The basics are still the same, but now players can't see anything outside of the range of their ships' sensors. This makes defense tougher, because it's hard to predict where attacks will materialize; also, it requires the effective use of a small screening force to avoid nasty ambushes. Your new mothership is a lowly mining scow, so it isn't possible to build anything but the most basic ship until a captured vessel is towed in and researched. There's also a new limit on the number of ships that you can have in your fleet at any time, which means that it's important to build the right ship and make it count. There are a lot of new things to learn in Cataclysm, and all of them add to the game's fun.

One of the best things about Cataclysm is that you don't need a copy of Homeworld to run it, and the story line is completely self-contained. An excellent tutorial is included that will help players come to grips with moving their ships in a fully 3-D environment. The graphics haven't been upgraded much (but they didn't need to be), and the game runs smoothly on even low-end PCs, as long as you have a capable video card. This is a must-buy for fans of the original, although newcomers might want to start with the original (or wait for the inevitable Homeworld/Cataclysm combo pack), so that they can feel the full effect of this polished series. Then again, no real-time strategy fan will want to miss the multiplayer mode. --T. Byrl Baker

Pros:

• More challenging and deep than the original game
• Doesn't require Homeworld
• Absolutely beautiful, especially at high resolutions

• Missions are large, but you only get 17
• The cutscenes can be somewhat lame, but this doesn't affect gameplay

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.   June 15, 2000
 26 out of 36 found this review helpful

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   September 10, 2000
 22 out of 23 found this review helpful

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.


Fails to carry on the Legacy   November 18, 2000
 13 out of 23 found this review helpful

Cataclysm is simply not the mind-blowing experience that Homeworld was a year ago (or even today :). The core gameplay has been tampered with too much. Granted, Cataclysm manages to improve many aspects of the first game, but the sum of the parts do not add up to a complete whole.

Changes are made to the very basic way you can play the game, and at first they seem exciting, but after a few battles they quickly become tedious. For example, the technology tree now adds "upgrades", which means you must take time out of the fight to search the map for outdated ships and stop what they are doing to upgrade (downright annoying). Also, there are many new technologies which must be micro-managed for them to work, such unlink ships to fire missles, then linking them again to attack once the missles run out. Overall, all this forces you to micro-manage every battle you have, instead of concentrating on the big picture. A fight in two seperate places usually means that you'll lose in the place you can't watch over.

The graphics engine has been improved for the better. The game can now handle more ships on-screen at the same time before slowing to a crawl. Progress bars tell you the status of research or building without having to go into those respective screens. The almost useless "fog of war" has a single redeeming factor - it adds a sense of depth the sensors screen, and you can more easily tell the relationship of different positions in 3 dimensions. Too bad you can't use the old ships in Homeworld with the Cataclysm engine.

Finally, the worst offense - the story in Cataclysm is nowhere near as good as Homeworld. The feeling of mystery and strangeness present in the first game is just not there in the second. The voice work is over-acted, and even the music is a step down. Given that the single-player campaign was much harder and more frustrating, the story barely motivated me to finish it.

If you loved Homeworld and want some change to a comfortable game, give Cataclysm a try. Just don't except lightning to strike a second time.


Great Strategy Game   October 12, 2001
 13 out of 34 found this review helpful

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