Fridays might be the best-days, but I've come to appreciate Thursdays
too, 'cause Free Games. Not always GOOD games, no, but free has a
value all its own. And what do we get for free on this Thursday?

* Homeworld: Desert of Kharak
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/homeworld-deserts-of-kharak
The original "Homeworld" was a game of its time; released five years
earlier or five years later, and I do not think it would have made
half the splash it did. But in an era when RTS games were still the
rage, the transition to 3D models were still new, and truly cinematic
gameplay was still fresh and novel, "Homeworld" felt new and exciting.
But that excitement dwindled with every sequel, and "Deserts of
Kharak" does little to revitalize the franchise. There's nothing wrong
per se with the game - it is a perfectly adequate real-time-strategy
game - but it has little to draw you in outside it's license. It
feels generic and average; an attempt to rekindle the magic of the
originals without truly understanding why those games felt so
exceptional. RTS fans - and Homeworld diehards - might want to give
this one a look, but everyone else? There seems little point when
there are so many better examples of the genre available.

But free is free, so decide for yourself. You know how long you've
got.

[My review of Deserts of Kharak from some years back]
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak
I think the first RTS I've completed, this title was enjoyable all the way
through for me. For a few reasons: One was the inclusion of the Expedition
Guide DLC, which goes over the history and background for the game, and left
me feeling well-versed in what my motivations were in the game world.
Secondly was the basic plot: A desperate race across the desert to hopefully
save civilization -- a classic Quest -- broken up into manageable mission
chunks, each with a short intro displaying a world map showing where you
started, where you're headed and where you are now. Perfect for short
gameplay sessions spread out over days (in my case weeks), as I could resume
a new mission after a long period away and not feel lost about my place in
the plot, while completing each successive mission gave a satisfying sense
of accomplishment and a natural stopping point.

The gameplay -- moving tiny vehicles around like tonka trucks in a sandpit,
was fascinating and fun. Not slow-moving by any means, as quickly scrolling
around, grouping and moving units, etc, could get frantic as the battles
peaked; rather it was exciting in a less stressful way than your average
FPS. I can't comment on finer points of RTS design, but bumbling through
missions was a blast.

There were minor performance issues with stuttering while scrolling across a
map, but patches which hit mid-campaign have fixed those for me, and it's a
pretty game with a good art style in the cut-scenes. I'm looking forward to
continuing on to the original Homeworld games some time soon.

rms

I took it even though I didn't like the original Homeworld. Maybe I will like this one if I ever try it?

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

> Fridays might be the best-days, but I've come to appreciate Thursdays
> too, 'cause Free Games. Not always GOOD games, no, but free has a
> value all its own. And what do we get for free on this Thursday?

> * Homeworld: Desert of Kharak
> https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/homeworld-deserts-of-kharak
> The original "Homeworld" was a game of its time; released five years
> earlier or five years later, and I do not think it would have made
> half the splash it did. But in an era when RTS games were still the
> rage, the transition to 3D models were still new, and truly cinematic
> gameplay was still fresh and novel, "Homeworld" felt new and exciting.
> But that excitement dwindled with every sequel, and "Deserts of
> Kharak" does little to revitalize the franchise. There's nothing wrong
> per se with the game - it is a perfectly adequate real-time-strategy
> game - but it has little to draw you in outside it's license. It
> feels generic and average; an attempt to rekindle the magic of the
> originals without truly understanding why those games felt so
> exceptional. RTS fans - and Homeworld diehards - might want to give
> this one a look, but everyone else? There seems little point when
> there are so many better examples of the genre available.

> But free is free, so decide for yourself. You know how long you've
> got.

--
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https://www.gog.com/en/game/deserts_of_kharak_expedition_guide

60cents on gog! This is a standalone app, so works fine with any other
version of the main game.

rms