A number of computer games based on Frank Herbert's science fiction novel Dune were created:
Dune
main article: Dune (Cryo)
(Cryo Interactive, 1992)
Dune blended adventure with economic and military strategy, and is considered by many the most immersive Dune computer game. Loosely following the story of the novel, the game puts you in the shoes of Paul Atreides, with the ultimate goal of driving the Harkonnen from Dune, while managing spice extraction, military, and later, ecology through the native Fremen tribes. As you progress you equip your troops with weapons from Krys knives to Atomics, tap into your latent psychic powers, and get acquainted with such characters from the book as Chani and Liet Kynes. Available for the Amiga and IBM compatibles, it was one of the first floppy games to be converted to CD format. The CD version included footage of the David Lynch movie, and highly improved, 3D-rendered travelling and location screens. The game was was also released on Sega's Mega CD format. Also worthy of mention is the audio track created by Stéphane Picq and Philip Ulrich , released by Cryo (formerly Exxos) on the now extremely rare album Dune: Spice Opera.
Dune II
(Westwood Studios, 1992)
Also known as:
-
Dune II: The Battle for Arrakis (Sega Genesis port)
- Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty
While not the first real-time strategy game, per se (the first being The Ancient Art of War), Dune II established a format that would be followed for years to come. Striking a balance between complexity and innovation, it was a huge success and laid the foundation for the coming Command and Conquer, Warcraft, and the RTS craze that endures to this day.
The player took the role of a commander of one of three interplanetary houses, the Atreides, the Harkonnen or the Ordos, with the objective of wresting control of Arrakis from the two other houses. The basic strategy in the game is to harvest the spice from the treacherous sand dunes, convert the spice into spendable credits via a harvester and refinery and to build military combat units with those acquired credits. The perils faced by the player is ominous as in addition to facing the giant worm 'Shai Hulud' which thrives on the desert conditions and can devour personnel as well as vehicles whole, the player has to face constant onslaughts from enemy troops as well as harsh weather conditions that can deteriorate the condition of the structures that the player has built. As the missions are linear in a way, the plots for all three houses in this installment are also straight-forward but with technological enhancements as the main attraction. The final prize for the commander would be the building of the House Palace from where super weapons may be unleashed on opponents in the final closing chapters of the game. The House Harkonnen superweapon is a long-range finger of missiles called the 'Death Hand', whereas House Atreides may call upon the local Fremen infantry warriors to engage enemy targets of which the human player has no control over them. House Ordos may unleash a sneaky Saboteur onto the battlefield but his damage to enemies is minimal at best; he is however a very fast unit, and his main purpose is to be sent into a building to destroy it.
New technology unique to each house ensures varied gameplay. For example, House Harkonnen may be able to construct their invincible 'Devastator' tanks with heavy armor and ordnance but cannot build the similarly impressive Atreides 'Sonic Tank'. The Ordos can also pride themselves with the advent of the 'Deviator' which is a unit firing a nerve gas to force enemy troops to go against their former faction although the effect wears off after a while. The three Houses also may not build certain units that other Houses can build such as the Ordos may not build any 'quads' (which is an attack buggy on four wheels) in favor of the weaker but quicker 'Raider' trikes or that House Harkonnen refused to sanction building of trikes for ridicule of their perceived 'pathetic war machine' in favor of the well-armored 'quads'. It is clear that House Harkonnen would be the strongest faction to wrest control of Arrakis with its military might although House Atreides comes not far behind and with their long-ranged 'Sonic Tanks' they would prove a formidable opponent. House Ordos may be the weakest in terms of military might and players may find playing for the House a formidable challenge; particularly as the Deviator comes at the expense of the ability to construct rocket launchers (the two units are visually identical), which are thus unavailable until they can be purchased from Starports (in a similar way, Harkonnens may purchase trikes and the Ordos can buy quads). The ultimate final showdown is the battle among the player's House up against three enemy sides, among them the Emperor Frederick's forces, the 'Sardaukar'. The Sardaukar Palace fires Death Hand missiles like that of the Harkonnens; thus, playing as the Atreides or Ordos will result in facing two Death Hand strikes at a time.
The final cutscene would also vary according to the House that the player selects, therefore, not all conclusions for all Houses are the same.
Some key elements that first appeared in this game:
- World map from which next mission is chosen
- Resource-gathering
- Simple base and unit construction
- Building construction dependencies (technology tree)
- Different sides/factions (the houses), each with unique unit-types
Dune 2000
(Westwood Studios, 1998)
Using a game engine which resembles that of Westwood's Red Alert, Dune 2000 is a remake of Dune 2. The story, told with animations and subtitles in the original Dune 2, is now told with full motion video starring actors such as John Rhys-Davies. The game was criticised by some for not adding enough fresh content, and for an inferior interface compared to its competitors — most notably Total Annihilation. The storyline, though, has improved markedly as did the triggers in-game with excellent twists to the gameplay. The game also tidied its graphics to incorporate 16-bit graphics as well as incorporating a later patch with new units for multiplay. Despite all these enhancements, the game suffered from poor AI behaviour as did most of other games developed by Westwood as well as poor waypointing which has quickly become crucial in fast and furious online multiplayer games.
Emperor: Battle for Dune
(Westwood Studios, 2001)
While having an interface similar to the Command and Conquer series, it added enough features - such as a 3D engine and in-battle reinforcements - to provide an interesting change of pace. Features of note are the fairly non-linear campaign, featuring randomized events, and the fast pace relative to the earlier Dune games. The three Houses also featured new units in their ranks, with the Harkonnens equipped with flame technology to both machine and infantry, the agile 'Buzzsaw' that can make short work of large groups of enemy infantry, the 'Inkvine' catapult unit which is very inaccurate against fast moving units but with a weapon payload of devastating effects, the large and armored air unit 'Gunship'as well as an imposing 'Devastator' mech. The Atreides can now build snipers, the anti-air unit 'Mongoose' as well as their long range artillery unit 'Minotaurus'. The Ordos are not militarily inferior with its ability to deploy mortar units which can cause widespread damage in large squads, the self-regenerating 'Laser Tank' and the long-ranged 'Kobra' tank which can lob destruction onto enemy targets from a fair distance. Territorial control also becomes more interesting with the enemy AI also capable of wresting back the land that the player has just conquered in the previous battle although it can prove repetitious over time.
Criticisms of the game are not as much as that of its predecessor, Dune 2000 but it still suffered from poor AI with the computer controlled player attacking the human player with a similar strategy that can be predicted and thereafter countered effectively. Further, the game's bad AI includes a lack of combining units of different abilities as the missions cannot be won by building only a particular type of combat unit.
Like Dune 2000, the game featured all new full-motion video cutscenes, somewhat based more on the original movie. The most notable inclusion was that of the role of the Duke Atreides being played by Star Trek: The Next Generation's Michael Dorn.
Frank Herbert's Dune
(Cryo Interactive, 2001)
Based on the Sci-Fi Channel TV Series, Frank Herbert's Dune was an effort to create a 3D action game in the Dune universe. The game was not a commercial success.
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Last updated: 10-29-2005 02:13:46
