All that can be uttered regarding Cataclysm is — thank heavens! Believe this or not, I was starting to replay the original Homeworld for the umpteenth time, and the game was starting to run out of steam. Not that I had conquered all of the missions, but the mechanisms through which success can be parlayed became far more routine than I care to admit.
Then enter Cataclysm, a true sequel to Homeworld, an outstanding member of the science–fiction real–time strategy (RTS) game community. Initially there was a wee bit o’ concern on my part regarding this release. After all, had not Relic completed a magnificent course of action in coding the original game? And now we have, what, Barking Dog taking over production of Cataclysm? The fear was unfounded — what a magnificent expansion disc this be, fellow gamers. Barking Dog certainly benefited from their close relationship with Relic Entertainment a couple of years ago. Their creation should certainly make Relic Entertainment proud, and in some cases, p’raps a wee bit jealous, as well. The graphics are superbly crafted and the presence of space is even deeper with this sequel. Additionally, the game play is even more exciting! I never thought such would have been possible, as Homeworld itself was a champion in the game play department.
Officially, this new offering is not named a sequel by Sierra Studios — rather, they refer to this as an "episode". Which, to my mind, indicates perhaps we may be able to look forward to other episodes within this rich game environment in the not–too–distant future. Some 15–years have passed since the conclusion of the first title, and now you are on your Homeworld, Hiigera. You command a kiith and the play actually is centered on your new command ship, which is an amazing craft. One that is more than capable of producing a whole new class of various and sundry craft ranging from those used to glean resources, to those that use their offensive powers, to [hopefully] ensure you victory. Aye, your Homeworld is now settled. But as is the case with the nations of the world today, there are differences between kiith and these differences, as well as the unsettled enemies that range space, cause you enough headaches to make this a highly worthy sequel to the original game.
You are the head of your kiith (clan), the Somtaaw. And there are a number of various kiith to contend with; the religious, anti–progressive Gaalsien; specialists in information technologies, the Kaalel; aerospace experts, the LiirHra; business experts, the Manaan; the wise and scholarly Naabal; the radically independent Paktu; the kiith who embrace astronomy, mathematics and biology, the Sjet; mercenaries of the highest order, the Soban; and the group that you may lead to greater glory, the miners of the Somtaaw kiith. Despite the fact that your kiith didn’t play a truly important role in the homecoming, as they were within a cryogenic state during the migration and the war, you have very little in the way of prestige. Land rights are not within your grasp, either. However, from the outset of the game, you will find that your small mining fleet is about to play a major, pivotal role in Cataclysm.
You shall have to defend against an attack by another of your peoples within the far reaches of space and you shall unexpectedly encounter a rather strange, and very much alien, probe. Naturally, this probe is not just a sensor sent to map Hiigera — this probe is definitely dangerous for it does contain an ancient evil. Yet there shall be far more for you to counter than simply this heinous presence. There are a number of hostile remnants of the Loyalists who intend to reclaim Hiigera as well as those highly bothersome and quite deadly Turanic Raiders. Nary a moment’s peace for you, but would you really have it any other way? You must prepare for the arrival of the Beast, a cold and highly alien technology that will certainly have its way with you unless you can counter its absorbing capabilities.
There are definite improvements in the way this offering has been coded, from the addition of waypoints (set up those perimeter patrols to forewarn both fleets and your Homeworld of extreme danger) to new commands via the Sensor Management system. With the variety of camera controls available, and the ease with which such can be accessed, there is not a single view you won’t be able to obtain during your travels. There are 17 single–player missions and as many as eight Homeworlder’s are supported in multiplayer mode (via LAN or on WON.NET).
And speaking of the number 17, that happens to be exactly the number of new ships within this game. One aspect that I truly appreciated regarding the spaceships you command is the fact that each can gain experience. You may start out with some rather novice Acolytes, Mimics (once you have researched the technology) and Sentinels, but as your forces encounter and engage your enemies, your pilots become ever better at what they do best — fight! Additionally, all ships are now upgradeable, which is great as the mining command ship you begin the game with will, ultimately, become a state–of–the–art mothership, needed to counter the alien terror.
Leading elements that mandate that this title achieve GRAND GAME AWARD status include the following thoughts: I have always been a firm believer in training. One cannot win battles on any scale without proper exercises, from rudimentary to advanced, in order for you to learn how to bring your troops up to snuff and offset any enemy advances. Cataclysm does so with extraordinary aplomb — the tutorial within this game is highly effective and will certainly take a newbie from a stammering, unsure cadet into a confident gamer, able to command his or her forces with skill. P’raps not enough to tackle the Beast initially, but certainly able to counter initial enemy advances, no matter if it’s another kiith or those Imperial blowhards.
A second factor is the manner in which you build, move and upgrade your fleet. A build manager easily allows you to construct whatever combat, or non–combat ships, you wish. For you can easily determine whether or not you have the support (resource) units to complete such builds. The movement disk allows you to easily navigate in three–dimensional space, an element some other science–fiction RTS games have problems in delivering. And the research manager enables you to acquire your technologies as you see fit — as with the original game, the more modules you possesses, the more technologies you can research simultaneously. What is grand concerning all of these command menus is the manner in which you can now easily move from them to the systems side of the game, with the simple click of a button resident in these windows.
The soundtrack is grand — full of energy and enthusiasm, yet never overly overimposing as a game overlay that could bother or impede your game play. The music reflects the grand maw of space, the combats, and the other Cataclysm elements with style. High points, indeed. How many times have we played games wherein we actually had turn off the sound simply to negate the throbbing, drumming, cacophony of idiotic music alleged to represent the genre of the game? Not so with Cataclysm, thankfully.
Yes, you can still customize the colors of your fleet. However, you will need Win9.x/NT4 (with service pack 4.0) and a minimum of a P2 233 and 32MB RAM; 100MB free hard drive space; a 4X CD–ROM and a 4MB PCI video card that’s DirectX–compatible; a 16–bit DirectX–compatible sound card and, of course, that darling of I/Os, a mouse. I certainly would heartily recommend you look to a much stronger system than this if you wish to avoid game stutter, especially in multiplayer mode, for the graphics involved in the game require processing power to the max. (By the way, a full game installation will require 400MB of hard drive space.)
What strikes me as so delightful about Cataclysm is not just the action nor merely the graphics, and it’s more than the well–constructed storyline. The game is about making decisions, just as in real life, that affect yourself and others. You learn through experience. My education with Cataclysm leads me to believe this RTS is one of the best–ever produced within its genre. If you enjoyed Homeworld, prepare to be totally enamored with Cataclysm.
"RTS titles, they often come and go rather quickly. Rest assured, fellow gamers, Cataclysm shall remain on your hard drive for a long, long time, for the title is THAT good!"
