I'm a big fan of the Homeworld series and enjoyed the two previous installments greatly, so needless to say I was quite looking forward to cracking open HW2. The demo wasn't exactly inspiring, I wasn't really fond of some of the modifications that were made to the game's basic formula. Namely the inclusion of unit "squadrons" and a more emphasised "paper-rock-scissors" balance scheme. Even so, I managed to talk myself into shelling out 40 bucks for the game... d'oh!

Despite all the "its too hard!" comments floating around, I was undaunted, I don't mind a challenge. Unfortunately, the challenge in HW2 is afforded mostly by a test of how fast you can click your mouse and navigate around the (nicely updated) interface. A typical campaign mission in HW2 consists mostly of you constantly trying to repel a ceaseless barrage of enemy ships... while trying to complete both your mission goals, AND without sucking up every single resource unit on the map before you get there.

I'm giving it 3 stars, for the following things: Graphics, Sound, Design, and an at least moderately fun Skirmish mode. Everything else, in my humble opinion, is just nonexistant. I shudder to think how well a newcommer would fare in HW2, I consider myself a pretty decent RTS gamer and I still find it a frustrating experience. Not to mention, there is only a single campaign, rather than one for each faction... I hope this doesn't become the next RTS trend.

In short, HW2 has everything going for it except what matters - gameplay. I play games to relax and enjoy, not to be irritated and driven out of my mind. Very disappointed, I hope Relic lets Barking Dog Studios (who did HW: Cataclysm) handle the next installment of this series.


Veteran Strategy PC Gamer   July 21, 2003
 17 out of 28 found this review helpful

This is my first review from what I've seen so far.

Everything on this game is being tweaked. People complain about the graphics, yet one must know more before considering such comments valid.

Homeworld 2 continues to dominate even its superiors. ORB is so basic you can count the polygons and vertices, zooming out and moving dots around degrades it further. The best computer takes much time to load such an odd game, as its saving grace stands only to satisfy a VERY hungry gamer.

HW2 will have slightly less graphic strength than Hegemonia, because that is the point. This is when compared to Hegemonia, where you have excellent graphics, but few ships at any given time. Players can hardly call what they have "fleets". Veteran, non-biased players supplied this very information. HW2 allows for hundreds of ships from entirely distinct races. Swarms of detailed fighters rage around massive captital ships protecting one-another with unheard-of Artificial Intelligence. The game is optimized for lower-end PC's as a mercy to those who haven't followed the curve of PC's. Those with Higher systems are treated when the engine automatically (and manually if you like) adjusts to use your systems strength, activating dorment "Eye Candy". This is to enhance game-play, so that you can even play the game at all.

Finally, the games story and sound technology have Never EVER been beaten, and there are absolutely no negative points to give this game. Dubbed "Perfect" by all credable sources with the original, this improved generation sequel will test the merits and validity of reviewers to come. May it yet again receive an unbiased "Game of the Year" from all reviewers as before. This game is "the most advanced tactical game ever" - part 2.


Just another game i WANT to like   October 18, 2003
 17 out of 20 found this review helpful

I bought this game the day it came out i think, i played it for a while that day, and stopped playing it for about a month. Just today i started playing it again, and i remembered why i stopped playing.

I guess the biggest flaw is this game is HARD. For some reason it seems that pc games only have two settings these days: easy and impossibly hard. This game is definatly the latter.

The units in this game are evolved around the old silly theory that one unit is strong versus an other type of unit, but completly helpless against some other type. Which always seemed rather stupid to me. A .50 m2 machine gun was designed to be an anti-vehicle weapon. Does that mean it's completly useless against personnel? Uh no...it just happens that it's MORE effective against personnel, because of its obvious over-powerment.

So In the game you have to figure out what the enemy's strengths and weaknesses are, and exploit them with the appropriate unit. However...the enemy rarely has just one type of unit, in fact it usually has a pretty well rounded force. So you have to create a well rounded force yourself to deal with them. However the enemy is much faster than you, and can pick and chose your ships while you're trying to make sense of the battle. It amazes me every time how surgical the ai is when it comes to wiping out your force. You'll have a large, well rounded group one second, then notice the enemy is targeting solely one type of unit of yours. Once that unit type is gone, you're force is essentially crippled as it now has a large hole in it that can be easily exploited. It amazes me how the enemy can target those single unit types in a group of 50 other ships, when you can barely even SEE what types of units are in their groups.

Add this to the fact that the enemy also has unlimited recources and ships, and you have a rather frustrating puzzle.

Every mistake you make is cumulative as well. You cant just barely win a battle. As you'll go into the next battle with basically no units. You always have to find a way to win the battle without crippling your chances for the next battle.

The battle really does not give you much time to think either. You have a research capability to improve your units...but you're rarely given a single uneventfull minute to figure out what you want to research.

The graphics in this game are pretty stunning...i guess. I run a high end computer (2.6 p4, 1 gig ddr ram, geforce ti 4600 128 mb ddr ram) and the graphics are still EXTREMELY choppy in parts.

It's ok if you zoom all the way out, but if you zoom close into the ships everything becomes choppy and the game slows down significantly.

The story completly escapes me. I read the little overview of the story in the manual, and i still have no idea what the game is talking about. I never played the original homeworlds, so sue me.

Overall...it's just another game i have around that takes up space.


Better graphics, worse gameplay   October 23, 2003
 11 out of 12 found this review helpful

After having finished HW1, I was more than eager to start HW2. At first I was stunned to find smoother textures, better graphics, and a better designed interface (yeah, I think it improved).

However, the gameplay itself changed, and that much to the worse.

In HW1 you could load a carrier with fighters - traverse the galaxy and have escort fighters protect against pockets of enemy aircraft - finally unload the carrier before the target destination to strike with bitter force (or fail). In HW1 you could also send out fighters for reconnaissance missions, and still hope for their return.

In HW2 this no longer is possible. With continous raides on your ships, and no time to think about "strategy" you get pounded on every damn free moment - ultimatley leading to only one form of strategy: PAUSE-command defence-UNPAUSE-see action-PAUSE-command repair, etc. No more surprise attacks on your side, the AI knows you're there (which makes sometimes no sense - like in mission 4). Gone are the times where you sent fighters out to explore, they'll most likely not return if you decide too. You're pretty much lucky if you only have one fighter group, and one corvette group attack your ships at any given time (yeah, this pattern never stops). Repetative? You bet!

And thats where I believe a game should be entertaining, not frustrating. It really frustrates, since they improved virtually everything else, but changed the gameplay for the worse. If you purchase this game in the belief its a good strategy game, reconsider. If you're more action oriented, with little strategy in mind, maybe this game is right for you.

I hope that someone from Relic/Sierra reads the comments posted around the web, a patch is greatly appreciated that stops this redundant game play (less attacks?). And no, I don't agree with the theory that the joy of completing this game is satisfaction. Like you torture yourself through the levels only to see the fireworks in the end? Shouldn't it be enjoyable throughout?

After HW1, this comes as a very big dissapointment. I'll stop playing, and am waiting for a patch. If no patch comes, I'll post it on Amazon's Marketplace for sale.