Homeworld 2 (Mac)

List Price: $29.99 Discount Price: $29.80

Features:

• Sequel to the groundbreaking 3-D real-time space strategy game Homeworld
• Enhanced visuals, richer tactics and strategic gameplay
• Fight amongst nebulas, dust clouds, drifting space hulks, asteroids, and debris
• Build your fleet and engage in 3-D space combat
• Online and LAN multiplayer option for up to 6 players

Accessories:
PC Gamer (1-year)	ATI 100-435317 Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition for G5 256MB AGP Video Card	Logitech Z-2300 THX-Certified 200-Watt 2.1 Speaker System

Customer Reviews:

A beautiful game, but not a $50 game [Posted on 2005-11-08]
HW2 is all of the things everyone else says: It's visually stunning, without crushing your processor, the music and sound effects in general are amazing, and the actual gameplay is quite enjoyable. The pace is generally slow and stately, with bursts of frenetic combat. You definitely feel the hugeness and majesty of space while you're playing it, and that, combined with the fact that you never see a human face or figure, create a strange sort of detached, lonely intensity to the game.

The controls are demanding, no matter what anybody says. Maneuvering your fleet from one point to another in the 3D space is a real hair-puller-outer, never mind trying to use the waypoint systems, and the fact that you have to micromanage I find more frustrating than challenging. Things like having your workers automatically repair damaged units nearby and the like, which games like WC3 have managed to make a matter of course, don't seem possible with this game. The fighting units are not particularly diverse...they seem to go big, bigger, biggest, with the minelayer and the capture vessels being the only ships with unusual functions (and the minelayer seems to be a favorite target of the enemy AI, so you never really get to see it do its thing).

The missions in the Single Player mode are really compelling, but don't cry out for a replay once you're done, and the Melée mode doesn't stray much from the typical RTS formula of build up your forces and technology and then go fight. I don't play online so I can't testify as to the value of the game in that area. And I have yet to find the community of modmakers and custom-map makers that other RTS games like Warcraft, Total Annihilation and so on have inspired, which would definitely give some legs to this game.

In summary, the imagery and sound are superb. If the developers of this game had been a little more engaged in the gameplay dynamics and the replayability of the game it would be a 5-star AAA game all the way. But as it is, I can't recommend paying more than $20-$30 at the most for this game. I have seen this game for as little as $15 used, and at those prices it's definitely worth it.

Lots o' fun! [Posted on 2007-07-05]
I found the game to be enjoyable, though the interface, particularly vertical movement seemed unnecessarily difficult. I will warn the faint of heart, the game does not allow you a lot of room for error. Be careful. Essentially this game is a computerized version of rocks-paper-scissors. You just have to try and remember which rock goes with which scissors, which go with which paper. Good game!

Great game [Posted on 2007-07-17]
I have been playing this game for about 2 months now and it is one of the best space games I have ever played. The graphics are great and the battles look amazing. I have not had any problems playing it on my Dual 2.7ghz G5 There is also a very cool Battlestar Galactica mod for this game that is awesome.

Amazingly good, but not perfect (Works on Intel too!) [Posted on 2008-06-12]
I must say, being a fan of Real-time strategy games, I was instantly interested in Homeworld when I found it here on Amazon. I caught myself thinking, however, what more Homeworld could offer me. Being that I had already played Age Of Empires, Star Wars: Empire at War, and dabbled in Command and Conquer and Civilization, I thought that Homeworld would not change much from the basic RTS system. However, convinced by some interesting YouTube videos featuring the gameplay, and by the fact there are very few Mac games out there, I bought the game, and I was very pleasantly surprised.
The gameplay is immensely fun and features far more actual strategy then RTSs such as Age of Empires. I'll list everything out plain and simple:
1. The graphics are amazingly good.
2. There are only 2 different civilizations from which to play, however, each has ENTIRELY different units and an entirely different structure for building and advancing them.
3. Strategy gameplay is enhanced by features such as capture ships, shielding ships, cloaking, minelaying, and especially surprise attacks Via Hyperspace jumps.
4. It is in full 3d- ships can move vertically as well as horizontally.
5. The ability for camera angles to follow certain units allows for stunning battle visuals.
6. A sensor overlay allows for quick map overviews in only a click.
7. The AI is quite good and all units act with intelligence.
8. Homeworld actually features a storyline and tactical missions with objectives far from simply "destroy the enemy." Players must keep track of rapidly changing objectives and quick skirmishes. It is also diffucult, and will take probably take 12-15 hours to complete.
While Homeworld is an incredibly good game, it does have it's problems. Here are a few of my complaints:
1. The camera sometimes seems to get stuck far below or far above your units, and vertical camera movement is difficult.
2. The controls are difficult and require some practice to master- although they allow for very unlimited movement.
3. The maps for the multiplayer and single player v. CPU do not very much, and maps have little in terms of background details, realistic to space but not as fun.

Overall, the gameplay of Homeworld 2 is amazing. Even better, it works flawlessly on Intel Macs, and is much better then similar games such as SWEAW. I would wholeheartedly suggest it over Empire at War. (Its cheaper too!). I cannot attest to online gameplay, but the singleplayer is absorbing enough to buy it solely for that purpose. I give HW 4 stars of 5, because of its downsides listed above, but it is an amazingly beautiful game.

Like a Sci-Fi Movie [Posted on 2008-07-01]
Basically, if you are a fan of Command and Conquer or any other big strategy games and you are a space/sci-fi geek, you're gonna love this game. Its more challenging than any other strategy game I've played. If you're using a MacBook, do yourself a favor and get a notebook mouse. You'll want it. Especially with the whole 3D attacking plane. The visuals are stunning and so is the sound. It really draws you into the game. Before you know it's 6am and you've only got 2 hours till that dreaded 8am class.

Click here for more details and discount information...