Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak

Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak: Small game with limited playability (very few unit types). Recommended as a technology demonstration for possible Homeworld 3 engine characteristics. Positives: The atmosphere and visual effects are excellent. Deserts of Kharak feels like the spiritual successor to Westwoods Tiberian Sun - a dark, militaristic, no-nonsense RTS.

Would I recommend it? That's a complex question. It's a great game, but PLEASE STOP FORCING UNSKIPPABLE CUTSCENES. Eff management that approves this. Also. VISA AND MASTERCARD SHOULD NOT HAVE THE ABILITY TO DICTATE MORALITY. STOP VOTING FOR THIS.

It's unacceptable that I couldn't play this game without installing that garbage Epic store. I am utterly disappointed.. Gearbox I hate you..

Not recommended. It tried to install the Epic Games Store when I first started it. Without my consent. The game itself is fine. Good story, well presented. The missions fun and challenging, not unfair.

I really enjoy this game because it is has the right blend of strategy and enthralling visuals to be great. I especially like how the sand dunes are 3D, so you can use them as cover from enemy rail gun fire, and how there are so many different strategies that you can use, so it fits countless different play styles.

I am writing this review while waiting for an unskippable cutscene. This is really frustrating!

this is why i strategically never flavor or season my vegans, i season my wet sand

Man, this game pisses me the fuck off. The gameplay and all is good, but trying to play the campaign is an exercise in how pissed off I can get within a single 30 minute mission. There's a million fucking cutscenes within the missions - in a fucking RTS game. Literally 0 of the information given during these cutscenes needed to be in a cutscene. A voiceover and written message while you can still play would be more than good enough, mainly so that you can react to what is happening. Instead, you have to watch some retarded "cinematic" views of the battlefield while the enemy gets to still control units during the cutscenes and you fucking watch helplessly unable to do anything. Or better yet, something like this happens - you send a scout drone ahead to reveal some of the map while you ready your formation to move there, and the game decides that the drone = a completely different unit and triggers a cutscene, which also teleports a story important unit halfway accross the map, and ...

The controls are really bad. You can't just quickly select all vehicles of a certain type. You can assign hotkeys to certain vehicles, but it's awkward when they're all mixed together. And when you build new vehicles those won't be assigned to the hotkeys, so it's so difficult to quickly choose the right vehicles in a battle. and it's imperative that you do because the game has a rock-paper-scissors setup where attacking with the wrong vehicles will get yours destroyed. The game also relies on infinite enemies which I hate with such a passion. As you're f*&cking around trying to get hot keys sorted and other things you need to manage, you're just being pestered by waves of enemies. The story is a nothing burger too, but that's obviously not why anyone plays a strategy game. And its price of $70 AUD is ridiculous. The game is nearly a decade old and, even if you did enjoy the game, its campaign is short anyway. Definitely not worth that price.

must have must play for any RTS fan