The shocking truth that so many people would never really want to consider here, is that Cataclysm is not only a fantastic sequel, but hands down- the best game in the series. What we can immediately pull away from the amazing presentation is the knowledge that a very intelligent developer named "Barking Dog Studios" saw the potential for the series and worked very hard to make it aThe shocking truth that so many people would never really want to consider here, is that Cataclysm is not only a fantastic sequel, but hands down- the best game in the series. What we can immediately pull away from the amazing presentation is the knowledge that a very intelligent developer named "Barking Dog Studios" saw the potential for the series and worked very hard to make it a better experience all around. If anyone hasn't played Homeworld in a while, you'll remember that it had a fantastically executed story held back just a smidge by occasionally buggy fleet A.I., a killer difficulty curve after the 3rd mission, an almost unfair amount of frustration at times, and of course some cumbersome interface quirks. This has really all been cleared up by Barking Dog, since not only have they patched and filled some of the irksome frustrations of the interface, but they've completely cleaned up the issue with unit balance as well. Incorporating a unit cap was an incredibly good idea, it adds quite a bit more strategy in when you choose to build your units. Though this was frowned upon as an overall game-changing mechanic, I thought it made unit preservation that much more important. And with how much faster paced Cataclysm is compared to its predecessor- it makes a good deal of sense to implement that feature. Without getting too much into the story, the actual flow of combat is what really drove me to enjoy this game over and over again. The back and forth of the main factions in game are nothing short of nerve-racking. Slowly preparing a fleet to do battle with a foe that can reverse your technology and assimilates your ships is terrifying and incredibly interesting. Working out the balance of your fleet, researching new ways to counter your borg-like foe are all part of the campaign as well as the skirmish modes. To mention briefly the sound design is nothing short of brilliant, its much more engaging than the original game, though some of the voice work does sound a little goofy initially, overall its very well implemented as well. The atmospheric soundtrack is back, and though it doesn't feature anything that standouts as well as the first game, it is still very good. The games engine itself was starting to see some gray hairs unfortunately, so of course it was polished as well as it could be for 2000. Between the much more involved story line, the pacing of various space battle, the more efficient research and harvesting system- the game easily outdoes 1999's origin tale. If not by design alone, it certainly features a much more engaging plot that really goes all out in conveying the urgency of stopping your mistake that was born from foolish ignorance. If you have always wondered what the best "sequel" was, this is it, this is the actual "Homeworld 2" and their is really nothing like it inside the real time strategy genre.… Expand
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