Wow. More than a video game.

All the best elements of the original coupled with a logical progression of the art, interface, gameplay and story.

What an amazing game... and an extremely hard game. The tactics required are much different - it's much more about managing your build queues and pointing your fleet at the right group of enemies. I loved HW1, and (as can be expected any just about any sequel, realistically) this game lacked a bit of the "Wow factor" that my nostalgic memories recall, but it was nonetheless extremely enjoyable. Just be prepared to play the levels over and over again. The difficulty is no joke, you are always overpowered. Just (utmost importance) manage your build queues and rally points properly, know what ships are good against other ships, and remember to use resource collectors to keep your Capital Ships alive (much more important that collecting resources, later on), and you'll get through it eventually. A masterpiece just below the level of HW1 in terms of innovation, and well ahead of it as far as graphics. Challenging, but fun even despite it's balancing flaws. 8/10… Expand

You have to keep in mind, back in the old days I had only dabbled in a bit of C&C red alert and Starcraft as far as RTSs go. They weren't anything special, I was far more involved in FPSs. So then, being a Trekkie... I go and buy Star Trek Armada. Ultimately a fun game, one of the better Star Trek games ever made, but pretty much a disappointment if you expected it to be more then Starcraft with starships. Then Homeworld 2 came out (I missed the boat on HW1), and what a revelation. Completely 3D environment, with no basebuilding, intelligent fleet formations and fighters all swarming around on their own. It was simply incredible. All from a completely new studio, out of the blue. And the environments they created... were completely breathtaking. Every Relic game has had that unique Relic art direction that utilizes quality concept art to bring the game to life. It's completely unrealistic, but space never looked more beautiful then in HW2. FreeSpace games come close, but staring at some of the backgrounds as your battle-weary ships sail past... it's majestic, breathtaking, elegant, operatic, awe inspiring... like looking at a brilliant sunset in autumn. The grandeur of the cosmos was perfectly captured. I dunno... it was the first, and still stands as the greatest 3D space RTS ever, as few of those as there are.… Expand

This game is freaking awesome!! i played HW:C and loved it, but this is a whole new thing! the graphics are godlike, and the interface is much better. I look forward to buying the game and getting some real multiplayer action.

I thoroughly enjoyed this game. It was everything that I could have hoped from a homeworld game, besides a few little things. I didn't enjoy the fact that you were auto-matically hyperspaced out at the end of each mission. The auto-RU mining at the end was a great touch, but I much rather would have had the auto RU, but allow me then to survey the area to make sure that I do infact have everything, and begin production of my fleet. You'll find that at the end of just about every battle, save the first few that you'll need to almost totally rebuild your fleet. Plus, you'll find that attackers will appear out of nowhere. Beyond that the graphics over-haul was great. The detail of all the ships and the environments is incredible. The missions are well thought out and the story line is excellent. The new GUI was very intuitive, and allows you to see the battle taking place while showing your que's. Excellent game, and if you are a fan of space combat, it's the best game on the market for space battles.… Expand

Same graphics, same music.The difficulty is ridiculous. I loves HW1 and C. and played both games multiple times, but HW2 is a bitter disappointment.

Agree with most of the other comments, compared to HW1 this is way too difficult...so difficult in fact that the only strategy is: build super big fleet -> move everyone into battle -> loose fleet -> rebuild fleet -> repeat. Now, this tactic may appeal to some, but not to me. Next to that, the AI launches continous strikes against your fleet, don't bother using carriers for anything but production and supply, you'll have your fighters in the field all the time. Graphics, are a lot better, and I also think they improved the interface. I'm always tempted to try again, but after 20 minutes get bored rebuilding my fleet over and over again. There is no cheat available that would make it any less difficult, unlimited RU's only prolongue your suffering. Example, in mission 4 (thats where I gave up), you at some point get a dozen frigates, 1 missile frigate, and 2 dozen corvettes move against your forces, I had the max. allowed units for all types, balanced well (fighters/corvettes/frigates), but still had my entire force obliviated. Had to rebuild, in the faint hope this was all, guess what! The entire enemy force, as described above, reappeared the moment I had my force rebuilt. Tedious, or what? I bet I could be sitting here, killing thousands of enemies and get very old and still have continous attacks. What's the strategy behind that? Make me hate life? … Expand

The game installs fine.. But after that its useless... When i try to play the game it sends me to a black screen for a few secs.. Then it puts me back to the desktop.. So i go to the siera fourms for help.. When i get there i find that 100 other people have the same problem.. And no one is being helped.. This really disappoints me..

Great game... or I should say, It would be a great game... the thing is, that it's impossible to play it.. I've completed hw1 ,and cataclysm, several times.. They were difficult enough.. but this new one is now HIGHLY unfair! There should be a way to reduce the difficulty, or at least the feature to pause the game while giving orders to the squadrons, and then resume..

Real downer this one. Try to play bad! Loose almost everything before you just win a scenario. The AI is 'adaptive' and throws 4 times your amount of ships in the next scenario.

I played HWC, and i loved it. You really had to think, the AI level was well balanced-easy at first, much much harder later. There were some levels that were easy, some hard. but always there was space to breathe. IN HW2, there is no room to breathe. yeah great graphics, great gameplay, but whats the point if the game is bad? the AI only knows one thing-build build build build build build. And you can only build build build build build. theres no end to it. at the third level, when the three carriers appear, i had 5 bomber squadrons. i hit on fighter facility, went to the next, and when i got that, the other was rebuilt! i give up.… Expand

The sequel to the pc game of the year has arrived! And what a sequel. the gameplay and graphics have been improved while the control system has been improved to almost perfection.

Kinda blah after playing HW1 and HWC, nice graphics but I would have perfered if they kept the old interface and options for formations. It was an ok game but it just didnt stand out.

The audio&visual artists did a fine job on this title and the engine looks good. On the game design side I have to say it showed little intelligence. Truly amateurish. The tactics and strategies of this game can only be interresting to a computer. For me it looks like hard work playing this game. The bottom line of the game seems to be this: harvest, build, build; throw your pretty little toys at his; repeat... Perhaps in the next 5 years the RTS copycat industry would learn something from games like Opperation Flashpoint.… Expand

Never has there been a game worthy of the Title Real Time Strategy before. Its a revaamped version of Homeworld -- Stunning Graphics and a beautiful audio design. While the interface will prove to be unfamiliar to those who played homeworlds 1 and Cataclysm, the masters at Relic have streamlined it, and you'll soon realize that it's better. There has been nothing that made the first ones strong that they didn't take out or change, and the changed just about everthing that made them weak. If the game was still 50 bucks, I would still say GET IT.… Expand

Brilliant Game! The graphics really are outstanding! On a min spec system they still look great, but they really shine when you have a giant battle with all the lighting options turned on. Oh my god, it's like watching a sequence on a TV scifi show! The music is great too, it totally fits well. The game is so much better than the first. I liked the first, but I loved this one! I wish more sequels could be this much better than the original! The only down side I found is the fourth mission was a bit tricky, its kind of like they put one of the last missions in at the start! But its not as hard as the first HW game. It is now Dec and Homeworld2 gets my vote for Game of the Year 2003!… Expand

I was extremly excited when i learned, that HW2 has gone gold. I was eager to play it, so i got it from a friends who bought it the day it was in stores. The Intro was ok..the quality level was expected. But the story is a little bit lame. Than i saw the graphics..not much change there..little bit polishing, but the models are still blocky and the new ships looked very "random" in comparison to the streamlined and effective HW1 designs. Music was good, sound was ok. BUT...here comes the big flaw: The game is too fast, to hectic and very difficult. Not because the AI is good..it is not, or the tactics which are used against you..no..just because the enemy is throwing wave after wave of ships against you. No time to breath no time to harvest ressources in a silent minute. The is HW1 stripped of every feeling, stripped of every tactic and stripped of every fun. I loved HW1 and Cataclysm...there where time for battle and time for slow ressource-harvesting. Not in this game...it reminds me of Z. A RTS of some age...you had no minute to breath, a pause meant end of mission. HW2 is a big disappointment. HW is dead.:(… Expand

Ya baby ya!

Worth the 70 bucks!

Those of us who are veterans of the first two Homeworlds would have been waiting for this for sometime and also maybe very disappointed with the new one. Formations settings for crafts have been changed, there is no difficulty setting for a game that is almost impossible without a population cap, GUI is frustrating where craft are not properly identified when selecting smaller craft groups from the larger selected groups of craft. On a plus side, the game has gorgeous graphics and has an excellent storyline. Enjoy, even if it is only for a few days.… Expand

A complete disappointment as is. Far too difficult to accomplish without having to replay the same levels over and over again. Auto harvest and hyperjump makes no sense given the games difficulty (you can't catch your breath between missions). I loved HW1 and played the SP mission several times but HW2 leaves you more frustrated than satisfied. I read elsewhere a description of the game as a frantic "Wack-a Mole" style game' and that's about the best way to sum this game up. There is just not the feel like HW1 BTW the manual is terrible and I think Sierra is banking on a lot of people buying the Strat. Guide.… Expand

This is an unbelievable upgrade to the engine of the first game. With even better plot and action, the game lets you deal with more engaging parts of controlling, aside from harvesting.

Excellent sequel. The graphics are unbelievable and are much more advanced then any other RTS space based game. Excellent game for good space-time battles of the fleets.

First about all the whine about the interface: Get over it! Adapt and adjust. One should think humans didn't have these abilities, the way you rant on about the interface. It works fine and is the most logical interface of the three games. Gees.. About the game: As with the others sound and grafics are just awsome. As simple as that. The gameplay is the same, although the formation bit is just useless, compared to Homeworld. Swarm combat is what winnes the battles for you and it gets a bit repetitive, but still leaves you with a good feeling of power. The storyline isn't as deep and compelling as in Homeworld, but it still is fare better then 95% of all other games made today. It just goes to show just how brilliant Homeworld is. The story is wrapped up nice and clean and even leaves room for a Homeworld 2 sequal (Age of S'Jet). All in all it is well worth the time and it is a true Homeworld game. The Homeworld Trilogy is still the best Sci-fi story I have played.… Expand

As a standalone game I guess hw2 would rate ok. But compared to hw1? Not a chance, where to start lets see - introduction of capture limits - inteface changes for the worse - NLIPS?? WTF screw off we don't need fighters the size of frigates on the screen - music ... really no competition for the awe-inspiring hw1 music - voice acting... the changed the voice actors... ok there. - mission design... is there even a point in giving us a reason to play a mission other than to blow stuff up and receive new techonology? I MEAN COME ON. - Adaptive AI... didn't really bug me that much, but i'd rather not have an adaptive AI so I can pwnz0rz its ass later on instead of it having 2 to the X more ships than I have. - Uh what else let's see the complete lack of video/sound configuration options available in HW1 and HWC? Last but not least anyone praising the game is either not an HW1 fan or is your standard run of the mill johnny ask his mommy to buy this game cause it looks cool. - Rob out.… Expand

I wish they would port this game to mac.

Homeworld was one of those ground breaking Games that with out a doubt had some of the most inovative play, along with tantalizing Graphics that often time left one with the feeling of being in charge of the strike craft asault on the Death star at the end of star wars. The tech advancements, and different tactics, formations, escorting of ships, first person view, story line , Multi player game play, just to mention a few of its many game features made it a joy play. Add to that the spin off title Cataclysm also a fun and engrossing Game with some helpful changes and enhancements. Now comes Homeworld 2: This game has some improved graphics which at first glance might not be seen that Much. However when you look at the Mothership and Strike Craft up close you can see that some one spent a great deal of time on the textures, in some cases the depth is astounding. the Mouse control is much more intuitive and for the most part easy to use. I have had trouble at times trying to get free from a Ship only to enter the movement mode, but over all a very nice Control System. I do find myself holding the Shift key down from time to time to make depth changes in my movement, But that still works so no big problems there. The Resouce gathering has been enhanced where by at the end of each Mission all resouces are gathered up for you...Allmost all...the the Collectors can now gather pieces of broken Ships, but at the end of a mission if you have not gathered these up they will be left behind. That would not be a problem Except for the fact that at the end of each mission you are instantly Hyperspaced to the next mission. Some of these pieces i'm speaking of have an RU value of over 2000 so its not a good idea to leave um behind. My major Gripes...................... The Game has a Storyline, but many of the Battles are so intense that its hard to even remember what the Story is about. and the cut scenes within the game tend to flusterate the player rather than inhance the Story line. That is to say the attacks are so rapid and intense that any distraction from your Fleet control is a major henderance, and quite often unwanted. Gone is the Ship naming that I grew use to in Homeworld, and this makes figuring out which Carrier or Destroyer or Cruiser you are having to build something with or ordering around a little less easy. Not that the single player game would give You time to name them. ........The capture System is all but useless the Ship for this Marine Frigate is treated as priority one for the Enemy. The only real use I found for these was as a diversionary action. You can send one of these around back and let the Enemy see it and they will run over anything else to get at it leaving most anything else un Guarded. A large percentage of the time even if you do get them to dock with the Ship you wish to control. they leave after the capture bar has been completed, and the Ship still belongs to the Enemy. .....If You do Capture a Ship that builds something, The Building part of the Ship is un-usable. So there is no point in Capturing a Carrier, or ShipYard. ..For me a causual game player the missions Are a bit to agravating and tough. I don't play online, unless its with a friend..so mostly the story line was what i wanted when I bought the game. If it had difficulty settings I could have played through, and then turned them up. I would have gotten my story line had some fun, and then at my leasure improved my Skill. by the time I got to Mission 5 I had forgoten what the Game was even about. and to tell You the truth even after replaying back to that level a couple of more times I still can't remember the story line. I keep coming back to this Forum Hoping that they have Patched it and placed a difficulty setting in the patch. Why?? Because i loved HW1 and Cataclysm...and really wanted to like this one. instant jump at the end of a mission.. I mean really what Starship or even Navel Admiral would just come out of a Battle and not take inventory of his Fleet, re asign Units and in general re group, and in this case regroup by asigned numbers literally....... Before jumping into another Battle. Its just not a strategically sound thing to do. and instead of adding real ness to the game it adds absurdity to it. ................. Every one needs to remember that quality control for many Game's is done by having People stay on top of the forums, and put down or slander anyone who does not agree that there game is the best........... .....I have no doubt that they will come behind this with the usual ..."well I like the tough battles, it let me prove how God like I am, but I guess there are poor players out there that can't beat games." .., .." Aw who wants to name ships anyway I did not have any problems".. ,.. " I had no problems keeping up with the storyline....I knew Luke Skywalker was Darth Vaders son"..,.. " What story!!! Kill, Maim,Destory, Hurt, Win,.....I can edit the RU and ship values"..,.. and so on and so on. ......… Expand

Awsome game. It is a little disapointing how much it is a carbon copy of the first two but hey it's homeworld. Hard as hell but it's all good, keeps you on your toes. And to all you people with the black screen problem, please make sure have your latest video drivers. That is what worked for me ;)

This game is beautiful. It has some cons, but it's pros outweigh those. The interface is much improved (aside from lack of formations), the graphics are amazing, and the addition of hazardous gas clouds (as well as being able to charge ordinary gas clouds with weapons) a great innovation to create obstacles and barriers in space. I miss the kamikaze attack, I miss full control of formations, as well as numerous other details from the previous Homeworld games, but the beauty of HW2's graphics and interface compensate for this. Yeah, single player is really hard, but I live for the multiplayer anyway. Vaygr ships launching volley after volley of devastating missiles is a sight to behold.… Expand

The game is seriously oversimplified and totally ruined much of what made Homeworld a great game.

Homeworld 2 is a great example of what space RTs gaming should be like. It has a deep, intelligent gameplay, great campaign, and amazing graphics that still shine to this day. I recommend that any RTS fans should get this game.