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Incredible Graphics and Epic Space Battles

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 42 / 43
Date: November 18, 1999
Author: Amazon User

I'm not usually one to play strategy games, but the graphics of homeworld looked so impressive that I couldn't resist the temptation of picking up a copy. After playing it for a few evenings, I've come to the conclusion that this game is simply stunning.

Homeworld immerses you in a full 3D battlefield and makes it easy to zoom, pan and rotate your view to different perspectives. You can choose to watch battles unfold from afar, or select any visible ship and instantly shift your focus to their view and follow them through combat.

Large scale battles are incredible to watch from either perspective. They're so detailed and so well rendered that they remind me of some of the space battle scenes from the Return of the Jedi (ok, the resolution isn't as good, and the game isn't as smooth as CGI, but it's pretty incredible nonetheless-- large battles are definately "wow" material).

The gameplay is well balanced, and to date, I've found the different missions/battles to be quite challenging. Unlike most strategic war games I've played, the storyline for homeworld is quite interesting. It unfolds gradually, and does a great job in building up the drama behind your mission.

The main difference behind homeworld and other strategic wargames is the 3D nature of the battlefield. Space is definately harder to fight in than land.

Definately five stars, definately a must have...

A great game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 22 / 23
Date: December 02, 1999
Author: Amazon User

I've been a fan of RTS for a long time - starting way back with Warcraft I, II, Starcraft, Command and Conquer, etc... I was very excited to hear about Homeworld, and was well rewarded while playing it!

I have seen some of these reviews knock the user interface. I have to say, I thought the 3d interface was great! It was intuitive and easy to learn (A mouse w/a wheel is highly recommended - it allows for zooming a bit easier than with a two button mouse)

The graphics are amazing. They were so good, I didn't mind getting blown up a few times on the last level. The battle between two huge fleets was so pretty, it was hard not to stop and just watch! It was like watching your house burn down!

Another aspect of the game that was impressive to me - I had absolutely NO bugs to report. I know that can be system dependent, but it's the first game in a long time that worked out of the box, through ALL the levels, without failing at some point or another.

I highly recommend this game. I'm sure there will be many imitators - and some may make marginal improvements, but this game is a huge step for the RTS genre.

I hope Relic turns into another Blizzard - I look forward to their next quality release.

Now that we've conquered 3D RTS, where do we go next?

Ever cried during a movie?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 18 / 26
Date: November 23, 1999
Author: Amazon User

I cried the first time I lost in Homeworld. The music, the immersive feeling, the stress of saving 600,000 inhabitants, must have all got to me, because when my last tray of 100,000 inhabitants exploded, I just curled up in a ball and tears started coming to me eyes. Just like waking up from a bad dream, or at the end of a sad movie: you know it's not real, but you cry anyways. Homeworld can give you such an experience. I'm a 26 year old male, married with 2 children. Computer programmer. Don't know any other game that can do this to me. I'm still learning about strategy, so I can get past mission 4. (Hard core gamers, don't laugh) Anyway, it's a great introduction to Real Time Strategy for newbies to the genre like me, who thought 3D graphics was only good for 1st person shooters and sims.

One of the best real-time strategy games ever...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 17 / 19
Date: November 10, 1999
Author: Amazon User

"Homeworld" - Relic Entertainment - Sierra Studios - PC - Grade:A+

Every year for the past few years, someone has released a game that has taken an established genre of computer gaming and turned it from something stale and bland into something fresh and exciting again.

These are the games other companies imitate, because the developers of these particular games innovated.

In 1997, Blizzard's "Diablo" took the term RPG and game it a strong dose of action and spawned dozens of imitators. Last year, Valve Software's "Half-Life" took the nearly lifeless first-person shooter market and made it viable again by adding something simple - story.

"Homeworld" is this year's innovator and the lesser companies are already scrambling to copy the lessons taught by it.

I offer this word of warning, though - take care, as this could become crack for any one of us. I already suspect that "Homeworld" will be one of those titles that always just seems to take "just ten more minutes" of time. You've been warned. It's incredible, and addictive. Damn timesinks.

Much, much more than just another "Starcraft" knockoff, Relic Entertainment's first project "Homeworld" is a drastic reinterpretation of the real-time strategy game. In a field once ruled by two-dimensional games, "Homeworld" has made the drastic jump - into 3-D.

For perhaps the first time ever, players can rotate around in the vast reaches of space, commanding large armadas of fights, corvettes and capital class starships in epic battles that would make George Lucas proud.

The best way to describe what it feels like to be playing "Homeworld" is to envision yourself as the commander of the Rebel Fleet in the end sequence of "Return of the Jedi," confronting a large armada of imperial ships bent on your destruction. First and most importantly, the interface is incredibly intuitive and easy use. This said, go through the tutorial. You still have to learn how the camera system works before you'll have the intricacies down pat. They have to teach you how to look before you walk, then fly.

The camera system is half of the joy of "Homeworld." You can watch battles from the far distant lofty perch above, or you can zoom in close and follow the path of one of your ships as it zips and zooms in its combat with your opponent.

All the time, every ship is clean and well-designed. The graphics are crisp and showy without being distracting, although there have been moments where I've felt like Nero watching Rome burn - the battle was just too beautiful for me to do anything.

Ships are divided into four classes: fighters, which are small ships designed for ship-to-ship combat (think X-Wing); corvettes, which are made for heavier combat but not as much (think Corellian Blockade runners - i.e. Leia's ship at the very beginning of "Star Wars") and capital class, which are designed to have heavy firepower but low, low speed (think Star Destroyers).

In addition to these four classes, you also have your Mothership. The Mothership is your central base of command. If it blows up, you lose. Guard it with your life.

Misplacing the Mothership will be tough, too, considering the thing is friggin' huge compared to your tiny little scout ships. This sense of scale was exactly what the game needed to make players feel like they were there.

Moving ships is incredibly easy, as simple as point-and-click. You can also set your units into various combat formations, as well as tell them to assume a defensive or offensive stance.

It sounds like a lot to learn, but you pick it up quick once you get going. Learning the keyboard shortcuts and hotkeys is another thing that will help you keep your ships flying.

From the opening of the game, however, it's clear that "Homeworld" is gearing for a slightly older audience. Those of us think of "Alien" and "Blade Runner" with fond memories, we fit right at home. The basic storyline is that the race of people you belong to finds the remains of a crashed spaceship on your planet. Within a few dozen years, you've figured out your people did not originate on this planet. With the discovery of a map, the construction of the Mothership begins as you and your people prepare to journey to your Homeworld. "Homeworld" is also filled with one of those big, epic, sweeping scores that put the feeling of the vastness of space into you from the getgo and never loosens up.

While the single player mode is a bit short (only 15 missions), the multiplayer mode more than makes up for it, letting up to eight players duke it out in the vastness of space. If you've ever wanted to see a truly epic battle on your computer, right now, it doesn't get any better than this.

Homeworld isn't perfect, with a few features that would have been nice to have not making it into the final version, but the merits of the game so far supersede these petty little complaints so as to rub them out.

Remember that Homeworld is a first-generation title that's the first release from a team, and you better this bodes well for Relic.

"Homeworld" doesn't just chip away at the old RTS mold, it shatters it with a massive sledgehammer and keeps on pounding until all that remains is dust.

A new watermark has been set.

If you've ever been vaguely interested in real-time strategy, space combat or even science-fiction computer games at all, do yourself a favor and buy "Homeworld."

First of its kind and well worth the praise

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: June 13, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This is a 3D RTS game and as such will require a lot of getting used to. I am a very spatial person so the interface was very intuitive, but for others, it might take a long time to understand and master or never at all. The story is original and gripping. The music is enchanting and after 8 years I still go back and listen to it. The races that you'll encounter are just incredible. It is like the Odyssey, so I guess you can say it is a Space Odyssey of sorts. There are just so many strategies and tactics you can use with the multitude of units at your selection. The only limitation is your creativity.

This is definetly a smart people's game. Don't go in to it thinking it's another mindless build and rush game. It will actually challenge you to think.

Absolutely superb!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 01, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I can say, without exaggeration, that this is one of the best games I have ever played. I have longed for a game like this. The graphics are unbelievable. The interface can't be beat. The 3D nature of the game is truly a pleasure. Being an out-and-out combat fan, I spend much more time playing the multiplayer missions than the actual "storyline" missions. And let me tell you...there are few things in life more satisfying than to see your ion cannon frigates vaporize an enemy capital ship, or to see your attack bombers rain blue plasma bombs on their targets....

Get this game. Yes, it takes more than just mediocre hardware to run it effectively, but you will not be disappointed.

Now, if only there were a Star Trek-based starship combat game like this, then I truly would be in heaven....

homeworld

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 28, 2000
Author: Amazon User

From the Command & Conquer series to Warzone, you name it and I've probably played it. But I have never enjoyed playing a game as much as Homeworld The unique story line combined with the amazing graphics and gameplay quickly made this my favorite game of all-time.

Great Game- A must try

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: February 27, 2000
Author: Amazon User

In addition to what everyone else says...I really liked the fact that you keep your fleet from level to level, and don't have to waste time rebuilding the simple core units over and over

The Best

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 25, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I consider Homeworld to be one, if not the, best games i have ever played. Its graphics are sharp and clear, and its strory will keep you glued to the computer screen. If you do not buy this game, you are missing a great experience.

WOW WOW WOW! Buy now!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 25, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This game is one of the most incredible new games in 2000 Ihave ever seen. It . . . was made by a new developer, Relic. Ithas been published by Sierra.

Homeworld is an incedibly innovative game, turning the RTS genre upside down as did early games like Command and Conquer and Doom. The game is graphically beautiful -- ion cannons flare across space, backgrounds of the galaxy amaze you, the ships are incredibly detailed, and the story is hard to beat.

You're a member of the Kushan, a race who were exiled by a vicious race (the Taiidan) to a desert planet. Your race discovers an ancient starship in the sand, where they discover their heritage and also hyperspace technology.

The race builds a starship to travel to their Homeworld (Hiigara) which is called the Mothership. The 16 missions are wonderful, giving suprises and suspense.

Multiplayer is also quite good, although the WON.net interface should be improved somewhat. It's incredibly fun!

What made Homeworld so incredible is the fact that it is a truly 3D game. The game is not played in 2 dimensions, you must also plan your attacks in the Z-axis. This makes for a whole new level of play -- you can attack from above, below, behind, in front, sides, etc. The camera control is very easy to master, and the wonderful tutorial helps with this. The interface is one of the best I've ever seen.

If you're at all a fan of space simulations, Star Wars or Star Trek, real time strategy, or good graphics and gameplay, get this Game of the Year now!

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