Homeworld Cataclsym/Emergence on GOG - gog.la/SPACETERROR Won't be able to cover Deserts of Kharak directly next like I hoped for but it'll come in time.

The fact that the galaxy was saved because scrappy bottom-barrel miners looked up at the most powerful faction in the galaxy and said "Get the fuck back here and help, you cowards." Is incredible. I love it.

The scientist from 6:32 was absolutely based. His lab went from “#10 Safest Workplace in The Kith” to the set of The Thing in less than ten seconds. His response: We’re fucked, boss. Save the rest.

"Despite being a viral organism, the Beast had a very high level command of Galactic Common - an in-universe trade language used by all races - and was fully capable of stating its thoughts. However, its ability to talk to others was compounded by the disjointed nature of its vocals. The disjointed nature meant it was unable to maintain a single voice at any time, alternating between a deep masculine voice and a raspy female voice throughout many of its conversations. This suggests that its communications were pieced together from log recordings and possibly victim memories." FUCK THAT SHIT!

To this day, the cries of "CUT US LOOOSE" amidst the panicked and pained screams of god knows how many crew, echoing out into the abyss has stayed with me since my one and only playthrough 22 years ago.

"Then Blizzard higher ups did what they do best - putting their hands where they shouldn't" Flawless victory right here.

"You're worse than the beast! AT LEAST THE BEAST DOESN'T PRETEND TO BE RIGHTEOUS!" Hot damn, the VA gave 101% on that dialogue line. EDIT: timestamp here 26:26 for the epic dialogue line!

After the tragedy that is Homeworld 3. This truly is the best sequel. Didn't have any major Retcons, didn't make anyone look Human, didn't add 3 magic hyperspace cores, and had THE BEST voice acting of the ENTIRE series, and some the best in video gaming Period.

6:35 credit to the radio responder. he went from "dafuq is going on?" to "I am in danger" to "i am fucked" in literal seconds, and his first response wasn't self preservation, but to save the ship o7 godspeed to the guy.

The evolution from mining vessel to a legitimate warship is such a great arc

The journey to becoming Beast Slayers is probably hands down my favorite videogame story, not just RTS. Fun fact: Cataclysm was actually also setting up in a subtle way for the Kushan, the protagonists of the original Homeworld, to be the antagonists of Homeworld 2, as it would show how they have once again started acting kinda like how they did when they got exiled to the edge of known space. Such a shame it was not to be.

I remember, back in the day, people trying to headcanon Kiith Somtaaw into Homeworld 2. One post stuck with me after all these years, it went something like: "Guys. Somtaaw can't be in Homeworld 2: these guys took a bunch of space trucks and retrofitted them so they could fight off the worst threat the galaxy had ever faced. They are absent from Homeworld 2 beacause they had already blown to bits their part of the Vaygr fleet and gone back to punch rocks by lunchtime."

"The more ass they kick the bigger there foot gets" - Never has unit veterancy been explained better.

“It doesn’t matter how we die. One ancient monster is as good as another.” Holy shit that line slapped so hard this game just committed domestic battery

how terrifying the audio in this game

Fun fact about the Kuun-Lan type mining vessels: They were designed in less than 2 days after Somtaaw pleaded with the Council and were granted 45 days access to the Mothership's manufacturing facilities. Given this limited time and the fact that they were more than likely not going to be granted access again in the near future, they had to design a vessel that was close in function to the Mothership itself (meaning as self sufficient as possible when it came to producing additional vessels), thus the Somtaaw mining mothership was born. Edit: They're officially called the Explorer-class mining mothership.

BTW in case mandalore didn't spell it out, when the Beast cells makes physical contact with organic matter, it mutates and stretches that matter into organic wiring to help make the ship work better. Basically the Meat Moss from dead space except the meat moss is still alive and screaming all the time as the beast uses it to transmit targeting data.

25:25 Some context on that scene. It is more insane than what Mandalore shows it as. The fleet commander spends the entire campaign trying to be voice of reason in a horror story and either nobody listens to him or betrays him. He initially tries to be a voice of reason when approaching the fleeing bentusi and it again doesn't work. It's hinted that the commander had finally snapped from all the stress and guilt, and was just looking to die from something other than the beast. As shown by the quote a few moments before on why he refuses to retreat "better to be blown to atoms now than wait for the beast to hunt us down". The entire speech to bentusi was just a him venting all his frustrations built up to that point. Somehow after all attempts at diplomacy failed an emotional rant manages to guilt trip the Bentusi into joining the fight. Even the Bentusi hint at the insanity of it all by their quote "we see our own madness reflected in yours."

The fun part of Cataclysm is the one engineer left who gets to somehow be chief scientist after the others get eaten with what you can only assume is the only microscope left on the Kuun-Lan

Something I just now noticed is that when the Bentusi are completely frightened out of their minds and running they outright refer to your existance as the Beast does: "flickerlives". Honestly that just adds so much more to the Kuun-Lan Captain calling them monsters.

The voice acting in this was even better than in HW1. Everyone's bringing their 110%. Lines like "CUT US LOOSE", the Somtaw Science Officer analyzing the Beast having to choke back his own vomit and disgust, or that Taiidani Republic transport begging for help are fucking CHILLING and emotionally ladden to the extreme.

Kiith Tambuur. They're mentioned in the Cataclysm / Emergence manual as being a Kiith literally made of ONE ANGRY DUDE that started off commanding a single, "I argued so well I got it for free" Frigate from the Kiith clans, filled it full of other disposessed from Kharak, and by the start of Catalysm was a renowned mercenary with an entire fleet of scrapyard nabbed ships. That's what I want. Fuck I love Cataclysm / Emergence. The story is so TIGHT, so well done, it's amazing.

That moment when the lower decks are jettisoned and the panicked cries turn into screaming then silence has been seared into my mind for decades. One of the best moments of sci-fi horror out there.

17:31 The thing I love about this is that the Bentusi didn't suffer from the ancient Hiigarans. At this time the Bentusi were pretty much the most powerful race in the galaxy with sage wisdom and enigmatic technology. During the ancient war, the Bentusi who at this time was part of that super space council sent a single ship to Hiigara to make peace talks with them as the whole galaxy was kind of sick of the war at this point. The Hiigarans when they discovered the second warp core basically gained the OP jump drive technology that allowed them to jump ridiculous distances like the Bentusi could, using this they ran circles around the Ancient Taiiden who couldn't respond quick enough. The Hiigarans thought they were invincible so in their arrogance, they attacked the Bentsui, this resulted in that one Bentusi ship literally wiping out the entire Hiigaran navy. They basically crippled the Hiigaran empire and that's what allowed the Taiidan and other discontent races to commit revenge atrocities on the Hiigarans. The Bentusi felt so guilty and appalled by their own actions and fighting back that they abdicated their place on the council and underwent massive demilitarization and were the leading voice and calling for mercy for the Hiigarans and having them exiled instead. I suppose that's why they were so willing to help the Kushan in their journey home, they knew the Kushan were not the ancient Hiigarans and didn't deserve their surrogate homeworld getting destroyed and genocided again. The Bentsui dunking on the somtaaw with just their drone craft was them in their weakened state, that's how the Taiidan were able to almost kill one ship as well. The Bentusi at their full power were scary, they would probably be more willing to fight if they still had that power. Such an ancient and powerful race running in fear is definitely an extremely powerful moment. TLDR: The Bentsusi are so OP that they basically were the direct cause for the Ancient Hiigarans downfall and their ability to dunk on the player is just a bare hint of their full former power.

I love how The Beast's origin is never explained at all. The Naggarock isn't the source of these nanomachines or anything, they just stumbled upon them much like the Kuun-Lan did. Where did it come from? Who created it? Why does it do what it does? Are there more out there?

“You thought you were getting thanked. You’re a dirty miner, fuck you.” This was my favorite part of this game. You were on the edge of society and interacted with other more powerful factions who consistently looked down on you.

I love that at 24:10 as the Taidani commander is giving his speech about how the downfall of the galaxy is the fault of the Hiigarans they just cut off the transmission.

I think it says so much about the character of the Bentusi that even though they didn't recognize the Beast immediately for what it was, once they realized what it was doing and what would happen once they were assimilated, they blew themselves to hell without hesitation. It sells the 'vast, but not infallible wisdom' of their race so well. They didn't have the knowledge to understand the threat, but they had foresight enough to know a true monster once it's revealed itself, and acted not out of self preservation but of defiance.

also biggest lore break between 2 and cataclysm: in 2 you see the last of the Bentusi sacrifice themselves. While if you played cataclysm, you know some bentusi ships eventually escaped the galaxy, meaning its unlikely bentus is really the last of their race. Also, the best thing about the Beast that wasn't really mentioned here.. is that while its goal is to just consume everything, its SMART about it; going for the strongest specie that possess the greatest knowledge they could assimilate immediately, using infected ships to lure others, and even using what it knows of galaxy politics to gain allies. "We know you better than you know yourselves", and the beast is probably not wrong in that regard with how long it has been listening to the entire galaxy. And sure the taidan imperialists were morons.... but they were desperate. The beast was the only thing willing and capable to help them regain their empire, and they were desperate to get back that power. And hell, the attempt of the Beast to offer Kiith Somtaaw a position of relevance may have worked to some degree if the beast made that offer way earlier on.. but even the Beast didn't take them seriously until it was way too late (hell even when you declare the kuun-laan a warship, the Beast scoffs at the idea that you are a soldier now, as if it thinks you are playing at war and not an actual threat).

The final mission is so much more than mentioned in the video and has some of the best moments in Gaming for me. The giant siege cannon bolted to your main ship? Useless, against the taken over superweapon the shot will get bounced back and against Nagarrok it is too slow to hit. It´s the one case in an RTS where the end game superweapon ISN´T the solution. I also loved the scene where the Empire remnants abandon the Beast once the battle turns against it. It´s so cathartic to see the horrific beast ask for help and be denied. Also the Bentusi superfighter? Also a great moment, once you get them you replace all your ships of that category - two of your smallest craft bolted together. But then you research the final clue how to beat the Nagarrok - in order to turn off the frictionless drive you need to hit it with EMP. Which is the one original trick Somtaw had since the very beginning of the game. And it´s on the shitty ship that is two smaller ships smushed together that you JUST recycled in order to build the broken Bentursi superships. The solution was with us the whole way.

"the Somtaaw are mentioned being against poking around in ancient ruins" If this does not make Cataclysm canon, I don't know what else could. Them being against digging out ancient ships would mean nothing on it's own, but given what them touching a million year old beacon unleashed on the galaxy makes their disdain for treasure hunting very understandable.

>come from Homeworld 3 video >the comments are talking about Cataclysm and how fucking horrifying the comms are >"surely it isn't that bad" >proceed to absolutely shit bricks for the first time in years after 11:45 Holy actual fuck what the shit were these people on when they made this. If the sun hadn't JUST risen I think I might've fucking cried from how actually scary this is. You know I watch horror shit in the middle of the night for fun but that was actually soul-numbingly terrifying. I felt my heart stop from a fucking dialogue line.

Excellent review. It's commonly pointed out that HW: Cataclysm is unique as a horror RTS in space, but watching this made it click just how closely the game follows classic monster movie structure. You've got the working-class protagonists on just another routine job, not terribly respected by peers and even expendable to their superiors. In the first act they make contact, barely survive, and try to make sense of what just happened. The second act is spent trying to warn various people - experts, the authorities, anyone that happens to be wandering by - and of course most don't take them seriously until it's far too late. Measures taken to stop the creature do little more than buy time to escape. Along the way they piece together what this thing is, where it's from, and what can possibly be done about it. Sure enough, other parties do know about the creature, and are either running from it or actively aiding it. An act of desperation bridges the gap between acts two and three, revealing some key weakness or other piece of information that can be used to fight it. And from act three to the finale they connect the remaining dots, rally what's left of their allies and resources, and confront the monster amidst its climactic rampage. The heroes aren't just going to hit the thing harder this time, they've actually grown and learned, tempered by knowledge and the willingness to challenge those previously seen as above them. It's a rock-solid execution of the concept, and that's before the details that elevate it to something special: mission scripting, the writing and acting, integrating the Beast as a unique gameplay threat, and so on. Even the Beast itself is novel. On the one hand it's frighteningly intelligent; possessing starships means it understands what starships even are, and it's both capable of articulating its wants and manipulating its enemies in service to them. And yet what it wants is the most basic of all biological impulses - to consume, and spread. It's a virus that can play chess, and if it wins it will eat the board. It remains one of the most effective horror stories I've seen in a video game, and of all the Homeworld titles it arguably most deserves the remaster treatment. Hopefully one day it'll get just that. In the meantime, thanks for putting a spotlight on this classic!

The line where the captain dubs the ship a warship instead of a mining vessel is such a small seemingly insignificant line. But after playing the whole game and seeing what the crew had to go through it comes off as such a massive FUCK YEAH! moment. Like you fucking bet we're a goddamn warship, saving the galaxy with retrofitted mining vessels and dollar store warships is such a massive flex. And seeing this clan go from below the bottom of the barrel mining Kiith to venerated and respected "beast hunters" is a 10/10 story arc. Sorry if this comment is too long I just think this game is fucking awesome.

It really is a shame that Cataclysm/Emergence not only didn't get the Remaster treatment, but is also considered non-canon. It deserves a lot better than to be brushed aside.

That exchange at 25:29…I think that’s legitimately one of the best, if not the best, voice acting/dialogue I’ve heard. The white hot rage behind “…at least the BEAST DOESNT PRETEND TO BE RIGHTEOUS!!” is something else. Thanks Mandalore for another great review and bringing attention to another great game/story/experience that I likely would have never discovered myself.

It was not mentioned in the video, but the game also had some interesting explanation about why somtaaw capital class ships were immune against infection. They were designed in a specific way, where if ship detected infection then that particular sector of the ship would be purged by plasma or something like that, effectively wiping beast cells and part of the crew. Thats why infection beam was only doing some damage to those ships instead of capturing them.

"CUT US LOOSE!" One of the most bone chilling lines i've had the pleasure of hearing juxtaposed against "Okay Let's talk visuals." Gave me a laugh. So glad to see a Cataclysm vid, your work is appreciated as always!

"The more ass they kick, the bigger their foot gets" I'm using that

"Try to hold on, Republican fleet. This is the Kiith Somtaaw warship Kuun-Lan" I actually cried a little first time I heard that

I never noticed it before, but seeing multiple Bentusi ships together made me realize how much they look like Trilobites. Perhaps a design inspiration, owing to their ancient status?

The mission where you have to save the civilian transports left me so shaken I had to step away from the game for a few days after beating it. When one gets infected, it doesn't fail the mission. You just have to listen to the screams, and then put down what those innocent people have become. No matter how frantically I played, how I split up my forces, I just could not save them all. Cataclysm is a true horror game that left me trembling after its strongest moments.

I love how something as terrifying and unstoppable as the Beast only has it's sights set on "the galaxy". The distance from one galaxy to the next is completely impossible even for eldritch horrors.

God, the part where you convince the Bentusi to join you. The "Shaming the Unbound" video I watch a lot cause the voice acting is just...so good. The Flagship's VA killed it, as did Campbell Lane as the Bentusi, may he rest in peace. My favorite of all the Homeworld games, for sure.

Shaming The Unbound is still one of the greatest bits of video game writing I’ve ever seen. I was probably 9 or ten years old, playing this game right after it released because my father enjoyed the first one. I barely knew what was going on most of the time because I was a dumb child and even then that mission shook me up. It’s so good. The voice acting, the actual dialogue writing, the way you get to see the fleet you’ve spent hours building get wiped out so callously. And then you call the bastards out on their actions.

7:00 A mining vessel, an ancient alien artifact, a biohazard breach that start to slaughter the crew... Who poured this Dead Space sauce in my space-RTS game?

26:13 what great delivery. Literally so angry that he would rather be devoured by a malicious space monster versus a race just as afraid as they are but too horrified to fight.

Homeworld Cataclysm is one of the most interesting games every made to me, as it clearly shows the difference between Being something, and wearing the aesthetics of something. Horror can be about anything, but in games they're often categorized by camera angles, spooky monsters chasing you down dark hallways, hiding in closets, systems and mechanics that don't mean anything on their own but are supposed to matter to be "survival horror" or such. Homeworld:C is a space rts about micromanaging, and captures fear, tensions, limited resources, desperation, hope, and everything that matters for horror with repurposed systems not built for it in any way. It's wildly creative and a good reminder about how good games can be, and the power of using limited tools to create new experiences.

Campbell Lane(the narrator)'s voice acting seriously elevated the writing of every script he touched. Dude was a fucking legend.

"units now have veterancy - the more ass they kick the bigger their foot gets" is such a good quote

I am so glad you mentioned the change in designation from mining vessel to warship at the end. That moment has stuck with me over these decades. Such a powerful game. I will always love Kiith Somtaaw and was super sad they barely existed in 2.

"This is the Kiith Somtaaw Warship Kuun-Lan" Better delivery and buildup than all of Homeworld 3's "writing" combined

Bit of a random thing, but I kinda love how the Kuun Laan is essentially in two pieces. The manual (I think it was in the manual) mentioned how Kith Somtaaw basically had very limited access to the mothership to get a couple ships built, and the modular nature kind of emphasizes "we squeezed everything we could out of that shipyard and actually just finished the ships later. Obviously, though, the more direct narrative use is that by the lower decks effectively being a full ship with propulsion, hangar and resourcing, it allows for the beast mothership to grow from it.

11:29 "Professionals under stress voice acting" is a fantastic descriptor of the Homeworld universe. From "The subject did not survive interrogation" to the damage reports given in Homeworld 2's final mission as the Planet Killer missiles eradicate Hiigara's population, the nuances of the voice acting always made it stand out to me as some of the best, enriching the experience so much as to make the graphical shortcomings of 90's tech seem to disappear.

Homeworld: Cataclysm is easily the best sequel that nobody remembered and utterly terrifying for all the right reasons. Top tier voice acting. I played it back shortly after finding a copy in a two-pack that came with the original I got at a book store way back in like 2005. The Zerg in Starcraft were supposed to be Warhammer Tyranids; alien, unsettling, all-consuming and assimilating and for the most part, they fit the part (in Starcraft 1). The Beast is much, much scarier than the Zerg ever were. From the moment it appears in the story until its defeat, it is an enemy that never feels trivialized, and always threatening. Model example: That superweapon you mount on your ship to kill the Beast? Turns out, even when fixed and fully operational, it still fails to slay the Beast and its superweapon. The Zerg, by comparison, have been punked out by ancient super-weapons twice...and then reduced into being the bitch of the "bigger bad" in Starcraft 2. ...Yeah. maybe there's a reason why Blizzard would prefer that everyone forget this Cataclysm in favor of theirs.

Listening to 31:00 about Homeworld 3, you have no idea how almost on point you were with that.

The venom in that one line. "At least thr Beast doesn't pretend to be righteous!" That guy had better have been paid for that because he cooked a whole meal.

1:28 Whenever I hear about copyright eating a franchise title or _especially_ source code being lost, I think of one of the most horrible 'anti-piracy' psychopaths I've ever seen. He scoffed at the idea that we should care about preserving digital media from premature destruction because if nobody can profit from it, then surely one of those people should be able to make sure that nobody gets to enjoy it for free. If people like that ever got access to time travel, they'd use it to ensure that the Library of Alexandria was put to the torch because otherwise everything within it might have become public domain.

I always really liked the more natural tone of the Cataclysm dialoque. Especially during the middle of the game, the captain of the Kuun-Lan sounds so tired and desperate, just as he should be.

9:19 That voice acting. You just know there's a flask of whatever the crew managed to brew up in the quiet parts of the ship next to him when he was making that report.

I had to come back to this to remember what a good Homeworld game looks like

I remember being terrified of the Beast the first time hearing all those screams. It made me very attached to my rag tag fleet of "not soldiers" and when you get to the final mission being called a "Somtaaw Warship" I was absolutely giddy because it felt like something I earned and it was time for some payback

This game actually managed to all but traumatize me as a kid. I never managed to finish it because the Beast was absolutely TERRIFYING to me, and to this day it´s one of the few sci-fi entities I have an instinctual "BURN IT, BURN IT THE FUCK DOWN TO THE GROUND" reaction towards. It terrified me on a deep level. Not because it was a scary beastie that I was afraid would shank me in the dark. But on a deep, conceptual level. It might be what gave me the fear of the loss of self.

On the topic of final mission speeches, I just realized: You did not say what happens at the beginning of the last mission of the original Homeworld. Yes, the burning of Kharak is heartbreaking, one of the greatest emotional moments in gaming, but realizing at the beginning of the finale that Mothership is silent, that the voice you had been hearing for the entire game, that helped you through the dark and uncertain times is gone, maybe even forever, is also, if not more, gut-wrenching.

The developer of this, Barking Dog Studios, was also behind Treasure Planet: Battle at Procyon. Which is another somewhat obscure game that Mandalore might find interesting video material.

"Ancient alien lifeform that cannibalizes everything into sentient biomass" is a surprisingly common trope in sci-fi.

Homeworld: Cataclysm is my favorite homeworld. It's such a good story, I can't beleive how well cosmic horror fit into the homeworld setting. Not to mention i love how it expands the lore of the Bentusi. For an outside company to develop this they clearly had allot of passion and respect for the IP. That's why its so dissapointing to me that the guys at blackbird clearly don't like it and have yet to properly recognize it. Hell at this point I half expect them to officially uncannonize it with 3.

I loved how truly alien the Beast felt. This game was amazing. The audio when the Beast infects/steals ships and various cutscenes is just so...terrifying. Also, when the last mission comes around you hear the captain announce the arrival of the WARSHIP Kuun-Lan, such a great bit of the game. Also, I loved the story reasons why the Beast couldn't take over the Destroyer and Dreadnought - a captain realized that after an infection beam struck their ship the only way to survive was to vent drive plasma into the decks and vaporize the infection. Somtaaw are bad motherfuckers. And I absolutely LOVE the lore behind the multi-beam frigates, such a cool ship.

I’ve never played these games and yet every time I watch this video “AT LEAST THE BEAST DOESNT PRETEND TO BE RIGHTEOUS” gets me pumped, it’s such a powerful moment.

The beast was such an incredible villain in so many ways, to this day the only rts villain I have not only, ever been genuinely intimidated by, but put me through honest to God desperation

Good lord, people remember Halogen? If you're talking about the C&C Generals mod I used to work on that.

2:10 hearing the voice of late Campbell Lane once again, gives me goosebumps. That man was always the perfect narrator and to think he was even in Battlestar Galactica: Razor movie, makes this narration even sweeter. Of course, he also did great work at Gundam Wing as well. Rest in Peace Mr. Campbell Lane, you'll be missed. EDIT: 4:13 If you remember after the end of the first combat mission in Homeworld: Cataclysm, the aftermath of the battle, where Kiith Somtaaw Workers/Miners, are buzzing about, saving stragglers... Command bridge commends the crew about Kaalel frigate saying: "I'm sure they'll forget to thank us later". At the time it was hilarious to me two decades ago, but after finishing the game I realized how far Kiith Somtaaw got, from being an insignificant (As Kiith Naabal carrier in the next mission said: "Even a mining Kiith should be able to handle a few pirates"), to fully fledged-battle hardened warship and warrior clan.

In case anyone was wondering - the game at 11:13 is Duskers

I think a nice hidden benefit of your ships looking like everything under the kitchen sink is that you don't get comfortable with what you have and that you want to try anything new to get an advantage. It feels like a nice decision, and it directly leads into you becoming the KUUN-LAN Beast Slayers, the ones who will use any means to become the big guys.

Good god, the screams coming from ships being taken then fading is terrifying. Similar to what I said in your review for "No one lives under the lighthouse" I think why horror moments can be that much more intense in games not sold as horror is because horror games tease you with something scary, usually putting the scary thing up for display, you know what you are getting; however what you don't know, or expect is usually much more terrifying, especially when they leave it mostly up to your own imagination to fill in the blanks.

The Kun Laan captain genuinely reminds me of Sheridan from Babylon 5 when he confronts Kosh about the Vorlons sitting around and not doing anything in the galaxy despite the Shadows pulling strings behind the scenes

I think my favorite thing about these voicelines is the audio compression. If this game were ever remastered, I feel like it would be a must-have. It really contributes to the horror elements of the game.

I'm so happy that guys like Mandalore exist, shining a light onto the mostly forgotten works of teams who put blood, tears and soul into the art they created. Their recognition might come late, but at the very least they now get the recognition they deserved.

Games like these remind me of how amazing games can be when the people working on them actually give a damn. Now more than ever, we need people like you bringing attention to these gems.

Even the general overview of the story makes me feel hyped. It seems like a golden standard of how to portray an overwhelming force that the most helpless push through the best they can despite the lack of hope. Feels miles more impactful than any hollywood film that has tried the same theme.

Even filtered through second-hand experience, I'm still feeling all those emotions the game wanted to convey. Fear of The Beast, desperation, pride at seeing the mining rig rise up and finally get respect... I'd argue it's the New Vegas of the franchise - a side game that had main entry soul and magic. Soul and magic that upstages any mainline sequels, and that a remaster might never quite recapture.

Man, hearing the dying screams of your doomed comrades as you jettison them out into the void of space STILL raises goosebumps up and down my arm. That and, of course, The Beasts first words: "WEEEEEEE. LIIIIIIIIIVE."

I still recall the shudder I felt when you heard, spoiler prevention: X X X X The Nagorath actually speak. In proper syntax, and everything. It even freakin' sounds SMUG. Like, holy shit. That thing that ate half your ship, and you've floundered against? It doesn't sound like that because it's some alien goo. It sounds like that because it's an alien goo INFANT. And now fools are about to unleash a fully mature specimen with an age measured in millions of years old. When the freakin' barely crawling around infant version is a genuine threat to the galaxy. Like, WOW. There's multi million sci-fi movies out there that has failed spectacularly at raising the stakes half as well as that.

I’m halfway through HomeWorld three, but this one is still my favorite I’d give back 2 & 3 for a remaster/remake of this one with modernized graphics and controls (though they can pry the original voice acting from my cold dead fingers)

Slamming Sbarro as either cancer itself or as aligning with a sentient cancer (and perhaps by inference slamming all mall foodcourt fast-food chains), without missing a beat, using only a second-long image was priceless.

I like that the Bentusi ships look like horseshoe crabs, it makes them feel very ancient

The voice actor they picked for the Captain of the Kith warship was absolutely perfect. He's not even real but I would follow him to the ends of the earth

"They're an ancient bio-technological plague that merges organic material with inorganic technology to fuse into some wretched abomination of a Hive mind." So basically the Infested from Warframe if they were actually done by talented writers.

To be honest, this is what I'd imagine coming across the prethoryn scourge in Stellaris in the initial encounters is like: unknown contacts, biologically hazardous and consuming all form of bio material, unwilling or incapable to communicate, merely just something that feasts and feasts, taking the ships you send against it, destroying them, consuming them and making their own bastardized version of them to send against you. In the RTS style of stellaris it isn't as terrifying bar the fact of frustrating to how strong the scourge can get, but if it had aspects like this? Hell I'd be fuckin terrified as hell of the scourge.

Nearly cried when he introduced himself as the somtaaw warship. The voice acting and storytelling is just superb in this game.

"It doesnt matter how we die, one ancient monster is as good as another!" "We... are not... monsters." Man, you can just tell how deep the captains words cut when he called the Bentussi monsters. Such amazing voice acting. ^.^

Never played these games before but hearing the change in the mission intros go from Mining Vessel to Warship is one of those emotional Hell Yeah moments. To hear what they've been through they definitely deserved it :)

I had forgotten just how terrifying the audio in this game was.

You know the find of the beacon did lead to kith samtaw getting alien technology beyond anything of the other kiths. Just not how they expected to get it. After all, you get the super acolyte blueprint AND the superconductor siege cannon. Samtaw management is playing 7th dimensional chess and we didn't even know it.

Ahahah Awesome! I was an intern at Barking Dog when they were developing Bully and they had all those Cataclysm Posters Everywhere. Mostly in the bathroom though so it was not a good memory for them.

I remember Homeworld: Cataclysm coming out and seeing it in the shop. As a fan of the original Homeworld I bought it immediately, went straight home and played it through in a couple of days. I was not disappointed at all and loved every minute of it. When you announce your arrival as "The Warship Kuun-Laan" in the final mission it felt great. You're right. You have fucking earned that title by the end. I also loved firing the big cannon and hearing the captain say things like "BURN!" as the shot was fired. He fucking meant it. Amazing game and I was shocked and couldn't understand why it wasn't truly considered part of the story. Great review. You nailed it.

I just got down to playing this game and got to the part where Kuun-Laan has to jettison the whole lower deck. I swear that scene alone must have traumatized thousands of 10 year olds back in the day. They just had to make sure to put in those agonizing scream of pain as you watch that whole section floating away helplessly.

The Captain of the Kuun Lan is like a carbon copy of John Sheridan from Babylon 5 and I fucking love it!

I love the description of: "Using tractors and WW2 Soviet tanks to fight against Lovecraftian horrors with no support or allies."

The strength of the original Homeworld wasn't just the space combat but the story and atmosphere they managed to weave through the missions. Amazed I never heard of this 'sequel' until now, the story is awesome and the voice acting superb. Just like Starcraft, Homeworld creates a universe, ambience and characters which make you want to play and see what happens. I really hope they learn from this one with Homeworld 3.