Dune

The Good
The classic novels of Frank Herbert do not easily lend themselves to adaption. "Dune" is only the first in a series of novels, which reveal a fully developed, science fiction universe.

In the early 1980s, a movie based on the first Dune novel was released to, generally, mixed reviews. Fans, including Herbert, generally liked how close the film stayed to the original novel, but the film ended up being a rather expensive project that did not connect well with general audiences. What does any of this have to do with the video game?

Well, in 1992 Dune was adapted into an Amiga and DOS-based video game, with the Sega CD edition, released a year later. Visually, the game takes its cues from the 1984 film.

This means that the Sega CD game features nice Full Motion Video clips from the film, but also that the actual gameplay visuals are some of the best, most detailed and most varied, you will see on the Sega CD system.

Dune begins as a 'point and click' adventure game, with real-time strategy elements smoothly added into the mix. You take control of young Paul Atreides as he must befriend and organize the local inhabitations of the planet, Dune.

You must successfully ship the precious spice, found only on the planet, to the Emperor. Doing so means building alliances with the locals, gathering equipment, interacting with several Nonplayable Characters, including a love interest, and dealing with the Harkonnen.

The Harkonnens are a rival family who also has designs on mining the precious space on Dune. Competition is fierce and the Harkonnens are not above resorting to sabotage, even outright murder to foil Paul and his adventures.

As the storyline progresses, Paul begins to gain new psychic abilities, trains the locals in military conflict and, become something of a folk hero to the superstitious inhabitants.

To mine the spice, your primary goal, you must gain the trust of local inhabitants, provide them with the necessary equipment and expand your families territory.

All of this is accomplished with smooth gameplay mechanics, impressive visuals and a totally awesome soundtrack.

The Sega CD edition includes the DOS CD-ROM full motion video clips, impressive travel sequences, and extensive voice acting.

The Bad
Sadly, the Sega CD could only display 64 on-screen colors, compared to the basic 256 colors for the Amiga and DOS.

The limited hardware hurts the equality of the Full Motion Video and if you can notice the color limitations if you compare the Sega CD edition with its computer counterparts.

I also question the idea that this video game is suitable for all audiences, which was essentially the rating given to it by Sega's short-lived rating classification system.

I think that its probably better to classify this game as being suitable for players 13+, as opposed to a General Audience classification.

The military fighting can get pretty intense, and certain aspects of the story are a bit closer to PG/PG-13 content.

While it is not sexually explicit, Paul spends a rather romantic evening with a lady and sex is certainly implied to have taken place.

The Bottom Line
Dune is an amazing Sega CD game, which everyone should play before they die. If you like adventure gaming with real-time strategy, then this game is certainly up your alley.