Homeworld still is one of my favorite games. I personally thought the controls were just fine and only difficult in that Homeworld was one of the first games of it's kind to bring some up and down controls into the mix.
I've said lots of times how well the game does stuff like the story and all that sort before, but I do actually have some new to mix into things because I did replay the game during the summer. The game is unapologetically slow and tedious so I can see why that turn so many people off. For me though, I love it. While those are adjectives that usually get tacked onto games that become that because of poor design decisions, I'm pretty sure Relic wanted the game to be that way from the start and proceeded to make the most interesting game they can. I'm probably a bit masochistic, because it's just fun for me in how it works. I can also see how that doesn't work for everyone and a deep love of space battles and ships is probably a must to help pass the time of slow movement. I still enjoy just staring at the ships do their thing in between battles and of course the battles are great. I also love how the game doesn't really shy from being hard. You could get through most of the game and not be well off enough to make it through the final battles, so you're screwed and have to start over. It also feels like another stance that Relic took and just went with it. I can respect that because I enjoyed it so much.
The sequel was cool and great, I think went more into the mold of a standard game. Also, the story just isn't up to the level of the first game. It's worth playing because it's probably more fun than the first, just not as interesting. Plus, it just looks awesome. There really aren't any games out there that look quite like it and it just moves so nicely.
