Homeworld
Published By: Sierra

Reviewed by Shades
10/1/99

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First Impressions:

Installation went without a glitch. Once installation was done, I started the game, tweaked the graphics settings to take advantage of my 3D card and started the game. First thing that caught my eye was the graphics, the attention to details on each ship as you zoom in and zoom out and the background is not just black. In some missions, the background actually plays a part in the game. After wiping the drool off the side of my lips, I decided to see what else the game has to offer besides beautiful pictures. The tutorial is made very basic, and simplistic. It guides you through each step with voice and if you jump the gun , it'll know and move on to the next step of the tutorial. It beats waiting for the tutorial to finish explaining the step when you've already done it. Just a little something for those of you with RTS experiences.

Graphics:

WHOOOSH! That's the sound of the air leaving my lungs. It is absolutely breathtaking. Units look very detailed with textures. You can zoom in, zoom out, pan and focus on a unit or units to get a better look at the playing field. Furthermore, you will never get caught inside a unit and not see anything else around you, a mistake that many 3D games make. If your point of view ever happens to end up inside a unit, Homeworld will just remove textures on obstructing unit and display it in wireframe. Even on my measly Voodoo2, it took my breath away. It's definitely a winner in this department.

Sound:

Music and sound effects is as usual above par. The music changes as the mood of the game changes, ranging from choir voices to East Indian music, talk about diversity. Sound effects too have not been given the short end of the stick. As your point of view moves closer to a unit, the sound of the engines get louder. Running the audio off my SBLive and measly headphones, I didn't really get a chance to test the 3D audio. But the option is available to those who have a super-duper sound system hooked up to their machine. In-game voice ranges from necessary messages to inform you of the situation to simple chatter between ships. There is an option to turn off the useless chatter if you don't like the interruption, but why? It's adds flavor to the game.

Gameplay:

Moving your units around a 3D environment takes a little getting used to. Besides moving your unit in the basic 4 directions, you are also able to move them up and down. This gives a new meaning to "watching your six".

Then there is the ability to select a group of units and assign a number to them. This makes organizing your fleet a lot easier. But Homeworld goes one step further, and gives you the option to assign 1 of the 6 default formations, ranging from a straight line to a sphere. With this you can actually concentrate your attack on an enemy using different formations. There is also the option to assign tactics to designated groups. You are given 3 choices, evasive, neutral and aggressive. Each tactic will affect the maneuverability and attacking prowess of your units, not to mention fuel consumption. You heard me, fuel consumption. Especially with smaller fighters, fuel consumption will determine how long your ships will last in space before they are required to dock with a Capital ship for refueling. Letting your ships run out of fuel would mean giving your enemy some easy target practice.

Multiplayer:

What game today is ever complete without Multiplayer? It just seems like yesterday when internet was just a buzz word and 14.4 kbps was da bomb. Homeworld supports up to a maximum of 8 players on a LAN or WON.net, Sierra Studios own free internet gaming service. If you ever get bored with single-player (which in my opinion is going to be a long, long time), there's always more challenge over the net.

Overall Impression:

I can sum the game up in 2 words, "Homeworld rocks!" As I write this review, my hands are itching to get back into the game. But alas, life at work does not permit such luxury. I must live through this misery of a day, waiting and waiting till I am home again and once again in the heat of the interstellar battle. Two thumbs way up!

Marketing Efforts Towards Women:

"Sierra games usually have a neutral marketing effort, from what I can tell, this game is no exception." - Atari

Cheats, Hints, & URLs

Homeworld: Prima's Official Strategy Guide by Rick Barba - Usually ships within 24 hours.
Use the extensive combat tips and complete resource management and fleet control to conquer your opponent! Learn fleet building tips as well as how to navigate and survive in the galaxy!