What's this all about?

I'm a guy with way too many interests and way too much time on my hands. A while back I realized that I spend a lot of my time just telling people I know about the various media I consume, so I just figured what the hell, let's just lay it all out. On here, you'll see my reviews of video games, films, books, tv shows, and more, but I've also decided to upload my hobbies here as well because why not?

Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak

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 I've been on a bit of a sci-fi kick and real-time strategy kick lately, and as I've been meaning to play Homeworld for ages, I figured I'd buy the prequel on sale, even though prequels aren't typically recommended for newcomers. The reason for this is that typically prequels generally require or recommend prior knowledge of the franchise's plot (even if that seems bizarre). That being said, Deserts of Kharak doesn't fall into that pitfall, and as someone who hasn't played Homeworld, you will miss nothing if you play this admittedly somewhat short but solid singleplayer campaign prior to the first game. I had a lot of fun with this one, and apart from its short length with high price tag, the game is a very enjoyable tactical strategy game.

While the first and second game are based in space and utilize 3D movement, Deserts of Kharak is a bit of a step backward, taking place on the desert planet of Kharak. Air combat is limited to 3 varieties of attack runs, and while I was dreading having a million vehicle types to keep a track of (especially given that the two factions in the campaign are asymmetrical), the game is surprisingly readable. Combat essentially boils down to rock-paper-scissors, and while it might seem like a good idea to move around a lot, it's generally a better idea to park your units on higher elevation, sending aircraft as necessary. The voice-acting and visuals as well were quite exceptional, and the developers got the most out of the desert terrain and military voice-overs without it ever getting dry. The command carrier itself is striking, both as a command unit that can easily stand its own, and as an iconic unit (some sort of cross between WWII aircraft carrier and a tank). While there's not much visual storytelling, the story of a race against time to investigate an ancient shipwreck in increasingly desperate and isolated circumstances is very compelling.

The campaign is pretty short however, and took me only 8 hours to beat, so I say definitely wait for this to be on sale. You can skip the DLC as well, which just adds different civilizations for multiplayer, unless you're interested in that. Aside from that, Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is an engaging and exciting game from start to finish, an easy recommendation.

As an end note, over the next couple weeks I'll be writing a few shorter reviews on things I've been playing in my lull period, see you then.

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