Homeworld Cataclysm is the kind of game that makes me really enjoy being a gamer. Not only does it follow closely in the footsteps of its predecessor, it does so with gusto! Not an add-on, and not Homeworld 2, Cataclysm is a standalone product that continues not only the great game play, but the fantastic story as well.
Cataclysm takes place about 15 years after the end of the events in Homeworld. Starting off as a simple mining vessel, the Kuun-Lan, you unwittingly release an ancient horror, and barely escape the threat alive. Throughout the 17 mission campaign, you must modify your mining vessel into a heavily armed combat ship, capable of producing a mighty fleet with which to combat "The Beast" - an "entity" that infects ships and crew like a biological virus. The Beast is not your only enemy however. You must also face your old foes, the Taiidan, and combat the Turanic Raiders.
As in Homeworld, you begin the game with very little resources and ships. Throughout the game you must research new technologies, build newer and better craft, and maintain a strict balance between ships. Not only do you face enemies, you must manage your fleet well, due to the restrictive unit cap that you must deal with. Fortunately, as the game progresses, you are able to build supply modules that will increase your unit limit. Overall, this system makes sense for game balance, but I found it frustrating, having to scuttle or retire ships on a regular basis in order to build that one or two that I was just ordered to create.
Cataclysm, among other things, has a host of new vessels for you to use and abuse. Most of the new units are unique, while some are simply upgraded versions of former ships found in Homeworld. Researching the technologies in order to create these new vessels, isn't bad in the campaign, but can get quite confusing if you decide to play multiplayer. Gone are the research ships that were used in the original. Instead there are Research Modules that remain attached to your ship. Each research module is responsible for one area of research, and you cannot stack research modules to speed up the research of technologies. This can, and does make for some long, drawn out multiplayer battles, because there is no real way to rush to the big capital ships.
Homeworld Cataclysm can easily be played by veterans of Homeworld, and even offers players the option to use the new Cataclysm interface controls, or the "Homeworld Classic". Just about everything is adjustable in the game: sound, music, graphics, difficulty, number of sound effects, down to the amount of radio chatter you hear from your ships.
All of the commands and shortcuts from the original have been retained, as well as the formations and tactics. New to Cataclysm is the experience system. Units now gain experience (noted by pink dots above their health meter) from destroying enemy ships. The more experience the unit has, the better it fights and the faster it moves. Also new to Cataclysm is the time compression option. With it, you can speed up the after mission harvesting, or the some of the interim periods when you are forced to wait. You can also slow the game down below 1x, making it easier for inexperienced commanders to issue orders in the midst of battle.
Cataclysm does a great job drawing you into the single player story by revealing little bits of the major plotline between missions in anime style, and with in game cut scenes using the games graphics engine. The voice actors that were used are above average, and add to the atmosphere of the universe and the missions. The music was similar to the original score, and after a while became annoying and I was forced to turn it off.
Homeworld Cataclysm retains much of the graphics and special effects of the first game, but adds new flavors such as electrical storms in the far off nebulas and some new explosions and weapons effects. The graphics were very smooth on both a low end ATI video card, and on a GeForce 2. The ATI card did have some odd color behavior at times though. Unfortunately, I still found the screenshot glitch alive and well. For those of you that have not experienced it, when you take a screenshot, instead of a glorious image of your battle or ship, you have an all black image.
A very minor annoyance though.
Quite a few tweaks and improvements have gone into Cataclysm, and Barking Dog Studios has done an excellent job with the follow-up to what many called 1999's Game of the Year. What is an added bonus, is the fact that this is not an expansion pack, it is a full game that does not require the original Homeworld to play. It's not a cheesy knock-off either. Cataclysm is a spectacular game, that does not break anything that didn't need fixing, and distinguishes itself as one of the best RTS games on the market today.
