Homeworld was never popular enough to drastically shape rts gaming, but few games before it have taken strategy to it's level. The game not only added a third dimension to dogfights, it added a unique style that has yet to be paralleled. With graphics that are good by even today's standards, unmatched epic battles and story that can't help but tug on your heart strings, Homeworld demands the stage for gamers of all shapes and sizes.

Kharak is a desert planet so inhospitable that the people live only in the polar regions. It was such a wonder that their people lived there that they began to study the planet, and discovered they aren't native to their world. Finding debris leads them to hyperspace discovery, and to the stars. After building and testing their mothership, the kushan set out to test their ship, but while away an alien fleet scorches their planet. Now, it's time to find their real home, and unravel the mysteries of their race while getting a little revenge.

More dramatic than the story is the gameplay. the user commands it's fleet through a unique interface that allows the player to jump from construction to research to docked ships. The mothership is the primary construction facility and resource drop off, with carriers and frigate offering support. The management and battle aspects of the game shine thanks to the convenience of it all. While it's nothing new to topple an enemy fleet while protecting your own, Homeworld does it quite well.

The game is beautiful no matter what aspect you look at. The cinematic sequences unfold the space opera while the background looks so deep that it's hard to not get list in it. The weakest point is the ship textures, which only falter because of the game's age. Carriers and cruisers are still an impressive sight, but they are beginning to look blocky when compared to newer games.

The sound further adds to the depth of the game. Explosions and ion blasts sound powerful yet distant in the vastness of space. Radio chatter from your ships telling about engaging enemies and taking hits makes you feel like fleet command despite some monotony. Even the resource collector dropping off minerals and gases sounds good.

Homeworld is game that truly shines. It's vastness and amazing depth of control gives you unrelenting joy as you command ships, while it's plot drives you forward gallantly. Strategy fans that don't already own a copy should check their bargain bins and experience what is one of the greatest strategy games of it's time.