The Interface And Gameplay

What I like about Homeworld is how it differs from other games in the RTS (Real-Time Strategy) genre. The usual RTS game requires you to find a spot, build a base and clear off everything on the map. Then you go to the next mission and start from scratch or take over a base that is either complete and under attack or nearly destroyed, thereby necessitating rebuilding. Some games are even more annoying by giving you control of just a few units and asking you to run all over the map without getting killed!

Homeworld got rid of that and redefined RTS with three main features :-

1. You don't build bases.
2. The map is space, your units move around the X, Y and Z axes
3. You carry forward whatever fleet you have before the mission is completed.

Homeworld 2 offers the exact gaming concept and controls seen in the previous Homeworld games. However, since the games are like two years apart respectively, it would be difficult to point out every interface change, major or minor, when it comes to controlling units.

Resource collection in Homeworld 2 is the same as the previous Homeworld games. Just send the resource collector to collect all the RU from nearby asteroids. However, unlike Homeworld where you'll waste a lot of time just to harvest RU at the end of the mission, Homeworld 2 will notify you that all resources have been collected right after you complete all your mission objectives.

There are a few drawbacks in Homeworld 2 though. First of all, you don't get to decide when you can hyperspace into the next mission. This means you don't get to do what you used to do in Homeworld, i.e. finishing off all your objectives and enemies and then taking your own sweet time to rebuild your fleet before jumping into the unexpected.

The other thing that Homeworld 2 lacks is the fast-forwarding of time, which is actually useful when you have a long journey and would prefer to fast-forward it.