Product Details
 | Homeworld |
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Product Description
A Thrilling 3D Mystery AdventureProduct InformationYour past is a lie your future is in jeopardy and you are 35000 light yearsfrom home!Kharak a barren wasteland orbiting an insignificant star has been our homefor as long as we can remember. Until now only vague myths of our pastremained but then came the discovery: an ancient tablet long hidden in theGreat Banded Desert buried within the wreckage of a half-destroyedspacecraft. Now we know this planet is not ours. We have beendriven away from our Homeworld by conquerors and billions of our people aredead. It is now time to leave this cold lifeless planet. It is timeto return Home.Product Features Choose unit types fleet formations and flight tactics for each tactical situation. RTS fans are able to manage resources and send their armies to combat in an amazing real 3D universe where danger can appear from every angle. With its epic storyline extended over 16 single player missions and a broad range of incredibly detailed vessels Homeworld opens up endless possibilities. Homeworld's multiplayer mode is playable for up to 8 people locally or on the Internet on WON. Command the smallest scout ship or your entire armada in an unrestricted 3D world for pinpoint control.Windows Requirements Windows 95 98 or NT 4.0 with Service Pack 4 Pentium II 233 MHz processor 32 MB of RAM 100 MB Hard Drive space (plus 50 MB permanent swap file) 4 MB PCI Video Card (16-bit colors DirectX 6.1compatible) 16-bit DirectX compatible Sound Card DirectX 6.1 Windows compatible Mouse 4X CD-ROM driveProduct Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #4782 in Video Games
- Brand: Vivendi Universal
- Model: 70466
- Released on: 1999-09-30
- ESRB Rating: Everyone
- Platforms: Windows NT, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows 95
- Format: CD-ROM
- Dimensions: .25 pounds
Features
- Engage in 16 single-player missions, or play on-line with up to seven others.
- Choose unit types, fleet formations, and flight tactics for each combat group.
- Construct 54 ships ranging from light fighters to huge carriers.
- Completely customize your game, from fuel consumption to color schemes.
- Detailed weapons systems including ion cannons, guided missiles, and space mines.
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Every
so often, a game comes along that completely redefines a particular
genre. In 1998, Half-Life ignited first-person shooters with its
addicting blend of storytelling and action sequences. Homeworld, a
polished, groundbreaking first-time effort from Relic Entertainment,
attempts to change the way gamers play real-time strategy games. In the
past, none of these 3-D games have accomplished the daunting task with
the same gorgeous visuals and tactical game play as Homeworld.
Upon
the discovery of an ancient galactic map inscribed with the words "our
home," the people of Kharak began construction of a massive mother ship
and fleet to traverse the galaxy and reach their long-rumored home
world. Players construct, maintain, and control the Kharak fleet through
16 challenging single-player missions or against fellow humans on
Sierra's WON.net online gaming service. During the solo campaign, you'll
face literally hundreds of enemy vessels. All friendly and enemy ships,
ranging from small, yet dangerously quick interceptors to the powerful,
though expensive destroyers and heavy cruisers, are rendered with
exquisite detail; further, expect plenty of impressive visual effects,
from the glowing ship exhaust to fiery explosions. Adding to the pluses,
Homeworld's thoughtful interface design eases the intense--and
often complicated--resource gathering and combat situations. --Doug
Radcliffe
Amazon.com Product
Description
Homeworld is the next evolution of
real-time strategy gaming, delivering a fresh experience in a totally
3-D universe. It gives players freedom to create new styles of play
while delivering cinema-quality graphics, special effects, vividly
rendered ships, and an innovative interface.
GameSpot Review
Relic's Homeworld is the
sort of game that can inspire unbridled hyperbole in game reviewers.
With its stunning 3D engine, uniquely challenging gameplay in both
single- and multiplayer modes, great audio, and terrific story,
Homeworld is both an excellent game and one that may well reshape the
entire real-time strategy genre.
It begins with an epic discovery:
An ancient starship, buried deep beneath the sands of your home planet
Kharak, contains evidence indicating that your people descended from
aliens who colonized the planet many centuries ago. Spurred on by this
discovery, your people construct a massive mothership with hyperspace
capabilities and undertake an expedition to find their true homeworld.
However, you complete your first hyperspace jump only to run smack into a
swarm of hostile aliens, which proceed to reduce Kharak to a burning
wasteland. Now, with only the mothership to call home, you must lead the
fleet onward to your fabled homeworld, exacting vengeance for Kharak
along the way.
Most of the plot unfolds by way of elaborate
cutscenes created using the game's 3D engine. The game also makes use of
some slick hand-drawn animation to convey other elements of the story.
These black-and-white scenes have a simple but gritty look to them, and
they work exceptionally well with the flashy 3D cinematics.
Homeworld's
gameplay is in fact fairly similar to any tried-and-true real-time
strategy game. You have a fleet under your command and must guide it
through a series of 16 missions by building more vessels, researching
new technologies, and harvesting resources from asteroids and dust
clouds.
However, in spite of the basic formula, Homeworld manages
to feel like a very different breed of game. Your ships and resources
carry over from mission to mission. This can result in very different
playing habits designed to preserve your precious fleet. After all, it's
the only one you have. For example, you'll come to rely on vessels like
the support frigate to repair your damaged ships so they are ready for
the next mission. Similarly, you might find yourself sticking around
after completing your mission goals to harvest every last ounce of space
dust available. Thankfully, Homeworld lets you do this sort of thing,
because you control when you exit each mission regardless of when and
how the mission goals are accomplished.
But the most obvious
difference between this and other real-time strategy games is the true
3D nature of the gameworld. You're in deep space, after all, so there is
no restriction on the direction in which your units may travel. As a
result, you'll have to learn to think and move using three axes at all
times. This can be extremely confusing if you jump right in, which is
why you ought to go through Homeworld's excellent tutorial regardless of
your experience with real-time strategy games. One thing the tutorial
doesn't teach you is the best way to keep track of your units once a
battle begins. Though you have numerous options for organizing your
ships - including a variety of formations and three different attack
styles - it can be quite easy to scatter them across the galactic map if
you're not careful. The main culprit here is the convoluted 3D movement
command. In order to move your ships along the Z-axis, you must first
click on an X-Y destination, then hold the shift key and move the mouse
to indicate the distance up or down that you wish your ships to travel.
Be warned that this system can be incredibly difficult to master,
especially if you don't take the time to line things up perfectly.
Fortunately,
you won't mind retrying some of Homeworld's missions a few times until
you get them right, because you never get the sense that the computer is
cheating you. These missions are challenging, especially towards the
end of the campaign, but they are fair. Even so, you may be put off by
the complete lack of a difficulty setting.
You'll also enjoy
playing Homeworld repeatedly because it has some of the most impressive
graphics ever. This 3D engine is stunning, with an acute attention to
detail that is staggering. Every ship, from the tiny scout fighter to
the lumbering heavy cruiser, is amazingly detailed, right down to
markings on the hull and individually animated gun turrets. One of the
coolest features in the game is the ability to zoom right in on a single
ship and follow it through a battle - every turn, maneuver, and shot
fired is brought to life, and you get a front-row seat for all of it.
The
ship design itself is also pretty impressive. And though the two sides
in the conflict have nearly identical arsenals (there are only two
unique ship classes per side), each has a completely different stylistic
approach that is consistent throughout the fleet. Weapons effects are
suitably spectacular, and explosions are also very cool, especially when
the doomed vessel is penetrated by a beam weapon as it blows up - an
effect that recalls those great ship explosions from the old Star
Blazers cartoons.
The audio in Homeworld is just as impressive as
the graphics engine. The new-age musical score may not appeal to
everyone, but it does a great job of setting the whole "space is really,
really big" mood. The unit acknowledgments and sound effects are
equally good, though it can be difficult to determine which of your
units is asking for more fuel when the call comes in during a heated
battle.
Homeworld's multiplayer support is excellent. The game
lets up to eight players compete over the Internet via WON.net. LAN play
is also provided, with both IPX and IP networks supported. In
multiplayer matches, you can fully customize the game settings,
including the presence, skill level, and hostile tendencies of any AI
opponents. A skirmish mode is also included if you only wish to play
against computer opponents. Resource availability can be modified, and
harvesting can even be deactivated completely. The alternative is a
periodic infusion of resources for all players. Regrettably, some
players have experienced random drops and crashes during online play,
and the game tends to really slow down or shut down completely if you
throw too many ships into the mix.
Homeworld does have a few other
issues that deserve mention. There is no way to tell how much damage an
enemy ship has sustained. Even though your own ships have clearly
visible health bars, the status of enemy ships remains unknown until
just before they explode, at which point they begin to smoke and burn.
And while you can play the game as either of the two warring parties,
the single-player campaign is exactly the same for each side. It seems
like Relic really dropped the ball here, since even a perfectly parallel
campaign would have been a welcome diversion - and a way to extend the
life of the meager single-player game. In fact, an opposing story with
an equally positive spin on the conflict would have been downright cool.
Even
so, any complaints about the basic design or mechanics of Homeworld are
minor at best. This is one of the best games you'll see this year: The
phenomenal 3D engine, the great story, and the stellar gameplay all
combine seamlessly in what will surely become a longtime favorite for
many gamers.
[Editor's note: The review originally stated that it
is impossible for you to identify enemy ships, which is incorrect.
GameSpot regrets the error.] --Michael E. Ryan
--Copyright
©1998 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in
part in any form or medium without express written permission of
GameSpot is prohibited.
Customer Reviews
Incredible Graphics and Epic Space Battles
I'm not usually one to play
strategy games, but the graphics of homeworld looked so impressive that I
couldn't resist the temptation of picking up a copy. After playing it
for a few evenings, I've come to the conclusion that this game is simply
stunning.
Homeworld immerses you in a full 3D battlefield and
makes it easy to zoom, pan and rotate your view to different
perspectives. You can choose to watch battles unfold from afar, or
select any visible ship and instantly shift your focus to their view and
follow them through combat.
Large scale battles are incredible to
watch from either perspective. They're so detailed and so well rendered
that they remind me of some of the space battle scenes from the Return
of the Jedi (ok, the resolution isn't as good, and the game isn't as
smooth as CGI, but it's pretty incredible nonetheless-- large battles
are definately "wow" material).
The gameplay is well balanced, and
to date, I've found the different missions/battles to be quite
challenging. Unlike most strategic war games I've played, the storyline
for homeworld is quite interesting. It unfolds gradually, and does a
great job in building up the drama behind your mission.
The main
difference behind homeworld and other strategic wargames is the 3D
nature of the battlefield. Space is definately harder to fight in than
land.
Definately five stars, definately a must have...
A great game!
I've been a fan of RTS for a
long time - starting way back with Warcraft I, II, Starcraft, Command
and Conquer, etc... I was very excited to hear about Homeworld, and was
well rewarded while playing it!
I have seen some of these reviews
knock the user interface. I have to say, I thought the 3d interface was
great! It was intuitive and easy to learn (A mouse w/a wheel is highly
recommended - it allows for zooming a bit easier than with a two button
mouse)
The graphics are amazing. They were so good, I didn't mind
getting blown up a few times on the last level. The battle between two
huge fleets was so pretty, it was hard not to stop and just watch! It
was like watching your house burn down!
Another aspect of the game
that was impressive to me - I had absolutely NO bugs to report. I know
that can be system dependent, but it's the first game in a long time
that worked out of the box, through ALL the levels, without failing at
some point or another.
I highly recommend this game. I'm sure
there will be many imitators - and some may make marginal improvements,
but this game is a huge step for the RTS genre.
I hope Relic turns
into another Blizzard - I look forward to their next quality release.
Now
that we've conquered 3D RTS, where do we go next?
The finest real-time strategy game I have ever
played.
Many computer games have
tried to use the limitless possibilities of space as a backdrop, but
Homeworld is the first to get it right, stretching the aesthetic limits
of the real-time strategy in new directions.
Imagine this moment:
your fighters fly in tight formation toward an opponent's huge capital
ship. You centre and zoom in on your lead fighter, and the sounds of the
ship's engine fills the room. As they near their target, your ships
break formation, and you tumble and roll with them as they attack.
Particle beams pierce the darkness around you, missiles fly past,
explosions surround you. There is nothing like this in gaming.
The
single player version is excellent. Although the plot draws heavily on
classic space operas, such as Battlestar Galactica and Star Wars, the
challenges you will face are unique, interesting, and sometimes comical.
A
word of caution: to get the most out of this game, I recommend a
high-end video card, with resolution jammed to the max. Turn on all the
effects; it's more than worth it.
As well, experienced RTS gamers
will not be able to jump immediately into the game and succeed. Start
with the excellent tutorial and master the 3D play environment. Learning
game mechanics at this point is critical.
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