
Fighters, bombers, corvettes, frigates, destroyers and capital ships make up the bulk of your fleet, and though there are a few new additions, the general lack of new and unique ships may come as a slight disappointment. Hundreds of years have passed since the original tale, so the ships are of course all new, though fulfilling much the same functions. Best Fleet Forwardīut it is of course the battles that made Homeworld what it was, and in Homeworld 2 they're just as epic. Again, the developers have opted to narrate the linear quest with their trademark sketchy cut-scenes, now overlaid with in-engine cinerrjjrtrcs that complement the epic far from spectacular by today's standards, but atmospheric and unhurried nonetheless. It's obvious, even after a few minutes play, that Relic has put some considerable effort into telling a good story, as opposed to just ripping it from the opening titles of Battlestar Galactica. True to plan, the aim of the game is to lead your race from the besieged home planet you fought so hard to find in the original game to salvation among the stars. And though the version sitting on my hard drive is far from complete, there's enough to give a very good idea of what to expect from the sequel to one of the finest strategy games ever devised. I've been playing Homeworld 2, sequel to Relic's groundbreaking 3D RTS, for longer than common sense deems prudent. Far out, man.īefore you ask, no I haven't been smoking banana skins. Sperm flock towards egg, tails flick wildly behind - all to the strains of what sounds like an Ozric Tentacles number. I have sent hundreds of small fighter craft to attack a vast defenceless mothership, laser fire pouring from their cannons, the whole scene reminiscent of some computerised re-enactment of human fertilisation.

Faux prog rock crackles through my headphones and vapour trails claw across the starfield spread before me.
