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Homeworld
Genre - Real Time 3D Strategy
Developer - Relic Entertainment
Publisher - Sierra Studios
The Story
The Kushan race has been in a civil war for years upon years. Clans reclaim the capital for the lust of conquest. But, the harsh weather restricts the Kushan to only the north and south poles of their desert planet, Kharak. This created rumors that there was a time where the Kushan didn't have to spend so much on just surviving. A satellite orbiting the planet discovers the ruins alien ship in the mass desert. An expedition team finds advanced technology, nothing like their own, including what seems like an engine that can be used to enter hyperspace. An even greater a discovery that has sent a shockwave through out the Kushan people. A stone, etched with a simple diagram of the galaxy. Including a long line connecting a point in the inner galaxy to a point where Kharak is approximately located. At that point, a single word is written, that is more ancient then the clans themselves, Hiigara. "Home"...
The clans unite and using technology from the delict ship, build a mothership to return their people back home. A great journey awaits for them, but what the Kushan do not know, is that they have just broken the greatest law in the galaxy, and they will be punished...
Audio
Cue in some of the best game music ever. The orchestrated music creates a mood and an urgency that most games do not have. The music makes you feel that you are alone in the galaxy (not for long though...) and this is your only chance to get home and there is no way back. The sound of your ships targeting enemy ships and firing their weapons are a treat. Unit chatter and the mothership bark commands at smaller ships. All of this displayed through a proprietary 3D sound engine is something really amazing.
Gameplay
Homeworld was the first 3D and real time strategy game. You can move ships on the X, Y, and Z axis in any direction and all of the action is in real time. You must be quick with your commands because there is barely enough time to think about your next move. There are over 20 different ships you can command, ranging from interceptors, refueling corvettes, salvage corvettes, cloak ships, destroyers, carriers, and massive heavy cruisers, including your own mothership, plus many more. Your mothership and capital class ships are the only ones that can jump into hyperspace, so you must recall your smaller ships to your mothership or carriers every time you jump into a new system. These star systems each have at least one mission to complete, but they are not exactly clear on how to complete it, you must decide. You must build your fleet according to the ever changing mission. You harvest resources to build your fleet or you can just steal some of the enemy's ship and make them your own. Some ships are capable to only doing one type of job, like repairing ships or cloaking other ships. Your fleet can be divided up into different groups and formations of your choosing. Your main objective, always is to complete the mission, collect the available resources, and jump to the next system until you reach your goal, Hiigara. There are many surprises during the 18 missions, which makes Homeworld even more addictive. There are also multiplayer matches. Using internet or LAN connections supporting up to 8 users in one game.
Graphics
While Homeworld was released in 1999 and is 2000's Game of the Year, the graphics still hold up as some of the best. Using either Open GL or DirectX APIs, creates the most spectacular backgrounds and effects. You would expect space to be a black emptiness, not Homeworld. Colorful backgrounds that almost look like clouds create a "cathedral" like world, filled with stars. Ships leave a trail behind them as they move and as each ship fires it's weapon show machine gun fire, missile trails, or ion cannon streaks across space and explode on the receiving ship. Smoke and fire pour out of damaged ships and explosions, depending on ship size, can be blinding. The ships are detailed, but the textures are somewhat blurry up close. Also, there are slight clipping (objects passing through each other) issues with some smaller ships when they dock with capital class ships. But rest assured, screenshots of Homeworld can create wonderful background images for your desktop.
Control
Commands are easily reached through using the mouse, selecting ships, and right clicking on them. Or, well laid out keyboard shortcuts make the process even faster. A main window hides at the bottom of the screen, roll your mouse over it and it displays your Sensor Manager with Tactical Display, Resources, Hyperspace Jump, and Build menus. Very easy to navigate the menus and there is an in game tutorial and an Adobe Acrobat print out that displays every key command. When your fleet grows, it becomes difficult to command all of your ship when in battle. Switching back to different spots on the map is tedious, but necessary.
Summary
Homeworld was the game for the new millennium. Many games have now copy its style. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery, right? Homeworld's story alone is enough to make it one of the best games that have ever been created. Even the casual gamer can pick this one up, read the manual, and start playing like a pro. No matter what, Homeworld is a winner.
Homeworld 2, a true sequel, is scheduled to be release this year.
Rating
Story - 10/10 - The greatest journey through the stars of a people casted away to the ends of the world to die.
Audio - 10/10 - Orchestrated music that really sets the mood of Homeworld
Gameplay - 8/10 - Deep and thoughtful, but overwhelming at times
Graphics - 9/10 - Some of the best and this game was made almost 4 years ago.
Control - 8/10 - Easy but, still confusing at first. Memorize key commands well and you'll be fine.
90%
