierra has released the official expansion pack to this game, and it proudly meets and even beats in some areas the standards the original game set forth. The graphics have been improved, as well as the voices, 17 all new single player mission with a gripping plot, and a new "race" (really just a faction of the Kushan, but I use the term for RTS standards), to play as, the Somtaaw.

Game play:

I was a huge fan of the original Homeworld, so I had high expectations for this game, and they it met them all. The first thing you will note is the touched up graphics from Homeworld. The ships have more detail (you can see the Kith's logos on the command ship), and the effects from gunfire are more detailed and rendered on the ships. Once the option is researched, you can even see the tiny robot ships repairing your hull after battles. Being able to play as the kith Somtaaw adds even more fun to the game. They have many interesting new technologies, such as ships that can link together to form a more powerful one, force field sphere producing ships, and my favorite: leeches, which can latch onto a ship undetected and slowly "bleed" them dead. In multi player you can play as the Beast, which brings back techs not available to you in Homeworld, and also gives you access to the deadly infection beam, which can be very fun to use.....

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