Introduction

Developer: Barking Dog Studios
Publisher: Sierra
Homeworld: Cataclysm official page: http://homeworld.sierra.com/cataclysm/overview/

Always trust your first impressions

When Homeworld: Cataclysm arrived on my desk I was in the midst of a 40-man game of Allegiance. I picked up the box, and examined it. The ships looked boring, and the design was pretty typical. Sigh. The duties of being a video game reviewer. How could a developer even think of topping the original Homeworld, or the game I was in the middle of playing? Between these two sci-fi, real time strategy games, there isn't much room for upstarts. Cataclysm isn't exactly an upstart, but you get the idea.

Anyone know what this fancy doohickey is?

The almighty says he can get me out of this, but he is pretty sure you're fooked.

Everything about Cataclysm: the box, the retail shelf space, the screenshots, the bulleted features, and all other marketing material for the game had suggested mediocrity. On the other hand, a friend of mine had been raving about the game, and Cataclysm was getting its share of compliments on the review circuit. The older you get, the more faith you place in mass hallucination.

I slid the disk in, and let the installation wizard do the work. I watched the obligatory slogans scroll past, and eventually, opened up the game itself. Again I was disappointed with the sight of bright yellow text clashing on grey buttons, ugly menus heralding back to the days of Doom and the early 90s. Oh well, at least Cataclysm is a stand-alone expansion; you won't need to dig around for the original Homeworld CD case to play this game.

Blah, blah, blah, turn to the dark side, blah blah

This is why you don't lead with your command ship

First impressions can be wrong

I was in store for something, but it was not that of my initial impression. The more I played Cataclysm, the word "mundane" began to creep away until ultimately it was replaced with "excellent."

Despite my initial impressions, I found Homeworld: Cataclysm to be one hell of a ride. The gameplay is seamless, the graphics are really a sight to see, the game is fully customizable, and the multiplayer is probably some of the finest I've played in real time strategy.

What happened in the past?

In the original Homeworld, your people discovered an ancient ship which suggested that they weren't who they thought they were. This artifact led them to believe that they were but a colony, and their true mothers and fathers lurked elsewhere in the stars.

Anyone else reminded of concerts in the eighties?

Blah, blah, blah, I'll never turn to the dark side, blah blah

A tremendous mothership was constructed, and journey began into the final frontier in search of their lineage. What ultimately resulted was truth, realization and bloodshed, lots of bloodshed. Ultimately, the campaign resulted in the destruction of Kharak, the current world, and the decimation of Hiigara the true homeworld.

The story of Cataclysm is set just in the future following the fight for the homeworld. When the cryogenic chambers of the mothership opened, thousands of colonists awakened to the fact that their family and loved ones died in a fiery apocalypse. Years of suicide, depression and civil war follow. Hiigara was not the heaven they had hoped for.