GamesStrategyHomeworld 3 recaptures the tone of the classic RTS while realigning it with a new generationWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesStrategyHomeworld 3 recaptures the tone of the classic RTS while realigning it with a new generationWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Gearbox Publishing)
GamesRadar+ is exploring the most anticipated video games of the year withBig in 2024, with new articles dropping every day throughout January.
GamesRadar+ is exploring the most anticipated video games of the year withBig in 2024, with new articles dropping every day throughout January.
GamesRadar+ is exploring the most anticipated video games of the year withBig in 2024, with new articles dropping every day throughout January.
GamesRadar+ is exploring the most anticipated video games of the year withBig in 2024, with new articles dropping every day throughout January.
GamesRadar+ is exploring the most anticipated video games of the year withBig in 2024, with new articles dropping every day throughout January.
GamesRadar+ is exploring the most anticipated video games of the year withBig in 2024, with new articles dropping every day throughout January.
War games
(Image credit: Blackbird Interactive)
The simple ingenuity of Homeworld’s structure returns. Hotkeys that streamline rote actions such as harvesting; control groups that make it easier to manage a varied fleet through the rock-paper-scissors game of matching ally ship strengths to enemy ship weaknesses, formations and behaviors; the frugal unit cap; the ebb and flow of zooming out to issue orders and in to follow a ship to victory or demise. But there are also subtle additions
Other additions are more substantial. The majority of our session is focused on War Games, a PvE Roguelike mode that can be played alone or cooperatively with up to three players. Players work against timed enemy waves to complete a series of randomized objectives, from escorting a VIP to capturing a location. Even with an experiencedGearboxplayer carrying the day, these test our abilities.
Matches comprise three levels, with the last culminating in what Gearbox is loosely calling a boss fight – in our case, a face-off against a powerful battlecruiser. During a match, artifacts can be collected to buff and debuff, or even unlock, certain units. At the end of a match, a permanent reward is earned, which currently takes the form of artifacts and different starting fleets for the next round.
Missions take place on battlefields that offer a surprising variety of level design, including debris fields, mining facilities and giant megaliths. These structures reshape levels from mere spherical space into tactically varied playgrounds, presenting new options for subterfuge and cover: fly a squadron through a facility to flank an enemy, for instance, or hug a monolith to protect your capital ship from enemy fire.
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The additions neither undermine the feel of Homeworld nor make it easier. If anything, they are reasons to throw more at you and give the series new depth. There might not be opportunities for it to be as revolutionary as the original, which was a lightning-in-a- bottle moment, but this sequel is on course to offer the best kind of homecoming.
This feature first appeared inEdge Magazineissue 392. For more great features, in-depth interviews, and more,subscribe to Edgeorpick up a single issue.
TOPICSGearbox
TOPICS
PRODUCTSHomeworld 3Edge Magazine
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