Facebook – Top 100 FAVORITE Video Games: 86

86: Homeworld (PC)
Developer: Relic Entertainment
Year: 1999

Sometimes a game comes along that defines who you were for a moment in time, both as a gamer and as a person. It shapes how you look at games, creates in you a kind of “snob” in regards to gaming. Typically its a game that is a singular experience amongst your peers (that is to say, you have it, no one else has it, and you ain’t sharin’ because no one else deserves it). Think about Milhouse with his copy of Bonestorm. It is also usually a game that – for the rest of time, and only in your eyes – really has no equal. For me, that game was Homeworld.

A gorgous, full 3D Real Time Strat, Homeworld was simply the coolest thing to me when it first came out. Other people applaud Starcraft for its storytelling or unit design/use/what-have-you, or some people lof C&C games for their character driven narratives, the thing that sets Homeworld apart – still – is the full use of space in real-time 3D, a constantly shifting and changing battle-scape that never really feels stale. Enemies can and will come at you from all sides. Because of this, it requires quicker thinking and provides for a much more steep learning curve, one that is rewarding for those that take the time to master the game’s mechanics. These, of course, include basic defense/offfense aspects, mineral collecting and trading, and what have you, but in full 3D it is sometimes more difficult to maintain control of everything you have going on at once. Multitasking comes in handy real quick.

Set in a far off region of space, the game is an interesting one with a storyline that is tired and worn, but well utilized. You play as an alien race that has found out about its origins and attempts to make it into deep space for the first time. Along the way you meet some races that help you, some races that hinder you, and – of course – an evil empire bent on keeping you from your titular homeworld. All of the story is told in one of two ways; either its in the gameplay using the game’s engine, with only the ships before you, or its done in well-crafted black-and-white sequences between levels that sometimes show some more distinctive intricacies of your race, but never enough to show you “everything” so to speak.

The real majesty of this game, though, is in the pairing of visuals and music. While the soundtrack leaves little more to want, its when its put together with the beauty of space on screen. Your ships look wonderful and defined, each class being unique enough to stand out but clearly part of the same fleet. Enemies can range from overly strange to overly imposing, and are also their own. But the views of the wonders of space are the real thing to behold. Novas, nebulas, black holes, star clusters, gas clouds, etc… everything is colorful and a sight to see. Sometimes it can be distracting, other times it can be a nice relief in comparison to constant bombardment. But, trust me, still photos do nothing to capture the real emotion that simple shots of color on black manage.

All in all, Homeworld is a game that starts strong and finishes strong, too, but interestingly enough has everything else right as well. With the perfect mix of difficulty and mission variety, as well as being the first and – arguably (at least by my opinion) – the best use of 3D RTS gameplay, the game is everything you could want in an experience. From time to time, when the issue of Roger Ebert’s claim that video games aren’t art (or, his redefined position on the subject, even), I always dig up Homeworld as a point of reference; it captures pure emotion, has a great story, and is a spectacle to be seen first-hand. If that’s not art, then I don’t know what it.

Classic Moment:
The Mothership (the primary ship in your fleet) has a woman inside named Karan S’jet at its core; a brilliant scientist that dedicated her life to not only understand hyperdrive technology, but building and maintaining the vessel itself, it came as no surprise that – when the solution of creating a living being out of the ship – when it was discovered it would need a brain to operate, she took the job in a heartbeat. The entire game you hear her voice, helping to guide you through the hazards of deep space. She is a true hero of the people and, at the game’s conclusion, when her people finally land on the home planet they left behind eons prior, she demands to be the last to set foot off the ship. The moment in which she does in fact set foot is captured in a still image, paired with a song by the band Yes (titled Homeworld, even) and its a magical moment as you realize you’re there with her, seeing the reward all of her people are seeing, too. Did I say magical? Its magical.

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Added September 29, 2016
86?! Jesus, what happened? That first paragraph sells it as a higher game than 86! I don’t know what Young Skyler was thinking.
I have the HD version that was released not too long ago, downloaded and ready on my laptop.
Wish I had more time to play games… 😦