Homeworld 2 is less a sequel to 1999’s Homeworld than it is a refinement. It’s got a new plot that weaves through 15 single-player missions but other changes are more subtle, so when it comes to most aspects of game play, it looks and feels so much like its predecessor that at times you forget you’re playing a new game.

Not that this is a bad thing. Homeworld — a space-based, real-time strategy game that introduced three-dimensional tactics into the genre — is a game classic, and Homeworld 2 retains the same high pro­duction values and invigorating gameplay. The poor old Hiigarans, having battled the Taiiden Empire in Homeworld, now have a new enemy to face. So it’s time to dust off the old hyperspace core and fire up a new mothership to sort things out. Fifteen single-player missions may not sound like much but, like the original game, HW2 has no difficulty options for its campaign missions and some of them are very taxing indeed. At times you’ll face what seem like overwhelming odds and must study the mixture and tactics of enemy forces in order to work out how to defeat them. Some missions do have a puzzle-like feel to them and, as they are scripted, don’t change when they’re replayed, so multiple attempts should reveal appropriate winning strategies.

There are some changes in the game that affect tactics. The original had an extensive list of formation types that you could assign to your ships, which, while powerful, could make for some frantic clicking. HW2 does away with this approach, and instead you set formation type by choosing the attack stance of your selected ships — neutral, defensive or aggressive. You can also place different types of ships in strike groups, and choose from three different formations (capital phalanx, the frigate line or fighter screen), each of which places the fighter, frigate and capital class ships into different relative positions within the group. Strike groups move at the speed of the slowest ship, so overall these changes in how formations are controlled lead to less fiddling about.

There are sub-systems on capital ships that can be individually targeted, so you can halt fighter production on an enemy carrier, for example, by taking out its fighter facility. Ships range from squadrons of fighters, bombers and corvettes (which are produced as squadrons, not individual ships) through frigates, destroyers, the productive carriers and shipyards, to the huge and deadly battle cruisers. Let a few of these babies hyperspace in next to your mothership and you’re unlikely to live to regret it.

In addition to the campaign, there is skirmish against the AI and multiplayer games. If you were expecting a vastly different game to Homeworld, this might not be the game you want. While the graphics look very similar to the original, they are more detailed. If you loved the original and would appreciate a refined version of it — and you like a challenge — then Homeworld 2 should provide satisfaction.

Publisher: Sierra
Developer: Relic Entertainment
URL: http://homeworld2.sierra.com