Just finished up the single player campaign after what must have been about a decade or so since my last time playing. Still as good as I remember it and my favorite of the Homeworld Series in both terms of gameplay and narrative (sorry Deserts of Kharak, it's a really high bar to meet). For those who are unfamiliar with the Homeworld Series, it focuses entirely on Real Time Strategy in a truly 3D space environment (aside from Deserts of Kharak, which is the prequel). You start each game with strike craft, which consist of fighters and bombers, and slowly build and research your way up the tech tree over a campaign to the point where you are fielding battle cruisers and dreadnoughts. What makes Emergence (Cataclysm for those of us who have that name ingrained in our head, but I digress) different from the other games in the series is that you play as Kiith Somtaaw, a group of miners who aren't particularly well known for their prowess in combat. However, most of your ships occupy niche roles that fit between the more traditional factions you face to give you exceptional flexibility in how to deal with a given situation. For example, while the other factions field interceptors and different types of heavier corvettes, Somtaaw fields the Acolyte fighter that packs a single salvo of missiles to provide additional heavy firepower that other factions would have to bring in Attack Bombers to take on. This Acolyte fighter can also couple up with another identical fighter to form a light and nimble corvette that can also overload it's engines in order to emit an EMP burst against enemy ships to stun them and pick them off while they're drifting in space. While the gameplay itself is fairly interesting and dynamic, the story campaign is one of the better executed I've seen in a strategy game. You slowly transition from being a timid Mining Fleet to a battle hardened and unconventional Battle Fleet... and it actually makes sense in the context given. For those who are really into story and single player campaigns, I can't recommend this game enough. I'd recommend picking up the original game as well, it's a good game in its own right and definitely gets you immersed in the setting that this one takes off from.
