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A Great Return to the Homeworld Universe

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 29 / 31
Date: September 11, 2000
Author: Amazon User

If you enjoyed Homeworld this sequel is an absolute must! If you haven't played Homeworld and enjoy real-time 3D strategy games you might want to check it out.

I've been playing games for a long time and have become somewhat jaded and difficult to impress. However the original Homeworld just blew me way! Stellar graphics, an immersive story, great music and a dream of an interface that smoothly integrated tactical and strategic control.

Homeworld Cataclysm builds upon this base very well. Rather than just reusing the original "Mothership" and it's fleet of craft, the developers have created an entirely new fleet and set of technologies for you to explore. Years have passed in the Homeworld Universe and many new technologies have been acquired beyond the original cloaking and gravity well generators. EMP vessels, holographic projections, covert drones and much more add an even greater level of sophistication to the gameplay.

Of course the 3D battles are staggering. Full visual effects, coordinated sound and a high frame rate brings space battles, I imagined as a kid, to life. It makes me wish I had a Video Out on my graphic card to tape to share the visuals.

The user interface has been polished to near perfection. The control of a large and complex fleet is a pleasure, as opposed to the pain, compared to many simulation games. The few areas of the original Homeworld interface that were weak, such as selecting a distant location in three dimensions, have been greatly improved.

The sound is still "realistic" and informative. The music is only "good" this time around. The haunting and highly emotive music of the original is missing.

This game is far less buggy than most simulations I've played. But I did come across a small number that didn't crash the game, but an end of mission condition wasn't recognized. This can be solved by a game restart an then reloading your last saved game of restarting the particular mission.

I've completed the single player game and am taking a brief break before I go on-line and play multiuser. With the game's new fleet technologies, great visuals and smooth interface I'll actually enjoy experiencing the new ways I'll get my butt kicked by kids half my age.

Takes an original concept to new heights.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 26 / 36
Date: June 15, 2000
Author: Amazon User

The original Homeworld game was a masterpiece that refined the idea of the strategy game, bringing it into the 3D realm. As good as it is, Cataclysm is completely changing things around -- there's no single Mothership, and the game will have an entirely different feel; however an entirely different feel is exactly what this game needs so that it doesn't become stale.

This game will be quite excellect, and I'm glad they didn't just tack some missions onto Homeworld, but instead brought it into a new direction. I commend them for not just pumping out another sequel; we see enough of that these days.

Mother of God

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 22 / 23
Date: September 10, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Okay, I've already written a review of Homeworld, which any of you considering playing this game should look at first. First off, Homeworld gives the background of this story, and allows you to get familiar with gameplay, which some people may find difficult if they try to hop right into this game. This game starts with you as Kiith Somtaaw, a relatively minor kiith (sort of like a clan) after your people made landfall. Without a large power base on your new home, your people return to the stars to make their living, and where you eventually encounter a new menace that threatens the world you fought so hard to gain. For me, hopping into the story midway is a little unfair. I think you should struggle a bit through Homeworld, both so you get used to the game, and so you feel some kinship with the people your kiith is now called upon to defend.

Having said that, and having spent the last couple days playing Cataclysm (i pre-ordered it back in May) I have to say that the leap forward from Homeworld to Cataclysm is about the same sort of leap as from WarCraft to Homeworld (that is to say, an enormous leap forward). Dear Lord! The gameplay is still just as good as the original, but commands have been clarified, and the interface has been enhanced. You can now issue commands from the Sensors Manager, allowing you to make move-and-attack decisions while viewing the entire playing sphere. The graphics are MUCH better, if that's possible, with gas clouds now flashing with lightning, and distant thunder rumbling through the nebulae. There are meteor storms through certain regions, maging the map of 3D space have a topography all of its own.

Another improvement is the added element of The Beast. In the original, the two races you could choose had a difference of exactly 2 ships; all others were more or less equivalent for each race. Now, Beast ships are radically different, and will require learning distinctly from the Hiigaran ships. There are new weapons to learn, and new strategies that must be employed. With cloaking abilities, and ramming frigates, and the fact that EVERY Hiigaran ship now has a special ability of some kind, the strategies required to REALLY play just became more complex.

To top it all off, you now have a limit on the size of your fleet. Each mothership can now only support a certain number of ships. If you built swarms of strike craft, you're going to have to retire them if you want to bring in the big guns. This also will add to the amount of actual THINKING required to play. The winner will now no longer be the one who builds the biggest fleet of Ion Beam Frigates.

So. Play Homeworld; it's a great game that should have gotten much more sales than it did. Play Cataclysm, because it's such an innovative game, and SO much better than anything else out there. Sure, StarCraft is good, but it's nothing compared to Homeworld. Much less compared to Cataclysm.

One final note: Cataclysm does not require Homeworld to play; it's a stand-alone sequel.

Great Strategy Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 35
Date: October 13, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Although Cataclysm seems to have flopped in comparison to the original 'Homerworld', I still had to go out and get it despite all the negative reviews I read about it. This is in truth partly because I found the first game so fasinating. However, I do not regret getting cataclysm at all. Infact I think that in many ways Cataclysm even manages to surpass its predecessor. For example, battle is now much more manageable due to the limited number of ships you can have at any one time (But you won't need that many if you play your cards right). Shortcut keys have been made to conveniently control features previously difficult to alter in the original homeworld. In addition features have been added to give greater detail to the whole game (eg- the ship overlay feature). The graphics are as good as ever they were. But what really caught my attention in this release was the storyline. Cataclysm is definitely a fitting title. The story is set 15 years after the arrival of the exiles to their homeworld. You start out as a lowly mining vessel somewhere on the outer fringe of the Higgara solar system. On one of your mining voyages you come accross the entity known as "The Beast". An entity that threatens to devour the known universe if left unchecked. From then on the story develops and your ship is slowly transformed from a mining vessel to the universe's super weapon and last hope for survival.
I usually rely heavily on reviews whenever purchasing games or books but in this case I feel that reviewers have done cataclysm a great disservice. It 'deserves' a five star review. I don't consider myself much of a gamer, I only go out and get a game if its (in my opinion) really really good. So if you loved playing games like starcraft, warcarft, the diablo series, shogun and mech commander then you should definitely give this game a chance.
For me this was 9 dollars well spent

A sequel that actually is better than the original

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: October 27, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Since Homeworld is already one of the best (if not the best) real-time strategy games out there, it would have been easy to just cash-in on the success.

Lucky for us, Homeworld did not fall in that category. While the original Homeworld gave out a feel of an epic battle between legendary enemies and the survival of a world, Cataclysm gives a more "personal" approach.

Where Fleet Command in Homeworld was a woman lacking any form of emotion when she speaks (hooking yourself to a super-computer might just do that), the voice of command in this game actually has personality. He sometimes anger, sometimes panic, and sometimes is at awe at what is happening around his ship. You really feel closer to your troops. Also, most ship/fighter also comes with their own voices and expression (a worker ordered to harvest REALLY didn't sound very... motivated). You actually feel for them!

What also helps is an equally engaging story. Although very standard in the Science-Fiction genre content-wise, it is very well delivered. As Hitchcock once said: "It is not the cake that is important, but how it is delivered". And although player already knows the story just by scanning the cover box, that third mission really delivered the chills! I really wish game developers put as much effort in establishing a good story...

I must also point out the VERY improved interface. Where Homeworld stumbled with a lack of waypoints and user-unfriendly order issuing scheme (especially from the Sensor Manager), Cataclysm refined the game to near perfection.

Unit wise, we get a more dynamic fleet. Where in the original game, only research vessels could link together to form... a bigger research vessel, in Cataclysm, linking up two Acolytes (heavy-fighters) creates a slower, more powerful corvette. One can acknowledge the tactical advantage of this (speed toward the enemy, linking-up, pummel the enemy, unlink...). Also, the Command Ship actually "evolves" when you gradually turn it from a mining ship into a battleship through the missions.

There is also a ranking system (i.e. ships get better with experience), so there is (supposedly) less incentive of engaging in suicide missions. Personnally, I failed to noticed any difference in performance between a rookie and a wing leader.

A superb effort from the Barking Dog Studios for bringing to the Homeworld universe a worthy sequel!

Easily the best RTS I've ever played

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 44
Date: August 22, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Imagine Homeworld with an entirely new fleet of ships and technologies. Now imagine these ships and technologies split between two new races, each with unique styles of play, and you'll have a good idea of what makes Cataclysm so fantastic for people who liked the original.

The single player in Cataclysm is more complex and challenging than in the original Homeworld. Being able to move your command ship was a huge plus and gave the player more options. I enjoyed the single player a great deal, at least until the last part of the last level, where it went from fun to extremely not fun quickly (it's plot-related, so I won't say why).

The multiplayer is the real selling point though; the maps involve much more interaction and strategy than in the original, and the ability to play different races makes the gameplay much more complex and interesting. I've never enjoyed multiplayer in the RTS genre until Cataclysm came along, and now I love it (provided I'm playing Cataclysm).

Addictive!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 12
Date: January 23, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is an absolutely amazing game. I've lost jobs because I couldn't go to sleep until I beat a level. I'm an old guy, I'm supposed to be responsible. I first found Homeworld, the predecessor to Cataclysm, in the $10.00 bin. It said "Game of the Year" on the box, so I decided to buy it.

Like its predecessor, Cataclysm is a 3 dimensional real time space stragegy game. However, it is not of the Descent or Tie Fighter genre, where the question is how fast you can shoot. The thing that make it so addictive is that it also includes elements of a simulation (such as sim city) and the battles involve stragety rather than how fast you can point and shoot.

The basic story is that 15 years after returning to their homeworld in the epic game Homeworld, a Hiigaran mining space vessel, the Kuun-Lan, inadvertently releases an intelligent interstellar virus of sorts which can subvert living and inorganic matter, almost instantly turning your own ships against you. Eventually, it allies with your enemies, the remnants of the old Taidan Empire, which you (hopefully) wiped out in the first game. You have to conduct scientific/engineering research, build ships, mine resources, and upgrade the mining vessel until you become one of the most powerful armadas around. You get to be the General, rather than the pilot!

Gameplay is similar to Homeworld, but you have the ability to "speed up" the game play to 8X "reality." This is particularly nice at the end of a game level where you want to "harverst" all of the resources so you will be able to build more ships. With one level on homeworld, harvesting all the remaining resources could take over an hour.

The game graphics were excellent for their time, and are very detailed. In fact, they are so good that the scenes between missions use the game's graphics rather than specially done animation. In fact, on the DVD "Yes -- live at the House of Blues," there is a music video of the Yes song "Homeworld" which uses only video from the first Homeworld game.

No-Brainer

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 15
Date: August 10, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Am i shopping for another game right now? nope... I am passing time by writing a review over THIS game, waiting patiently for its long-awaited arrival. Have seen MANY good things about this game, buy it now, or you can always just wait on the game of the year edition :) The sooner u get it, the more likely u can be on the court docket when we all sue them for selling us an entirely too addictive product. Cya there...

Excellent Upgrade to Game of the Year

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: September 06, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Excellent enhancements have been added since the original Homeworld. The soundtrack has much more life to it this time around, not to put down the old score at all. Time compression has been added to speed up final resource gathering at the end of single player missions, or to shorten journeys across the map. There's a slew of new craft and new weapons, and control has improved drastically. Notible enhancements include waypoints, the ability to select a group from within a group list, naturally occuring slipgates which produce a beautiful effect on the screen, armor and sensor enhancements, mothership upgrades, and plenty more. The game feels the same, with the same sensor map and the same controls with some minor changes, like now you can dock your craft to your carrier or mothership with a right-click rather than a double-left-click which had a hard time registering due to latency in a heated battle. It's still a system hog with cranked detail, but I found just lowering the texture detail gave you decent frame rates and allowed you to view all of the nice effects like weapon glow and explosions, even with multiple players on a LAN. You can get better frame rates and more detail in a single player game of course. If you liked Homeworld, you'll appreciate the enhancements because it makes the game interesting again, as well as easier to to what you want to do without being restricted by the interface. I seriously can't find anything wrong and I'm not held back one bit. I was under the impression, however, that the multiplayer section of the old game was going to be included for free which would have been great since I damaged my original CD and will no longer install. That's ok though, because you won't even want to go back to the original game after taking advantage of the new features. The internet support has had some minor crashes but I have been able to get through a whole game. It seems it'll only crash within the first minute or not at all which could suggest a variable of the host's machine. Upgrading to cable or DSL will fix this of course and latency is hardly an issue. I'm sure a patch will follow soon, however the single player campaign is flawless under Direct3D with NVidia drivers, however OpenGL crashes. During the brief moment OpenGL worked, I saw no difference compared to Direct3D. Finally, something worth spending the hard earned bucks on.

Insanely Addictive!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 11
Date: December 05, 2000
Author: Amazon User

What do you get when you combine flawless real-time strategy, gorgeous graphics, a wonderfully intuitive interface, perfect balances, and insanely addictive gameplay? Well, my friends- The answer is simple- Homeworld: Cataclysm. The strategical depth of this game is so intense, that the experience is far more than the sum of it's parts. 17 Single Player missions force you to use different tactics in every mission. You can't just waltz in and blow everything up. You MUST use the proper mix of ships to ensure victory. The Multiplayer is practically a game on it's own. I've spent many hours playing online day and night. I've even joined a clan to maximize my playing pleasure. :-)

Please, buy this game if your between the ages of -infinty to infinity. Trust me. You won't regret it.

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