Homeworld 2 Preview

When Homeworld first came out, I only played one or two levels and was drawn away by whatever it was I was playing back then. Then, 3 months ago I found my old Homeworld CDs and started playing them again. Unfortunately I only got about halfway through the story before the mountain of work came to bear upon me, but I played long enough to fall in love with the story. Then last week I heard about the Homeworld 2 demo and was hopeful to see what was going to come next in the Homeworld series. So far the demo looks to be a good sign of things to come.

The story is shown in the same manner as the original game, with still artwork in-between levels accompanied by narration in the same style as the last game. Events during levels push the story along further. The demo covers the first two levels of the game which are very similar to the first game with their introduction to the various ships and controls that will determine your ability to survive.

Graphics

First thing that you will notice in the demo is that the graphics have been improved. The details on the ships aren't highly pixilated when you zoom in on them. It's much cleaner now, and the game doesn't tax my GeForce 2, which makes the graphical requirement for normal battles low. Due to the limited nature of the demo there is no way to know how the game will hold up when the battles involve large numbers of ships.

Sound

The sound of the game has the same feel as the first game, which makes me very happy because that was one of the finest points of the first game. The beat of drums being accompanied by what I can only describe as "insectoid" as large groups of ships race towards each other and fight. I hope that the full game has the same level of excellence in this field as the first game did.

Gameplay

The game is controlled in much the same way as the first game, with a few refinements that were sorely needed. You no long produce single fighters and instead produce squadrons of 5 each time. Your units are also much smarter this time, going further to attack incoming enemies instead of sitting around. Research is different this time as well, with you being able to upgrade specific kinds of ships, along with their armor and firepower. Good signs of things to come.

Overall

The demo shows some good signs of what to expect from Homeworld 2. I hope that the game does not disappoint and lives up to its promise.