Addictive story and presentation, extremely polished and original gameplay ensure that Homeworld is a classic.
Homeworld effective added a fresh spin and visual splendor to both its gameplay and its presentation, which, to me are the two greatest innovations it brings to the genre.
The ability to move freely in space is awesome and the scale of the universe immense. However this freedom does require a new way of thinking as opposed to a traditional real time strategy game, where defense of key map bottlenecks takes strategic precendence.
The battles, however are extremely satisfying the the effects of seeing battleships ablaze and fighters scurring about are reward in itself.
All I could possibly wish for is something like Shogun: Total War, but in space. (I don't know how many will recall a small buy creative pleasure called Ascendancy... But a marriage of the two seems a sweet deal.)