Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak

If one thought Deus Ex HR was a needless prequel (that may or may not had found its own footing) then you might think the same of Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak. It told a story that, frankly, didn't need to be told and no one really cared for. There was nothing new or special about the gameplay and the plot made it even more restrictive by forming it around a single campaign of a bigger war.

 

Maybe I just wanted something more like Dune II/Dune 2000/Battle for Dune.... Or a proper Homeworld 2/Homeworld 3. It definitely felt lukewarm and a 'series killer'.

I first learned of this game through Noah Caldwel-Gervais, and I got interested enough to research Let's Plays and now... well, only if it is super-mega cheap I'll give it a go for the same reasons described above.

This game is great. The campaign kind of keeps you on your back foot the whole time. the chatter by the units is really what drives your immersion in it. They should have done more with the terrain and unit line of sight mechanic than they did but it's definitely worth checking out.

The first Homeworld  is my favorite PC game of all time so I went into this expecting to be disappointed and now I'm having a good time instead.

This is the weakest game in the series by a long shot but in a time where RTS games are pretty rare this is holding me over pretty well.

They could easily make a few more expansions, but now that Homeworld 3 is coming out, and the game hasn't been touched in two years, it's unlikely. The war in the North Pole doesn't just end because some skirmish (and yes, it's basically a skirmish) in the desert killed their head-honcho. The Khaaneph need to be dealt with. Kiith Siidim basically started a second war on their own. Kiith Manaan and Kiith Paktu are still on the south pole. So on and so on....

I enjoyed this game quite a lot, but then stopped playing due to lack of wanting to come back. It hits a weird spot for me. I simply stopped due to disinterest in the gameplay challenges itself and lack of a story. The atmosphere is phenomenal. I agree with Ross. I personally enjoyed zooming out and the tactical view but I would tend to lose track of the bigger picture due to not having a minimap.

The Homeworld series followed The Terminator franchise's pattern of quality

 

Homeworld => The Terminator:

soulful, timeless classic with masterful art direction

 

Cataclysm => T2:

a logical expansion on the original which brought more welcome things to the table. Looses some grit, but improves on a lot of other objective things.

 

Homeworld 2 => T3

Talk to the hand

 

Homeworld DoK => Salvation

Bold new direction, and well.. they certainly tried.

 

5 hours ago, RaTcHeT302 said:

i honestly thought they were all kinda boring, i liked the matrix more

I have a morning ritual that I need to share. I call it "the terminator". First I crouch down in the shower in the classic "naked terminator traveling through time" pose. With my eyes closed I crouch there for a minute, visualizing either Arnold or the guy from the second movie (not the chick in the third one because that one sucked) and I start to hum the terminator theme. Then I slowly rise to a standing position and open my eyes. It helps me to proceed through my day as an emotionless, cyborg badass. The only problem is if the shower curtain sticks to my terminator leg. It ruins the fantasy.

Pass for me: I was never really good with RTSs, but this one had me intrested until I hit a wall

Sometimes I still come here to pay respects to the poor relations of the greatest space faring game of all time 

It's Homeworld without 3D space maneuvering, that's kinda disappointing, but I liked the campaign anyways and land carriers are cool despite being a dumb concept. I appreciate the feeling of going on a journey though hostile territory.

Just finished replaying Homeworld for the nth time. Came back here again to sigh like an old woman on a park bench wallow in what could have been.

free on epic between now and 31/08/2023

they should pay me to play this isometric dreck