Homeworld 3 review – battle beyond the stars

Homeworld 3 – it may be a ravishing sport at instances (Gearbox Publishing)

Some of the beloved RTS franchises celebrates its twenty fifth anniversary with a model new sequel and a few controversial new concepts.

The one good thing about firms’ renewed obsession with established franchises and mental properties is that whereas which means infinite sequels for something even remotely profitable, it could additionally result in the resurrection of extra area of interest titles, which beforehand appeared unlikely to return. We don’t suppose the Homeworld collection of space-based real-time technique video games has ever been very profitable and but on the twenty fifth anniversary of the franchise right here we’re once more with one other one.

The video games, and their builders, have a sophisticated historical past however the unique got here out in 1999, on the tail finish of the golden period for PC-only real-time methods. In contrast to most others it wasn’t a Command & Conquer clone, however not solely did it come out simply because the style was falling out of trend however the sequel in 2003 was one of many final to be printed underneath the Sierra title, earlier than they had been purchased up by Vivendi, who in flip merged to type Activision Blizzard.

At that time developer Relic Leisure and the rights to the collection had been acquired by THQ, who then went bust and Sega ended up shopping for Relic (who left lately left Sega to go impartial). At that time, Borderlands maker Gearbox purchased the rights to Homeworld and put new developer Blackbird Interactive, who’re staffed by many ex-Relic veterans, to work making a remaster assortment, the spin-off Deserts Of Kharak, and now, lastly Homeworld 3.

That could be a very sophisticated backstory for a collection most individuals have most likely by no means heard of, however the unique idea for Homeworld is rather a lot simpler to know. It’s mainly Battlestar Galactica in all however title, as you’re put answerable for a fleet of large starships attempting to rediscover their ancestral dwelling. At the beginning of the sport your vary of ships is severely restricted however by gathering assets from asteroids and destroyed enemies you’re in a position to create new craft, from nippy fighters to bigger capital ships.

That comparatively easy idea was rapidly overcomplicated with an more and more impenetrable plot and whereas Homeworld 3 does attempt to hit most of the similar plot beats there are far too many low high quality lower scenes, full of uninteresting lore and sci-fi melodrama, that rapidly makes the story a chore.

Fortunately, the gameplay is significantly extra attention-grabbing, regardless of some notable adjustments from the originals. The factor with Homeworld is that since all the things takes place in house the motion is in full 3D, and navigating in three dimensions – particularly the place there’s no up or down – is tough and never one thing trendy video video games normally demand of their gamers.

To make issues much less disorientating, all of Homeworld 3’s missions have some form of terrain past simply empty house. Whether or not it’s colossal house stations or moon-sized chunks of ice, the backdrops in Homeworld 3 are typically much less summary than its predecessors. Attempting one thing new is all the time to be inspired however not having any of the primary missions in outer house seems like going too far, particularly as most of the superstructures begin to spoil the phantasm of scale and the sense that you just’re ordering round large spaceships.

Nonetheless, the introduction of terrain does result in some glorious mission design, as you arrange blockades, construct and deploy distant turrets, take out enemy factories, and use floating particles as cowl. It’s harking back to the glory days of the X-Wing and TIE Fighter collection, and different nice house fight simulators like FreeSpace, which used 3D house and their sci-fi settings to create gameplay experiences that might be inconceivable in different video games.

All of the ships designs are nice too, with most craft having distinctive skills, akin to bombers that may flip themselves invisible or cruisers that may change off their weapons to spice up these of everybody round them.

Nonetheless, far too most of the ships seem to be they’re manufactured from paper, like these ridiculous Resistance bombers in the beginning of The Final Jedi. Even the largest spaceships can take surprisingly little injury, which additionally ruins the sense of being answerable for a mighty house armada.

At instances it additionally feels as if the sport is being a bit too useful with the controls, with the power to pick out a number of enemies without delay which means the AI is making many of the moment-to-moment selections by way of who assaults what. You could possibly simply select not to try this, however realizing the choice is there may be awfully tempting.

Paradoxically, that’s by far probably the most convincing use of AI within the sport, because the path-finding is dreadful, forcing you to consistently make guide waypoints to get everybody the place you need them. The opponent AI can also be very robotic; Homeworld 3 offers you loads of freedom in the way you method every mission however the way in which the AI responds appears closely scripted, which ruins the sense of accomplishment while you outfox it.

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One other niggle is that the sport nearly by no means permits you to mop up on the finish of the battle, so when you’ve solely crushed a mission by the pores and skin of your enamel you’ve all of a sudden acquired to mine like loopy in the beginning of the subsequent one otherwise you’ll don’t have any probability of finishing it. Which is not sensible as a result of in story phrases there’s completely no cause you wouldn’t simply cling round and hoover up the spoils of your victory.

We’re positive Homeworld 3 didn’t have a really huge price range and with that in thoughts it’s simpler to forgive a few of its failings, though the truth that there are solely 13 missions within the story marketing campaign is unquestionably a disappointment. Nonetheless, there are many different modes, together with skirmishes the place you may set-up house battles with none terrain, if you need.

There’s additionally the brand new roguelike Battle Video games mode, the place you begin with a randomised ship loadout and attempt to unlock extra skills as you decide up buff-providing artefacts. It’s a tremendous concept however given the rigid enemy AI it could all appear a bit rote – though it’s extra enjoyable in co-op.

Homeworld 3 is without delay a worthy sequel, a great real-time technique sport, and a gentle disappointment. It’s full of niggles and unforced errors and but the power of the central idea, and the standard of the mission design, shines by. We’ve no concept if there’ll ever be one other entry within the collection – we’re nonetheless shocked this one exists – however we hope the armada by no means will get dwelling.

Homeworld 3 evaluate abstract

In Quick: A flawed sequel, that undermines among the unique video games’ biggest pleasures, however that is nonetheless a uniquely fulfilling real-time technique, with loads of attention-grabbing new concepts.

Professionals: Nonetheless one of the best strategy-based house battles in gaming and the brand new give attention to terrain provides an attention-grabbing twist, even when it’s a bit overused.

Cons: Not sufficient missions and the storytelling is terrible. Weak enemy AI and the management system remains to be very straightforward to get in a muddle with. The sudden finish of missions causes frustration.

Rating: 7/10

Codecs: PCPrice: £49.99Publisher: Gearbox PublishingDeveloper: Blackbird InteractiveRelease Date: thirteenth Could 2024Age Ranking: 7