Homeworld

The Good
Story: The people of the planet Kharak live in question of their existance, don't we all. The planet is goverened by several Clans, these clans have only settled down from war as their planet is becoming unstable and they must leave. An malfunctioned satelite finds a large deposit of metal in the Great Desert and an team is sent in to look at it. The first civilisation, built around a large ship has been discovered, they are aliens to this world. Inside the ship a crude map, etched onto a black stone with a word that any clan knows, Hiigara - Home. A large mothership is built to send them across the stars to home, the ship is controlled by a Karen Sejet, who is fleet command. They set off on their first mission, only to find that the ship assigned to repair their hyperdrive system has been destroyed and the mothership gets ambushed, they return to fix the mothership. Apon arrival back home they find their planet destroyed, and the only hope they have of living is to go home.

Menu: Simple but smart looking menu, and a pop up bar on the bottom of the game window controls the different centers.

Sound: Brilliant. Random chatter from the squadron of pilots in their scouts during battles "Flank left, keep the home fires coming, they're toast" Wepons sounds are good as well, from the sizzle of the Ion cannons, to the ping pow of the gattling guns from the scouts. Music is stunning, over 20 different tracks, inculding a theme song sung and written by Yes.

Graphics: In the past all space must be black....right...Homeworld breaks this rule in style, glossy, wonderful eyecandy backgrounds with the light center of the galaxy changes each mission so you get closer each time you continue. The ships themselves are incredible, they look dirty, mishapened, very industrial as well, this makes the "unskilled workmen" story more realistic. The mothership is great, with flashing beacons and all. Smaller ships leave a wake of jet vapor that slowly fades away, making nice patterns in the sky when underfire. Explosions are brilliant, ships start burning then explode in pieces or just vanish in smoke depending on what ship or weapon is used. Bullet marks show the bullets hitting the craft as well.

Gameplay: The is one of the first 3D RTS. It handles well, the 3D camera is controlled with the mouse and it is a marvel, easy to use as well. Ships are moved with a "pizza slice" style range, a large circle shows the maxium a ship can move in the proportions of the screen, want to move further, then use the sensors and you can travel the distance of the map. A.I is brilliant, the little ships learn as they get better at fighting, and killing. The larger ones start knowing when to fire and where to get a better effect so constant care and repair of your ships help give you a better army. Speaking of army Homeworld is the only game where you store your current troops from the last mission, the whole game just flows, the only changes are when your ships get repaired, and that is better than having to send out repair corvettes. The difficulty is scaling as well, start out a level with a fleet big enough to beat anyone, the computer will throw in more to stop you. Units are interesting as well, anything (But the Mothership) can be captured and chagned to your side. There are also cloaking ships and gravity wells that halt hyperspace jumps.

The Bad
The graphics looked a bit too messy from close up, and the maps are a bit boring with not much to avoid. But apart from that this game rules.

The Bottom Line
One of the best RTS ever, play it and learn all the tips.