81
MobyRank
100 point score based on reviews from various critics.
3.8
MobyScore
5 point score based on user ratings.

Description

The planet Arrakis (also known as Dune for its sandy landscape) is the only place in the known universe where Melange (more commonly known as the Spice) can be found. The Spice is the basis of interstellar travel and thus the standard of the Imperial economy. To increase productivity, The Padishah Emperor has invited three powerful Houses (Harkonnen, Atreides and Ordos) to compete against one another economically and bring up spice production. Competition among these houses begins peacefully but soon turns ugly as they battle each other with armed troops, advanced weaponry, and spies. The planet itself is also hostile, with dangerous sandworms inhabiting the spice fields.

Dune II is often considered the first mainstream modern real-time strategy game and established many conventions of the genre. Even though set in Frank Herbert's famous Dune universe, the game is only loosely connected to the plot of any of the books or the films based from them. Controlling either of the three Houses, the player must fight a number of battles against the other Houses. In the early levels, the goal is simply to earn a certain number of credits, while in the later missions, all enemies must be destroyed.

The single resource in the game is the Spice, which must be collected by harvesters. The spice is converted to credits in a refinery, which are then spent to construct additional buildings and units. There are two terrain types: buildings can only be constructed on stone, while the Spice is only found on sand. However, units moving on sand attract the large sandworms of Dune, who are virtually indestructible and can swallow even large units whole. As levels progress, new and more advanced buildings and units are made available, including structures like a radar station, a repair facility or defense turrets and, for units, various ground troops, light vehicles and tanks. Each House can construct one unique special unit, and, after building a palace improvement, can unleash a unique palace effect.

After a mission is completed, the player can select the next mission on a map of Dune. This choice determines the layout of the next map to be played, but has no effect on the overall campaign.

Alternate Titles

  • "沙丘魔堡II :王朝的建立" -- Chinese spelling (traditional)
  • "הקרב על אראקיס :II חולית" -- Hebrew spelling
  • "Dune II: Battle for Arrakis" -- European title
  • "Dune 2" -- Informal title

Part of the Following Groups


Merchant Title Platform    
Amazon
Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty DOS    
ebay.com
Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty    
Not an American user?

User Reviews

The Godfather of the RTS Genre ET2600 (16) 4 Stars4 Stars4 Stars4 Stars4 Stars
Great game that brought a fast paced version of strategic gaming to the masses. Zovni (9425) 3.4 Stars3.4 Stars3.4 Stars3.4 Stars3.4 Stars
What a Game!!! Peter Clark (10) 3.2 Stars3.2 Stars3.2 Stars3.2 Stars3.2 Stars
Each victory more satisfying than the previous. Shayne Bates (13) unrated
A dated but classic game Mental Pyre (3) 3.2 Stars3.2 Stars3.2 Stars3.2 Stars3.2 Stars
The grandfather of Real Time Strategy RussS (783) 3.2 Stars3.2 Stars3.2 Stars3.2 Stars3.2 Stars
The best of its kind. Tomer Gabel Bronze Star Contributing Member (4429) 4.4 Stars4.4 Stars4.4 Stars4.4 Stars4.4 Stars
The spice must flow. That is the law. Jeremy Johnson (637) 3.6 Stars3.6 Stars3.6 Stars3.6 Stars3.6 Stars
Worth absolutely nothníng Aapo Koivuniemi (43) 1.6 Stars1.6 Stars1.6 Stars1.6 Stars1.6 Stars
Perhaps the single most overrated strategy game EVER. PCGamer77 Bronze Star Contributing Member (3030) 2 Stars2 Stars2 Stars2 Stars2 Stars

The Press Says

Génération 4 Feb, 1993 91 out of 100 91
Tilt Feb, 1993 17 out of 20 85
GameCola.net Jun, 2007 8 out of 10 80
PC Player (Germany) Jan, 1993 79 out of 100 79
Just Games Retro Jul 24, 2007 76 out of 100 76
Power Play Feb, 1993 74 out of 100 74

Forums

There are currently no topics for this game.


Trivia

To append Tomer Gabel's trivia entry, there actually is a Dune II level editor. It was written as a third-party freeware program by an unknown fan in 1996, and can be downloaded from the Dune II: the Building of an Empire website.


This entry was contributed by Famine3h (300), Kabushi (88401) and Tomer Gabel Bronze Star Contributing Member (4429)
 

Errors and omissions on this page may be reported to the MobyGames approvers.

MobyGames™ Copyright © 1999-2012, MobyGames.
All rights reserved. Do not duplicate or redistribute in any form.

moby sites | about us | advertise | disclaimer | privacy statement | become an approver | RSS

GameFly Media