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

Solo:

Once again, Cataclysm expands on the single player mode of Homeworld and brings it to new heights.  I really enjoyed the story, and how everything tied in together. You start out as a lowly mining vessel, but as the game progresses, you change into a powerful warship that is the galaxy's only hope. There are many surprises along the way for you, and the beauty of the game is that it uses the engine to do the in-game cut scenes, meaning no loading time what so ever, so you can be just minding your business, a cut scene can occur, you're shocked at what happens, and it jumps right back into the game, leaving you still reeling. 

Sounds:

More improvement here in this category too. In the original game, there was only one voice for all the ships. Granted the battle chatter was a nice effect, you couldn't tell what group was kicking ass, and who was getting their ass kicked. All the voices were the same. Now though, each ship type has it's own voice, so you now know who is who and what's going on. An even nicer effect is the voice of your ships tactical office, who will give an average probability for the outcome of fights, and even tell if your ships have superiority over the enemy or not.

Visual:

I mentioned of the increased ship details, now I will talk about the background visuals. I am guessing that sierra must have taken actual shots from space, because the background in some levels is beyond stunning. You can actually get lost just looking at the background. Also if you turn the screen around, the nebulae or clouds will actually move with it, so it looks like you are actually moving around space, completely 3D. Luckily there is an option in the menu to turn off some visuals, so the game speed can improve in case you don't have a powerful processor.

Multiplayer:

About the same as single player. However you may want to have alot of ram and a good processor to play with a lot of people. Once you get 3 or 4 people going at once, in a dogfight, you may see your computer grind to a halt. 

Thoughts:

This is my first review for a game for Digital Extremists, and I am happy it was a game I enjoyed so much. This expansion pack is exceptionally well thought out, planned and designed. Some companies release expansion packs with a few new goodies, thrown together levels, and spotty plots. But not for Cataclysm. Sierra did an exceptional job on this game, and it is in my recommendation that if you enjoyed Homeworld, you get Cataclysm, you won't be disappointed by the game, but instead be absolutely captivated by it and lose all track of time, like I did ;)

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