Computer games have come along way from their humble beginnings. Over the past decade, we have seen the birth of amazingly realistic interactive simulations with compelling stories that challenge us in ways no other media can. There are flight sims like Wing Commander and Freespace, first person shooters such as Quake and Unreal, and of course real time strategy games including Command and Conquer, Starcraft, and Total Annihilation.
On the other hand, game makers have fallen into set patterns of game development over the years. Most of the advancement has involved new features, nicer graphics, and improved storylines. Rarely have games change their perspective or broadened the definition of the nitch. Homeworld is such a game.
Homeworld is a real-time 3d strategy war game with a Battlestar Galactica-like plot. You are stranded out in space and trying to get back to Earth. In the process, you are forced to fight against other races, either played by the computer or other players. You start out with a mother ship from which you can build additional spacecraft -- smaller fighters, larger capital ships, research facilities and resource collectors for mining asteroids. Winning requires the destruction of all enemies.
The most striking aspect of this game -- the paradigm shift, if you will -- was the lack of terrain. Homeworld is played completely in space. Ships are built, used, and destroyed in space/ There is no place to land.
I found the interface easy to use, although slightly unnerving, as it conveys the vertigo of limitless space well (although I didn't find that this compromised playability.) Beyond the shift in perspective, Homeworld has many of the features we have come to expect of real time strategy games, such as resource collection, a multitude of ships that must be researched, and intelligent unit control.
But Sierra Studios and Relic Entertainment have also added a few other new ideas, including ship fuel consumption, formations, and aggressive or defensive postures. If that isn't enough novelty, Homeworld may be the first game to include a brand new song inspired by the game from a major rock band -- 'Homeworld' by legendary progressive rock band, Yes.
Installation went smoothly and I was soon deep into the tutorial, which was effective in teaching the controls to manage your fleet. The demo basically teaches you how to play and introduces you to the back-story, then leaves you wanting more. Multiplayer play is included, but only against computer opponents. I am looking forward to the 16-player games promised in the full release.
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