The miners exploration of space found a strange beacon, over one million years old, could this be the Somtaaws ticket to the inner circle? Only time will tell.....

Once the pod was opened a power was unleashed into the universe that would destroy Hiigara and all life as you know it. Somtaaw started this crisis, they would finish it.....

Once again the ships in Cataclysm range from single fighters to destroyers and the replacment of the first games heavy cruiser, The dreadnought which can look after itself in all situations including swarms of strike craft where the old cruiser would have been destroyed. The dreadnought is truly great battle ship but don't get comfortable the 17 single player missions can soon chew up ships and leave you at the beasts mercy.

The graphics of the game have been improved and so have all the effects. Some of the lighting effects in the game are amazing, and the ability to see things from a pilots point of view is a nice tonch.

The control system for the second game has improved with the added bonus that if enemy ships are visable in the sensors manager you can attack them with out being in line of sight, as in the first game.

Also an added bonus is the fact that the mothership can be upgraded and once you upgrade with energy cannons the mothership can put frigates down on its own. Fighter craft no longer need refueling so support frigates go out the window but replacing them are workers. Workers are multi task ships they repair, salvage and collect resources again better than the original.

I think that the story line is to unoriginal, the beast are Borg from a popular TV show. Ok Homeworld was not exactly a new idea (Anyone remember battle star gallactica?) but the first game pulls off the story with style and atmosphere and this is where cataclysm fails. The music is not as moody and some of the missions are way to easy. My problem with the game is the final level. Yes there are plenty of battles but the show down with the beast ship is a let down and if play the game right at the end you can rebuild your fleet and kill the beast at your leisure.

All that said as a stand alone game Cataclysm is very good, easy to play, but I found to easy. Master homeworld and this game is a walk in the park.

The multi play game however is a real challange of tactics, but get all the latest patches first as this will improve things.

Below are some screen shots from the game:
Please use your BACK button to exit the pictures.

Acolyte 1
Acolyte 2
Multi Beam Frigate
Destroyer
Carrier
Worker
Dreadnought