Dune

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Name: Dune Year: 1992 Publisher: Virgin Games Developer: Cryo Interactive Entertainment Platform: PC Genre: Adventure Total rating: 85% - rated 46 times rate now: please log in to rate Submitter: Res Added: May 28 2004 Warez status: Abandonware

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Author: Cannonballsimp Date: Sep 10 2011 - 09:45 Score: 100 points

DUNE – Unique, ambitious combination recommended for Dune enthusiasts and Professors of Gameplay Mechanics.

I stumbled onto this a few years ago expecting to find some sort of precursor to the more famous Dune 2, one of the originators of the RTS genre as we know it (you know the drill – top-down perspective, collect resources, spew out military units, destroy enemy base). I expected something that stood in a similar relation to Dune 2 as Warcraft 1 did to Warcraft 2. I was surprised to find a game that had much more in common with the classic science-fiction novel by Frank Herbert than with the second game – about the only things in Dune 2 from the book were the existence of “the evil Harkonnen” and “the noble Atreides,” Fremen and sandworms. In Dune, numerous characters reappear, the mythology, technology and politics of the Dune universe are substantially integrated, and a respectable story that closely follows the plot outline of the first book of the series is unfolded by the player's actions.

Plot
As the player, you control Paul Atreides. You, your parents and a handful of advisors have been sent (by no less eminent a personage than the Emperor of the known universe) to the planet Arrakis (a.k.a. Dune) to oversee the harvesting of the spice melange, which grows nowhere else in the universe. In order to do this, you have to enlist the knowledge and expertise of the Fremen, the native inhabitants of Arrakis. The game can be divided roughly into two main 'acts'. Act I involves recruiting a Fremen workforce and setting up an efficient spice-production operation to meet the Emperor's ever-increasing demands. Act II involves a military campaign to defeat the evil Harkonnen, arch enemies of the Atriedes who are competing evilly for the spice supply in their evil way. Act II also incorporates an ecological quest, as Paul helps an ecologist who is experimenting with the introduction of vegetation to Dune's arid plains. There is also a love story that runs alongside your economic and military activities – Paul meets and falls for the beautiful Chani, half-Fremen daughter of the ecologist – that is consistent with the novel.

Gameplay
The basic gameplay mechanic and user interface are unusual, and learning to manipulate it fluently is actually one of the hardest parts of the game. Be prepared to fiddle around a bit – this is not the instantly recognisable control interface of Dune 2 and its descendants, and there is no tutorial. The game mixes managerial, strategic and adventure elements, a combination which can be quite daunting at first; it is initially unclear what can be done (ie what parts of the screen are interactive, with what effect) and also what needs to be done (to advance the plot and complete the game).

There are two main views in the game. One is for personal interactions such as holding conversations with important characters, enlisting allies and receiving quests. The other is for issuing orders to your workers and, later, soldiers. The strategic and managerial aspects of the game take place here. You will have to do things like distribute spice-harvesters and weapons amongst the various tribes that you command, making sure that efficiency is optimised. Each Fremen tribe has a level of experience in a particular activity (harvesting, fighting or ecology) which increases with practice, and also has varying morale. Different regions have different spice densities. I suggest the unashamedly capitalist approach of giving the best equipment to the most experienced and highly motivated tribes, and deploying them in the regions with the highest spice density.

As a result of the combination of gameplay styles that Dune incorporates, the pacing can sometimes be uneven. After an initial burst of plot-related activity at the start of the game, the plot slows down noticeably for a spell while the somewhat tedious task of setting up the harvesting operation gets underway. Another tedious episode, and perhaps the most confusing one, involves walking around in the desert repeatedly until one of the other characters says something different. Stay out for too short, and nothing happens – stay out too long and Paul falls unconscious from the heat and evaporates. The first time I played the game, I was convinced that I had missed something, or forgotten to talk to someone, which was frustrating. The game has no real bugs though, thankfully.

Graphics
Dune's art and graphics are actually quite impressive in some respects. A continuous day-night cycle operates throughout the game. Each different time of day covers the dunes in a distinctive and evocative palette of colours, and the transitions between night and morning, morning and midday etc are smooth and attractive, and induced in me a sense of technological nostalgia. A substantial amount of the game's imagery is borrowed from David Lynch's film. Kyle McLachlan's facial likeness is used for Paul Atreides, and he is even credited at the end of the game. The image of the Baron Harkonnen as a giant blob of flesh suspended in a web of leather straps, too, is from Lynch's film.

Conclusion
Dune is not a visceral experience in any sense, and on the face of it, seems to have virtually nonexistent replay value. Perhaps takes itself a bit too seriously, but then so did the book. Its most serious flaws are arguably a result of its ambition to combine story and managerial elements; it ends up excelling as neither an adventure nor as a managerial game, and the daunting interface which was necessary to combine these game styles is only likely to become even less accessible as time passes. Nevertheless, Dune is unique, and the art is impressive, and I can recommend it for fans of the Dune universe who are willing to spend some time getting used to the controls.

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By Vezoovius - Oct 26 2012 - 00:53 cant get past going into desert on my own tried it for days - anyone know how to get past it ?

By Machbuster - Sep 05 2006 - 12:36 About a year ago I was studying for some accounting exam (HATE ACCOUNTING sorry to everyone who loves it but it sucks  ) and as usual when you have to do such boring tasks you are grateful for any substitusional activity - I found a CD version of this ... Hmmm I though I already finished it I just listen to the INTRODUCTION with that great music theme but IT SUCKED me in and I played all night long... At 4.00 am I finished LOVELY GAME but that stress in the morning when the responsible part of my personality came back to activity was very disturbing ... I somehow got through but I recommend never try these classics before exams can SUCK YOU IN and you are gone     For me this is a 10 point game - SOUNDTRACK (I have the CD release) GRAPHICS (Loved the static changing colours in the background and the facial activities of the characters) VOICE narration was also great nice acting - If you can get the CD version even now it is great esspecialy when you know and heve positive relationship with the original BOOK of F.Herbert.

By VikyBoy69 - Jun 03 2006 - 22:41 Good game but it's really hard

By Teros_121 - Jun 01 2006 - 20:38 Good but it takes too long to get started and the time limit is too tight. The constant spice tributes combined with the limited amount of spice avilable makes it really hard.

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