Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty

The Good
Anyone whose first foray into the RTS genre was through Command & Conquer, Warcraft, Starcraft or Total Annihilation totally missed out on Dune II. Dune II defined the RTS genre as it is best-known today and was the most complex, innovative and (most importantly) playable RTS upon its initial release.

Conventions in unit control, unit production, base building, resource gathering and campaign structure have all evolved but still remain relatively unchanged in even games as contemporary as Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War.

Dune II's gameplay should be familiar to anyone who's ever played any post-Dune II RTS; the gameplay itself is rather basic but is wholly rewarding. Though the three factions (Atreides, Harkonnen & Ordos) are vastly similar with their basic units, subtle differences manage to distinguish the functions of each others' basic units and buildings enough to keep things interesting and replayable. In addition, the higher-level units which each house can produce differ vastly in their tactical and strategic purposes (which is more than could be said about Warcraft 2). When replaying the game under a different house, the knowledge gained while playing with their previous house can be used in their new unit choices.

Graphically, the game is colorful and units and buildings are all distinctly and effectively rendered. I've read complaints that this game hasn't graphically aged well, but please keep in mind that this game was considered stunning in 1992.

The sprites and animations all work well with the gameplay with animations and indicators that respond respectively with the gameplay. Little details such as billowing smoke from highly damaged units or the primitively yet effectively executed rippling sands to show movement of the Sandworms help immerse the player into the games atmosphere.

Dune II is a perfect example of converting an extensive, complex, and relatively unillustrated (visually, at least) world with a devoted following into an effective, immersive gaming experience. Westwood renders the Dune Universe with pure sci-fi aesthetics by combining smart designs with the visionary grandeur imparted by both Dune's novels and film. The splashscreens and cutscenes best exhibit this; each is rendered to a very high standard (considering the age of its release) and each provides unique character to their respective houses while giving the player a schematic close-up of the Dune tech.

The sound leaves a bit to be desired; it's mostly meepy floop sound effects unless you had a decent soundcard. But it's some of the best meepy floop sound you'll ever hear.

The Bad
Being such an early incarnation of the modern RTS, the game is not without its gameplay flaws. The enemy AI is just not up to snuff for certain tactics. Turtling is one of the tactics that the AI can't seem to overcome; once Turrets and Rocket Turrets a player simply as to wall their base in and crank out units. This aspects removes a large portion of the game's challenge in later levels, but it's mostly assuaged by the fact that it's a rather fun tactic to take on (considering the AI is the only one that suffers).

The AI also has a tendency to send pathetically small attack squads; against the average players' steadily growing attack/defense force, the AI's forces get crushed pretty easily. Again, another product of being an early RTS game; the AI does ramp it up towards the later levels though.

Unit obsolescence also runs rampant in Dune II; a lot of the earlier units effectively become useless once you have access to units even one tier above them. I found Heavy Troopers to never be worth building at any point in the game; I could simply gun them down with trikes en masse. Once I could build Quads, Trikes became useless. Once I could build Medium Tanks, Quads and everything below them became useless. Some units like the Heavy Tanks were totally useless since they were far outgunned by Rocket Tanks.

Missions don't really vary much; they're either "Collect X amount of Melange" or "Destroy Everything that's Not the Same Color as You". This flaw is again reconciled by the fact that the idea of more complex missions had not yet been introduced into the genre.

The Bottom Line
I don't expect many to seek out the original Dune II and to install it onto a dinosaur unless they really, really want to know what people were feelin' back in 1992. However, I do recommend to any RTS player worth his salt that he or she spend $10 for Dune 2000 to get a taste of it. So go out there and build your Dynasty.

The Good
Really addictive , can play for hours on end and still not get bored.

Can play three Houses. Each with their own similiarities and distinctions.For example - The Harkonnen Devastator tank can rip the crap out of buildings and takes forever to destroy, while the Ordos Deviator can take control of enemy units for a small period of time(which is pretty useless unless you know what to do with the newly acquired units).

Have two of you favourite houses from the book , Harkonnen and Atreides. Plus , a new faction called the Ordos.(The hardest house to win with).

The Bad
This game has only token references to the book. Whereas in Dune1 , you played 1st person perspective of Paul (main character of book Dune) , Dune 2 has only taken the idea of major factions battling it out on Arrakis.

You can only move one unit at a time. Very frustrating when planning a massive attack.

The AI (artificial intelligence) is a little primitive. You can have your tanks blasting away at one of your buildings because an enemy is on the other side. (This is also a good thing i suppose , putting a trike behind an enemy building to provoke the enemy to attack you through their buildings is a laugh). Plus , the other aspect of the AI is the enemy attacks. They gather at the same spot and follow a pre-set pattern to your base. Once you have figured where theyre attacking from, you can defend yourself easily and the level may as well be finished.

Finally , the Ordos have been disadvantaged in one of the earlier levels. The very first level that Missile launchers are used , the Ordos are left without them.

The Bottom Line
One of my favourite games. Had a friend buy a computer for the sole reason of playing this game.

The Good
This game was the game that got me addicted to real time strategy, at the time it was amazing and addictive, but since playing newer games it's hard not to criticize it. A clear advantage was that each team had its own special weapon built in the palace and their own special unit. Each side also had its own 'character' being represented by the attitude of the advisor. The story line was solid and I followed it having never read the book, in fact I didn't know the book existed.

The Bad
Compared to present day RTS games it looks terrible, but its unfair to compare the game to other games made 5 years later. The graphics were acceptable. The most annoying bit about the game was that you could only send one unit at a time to attack, so it would be common for them to get systematically destroyed. Also the missions were all the same, kill every unit if the other team. The units from team to team were the same excluding the special weapons. I only played this game on my old computer so I can't comment on sound because it didn't work.

The Bottom Line
Obviously outdated now, but at the time it was AMAZING. My bad comments on the game are inevitable because the RTS game I currently play (TA) is 5years younger and a lot better. If you want a taste of a quality old game get hold of this, it will make you laugh as you pear into the world of old games, but revel in the knowledge of the fact that Dune was the precursor to Command and Conquer and effectively was the beginning of quality real time strategy.

The Good
Dune 2 for better or for worse, revolutionized the strategy genre. Before the advent of rts games, strategy was limited to just about the wargaming audience, an even more uptight audience than the regular adventure-fanboys, and who sat atop their thrones content with being the ones that played the "thinking games" and not those run-and-shoot "kiddie games". Enter Dune 2. Once again, for better or for worse, this game changed the rules for every strategy game by providing an excellent real-time strategy package that combined simplified versions of such classic concepts as resource management, unit hierarchy, etc, etc. without overwhelming the players. Essentially Dune 2 toned down the anal-retentiveness of regular strategy games, added the fast-paced action only real time can deliver, and throwed in some spiffy details like a storyline, a "fake" campaign and of course, the Dune lore. This product translated into a travesty to most "serious" wargamers, but for the rest of us it proved to be the right amount of "thinking" to ease us into the world of strategy games, while not forgetting about action, presentation, and heck...FUN.

If there's something true that can be said about Dune 2 is that it was a romp to play, something wargamers had lost a looooong time ago in their sea of phases, turns, morale management, etc.

Another hot spot for Dune 2 was of course it's presentation, which was another area forgotten by most strategy games. Most people consider Dune 2's graphics quite bad, but they were ages above what was available to most wargames, especially if you consider most had only hexes, some dots and lines, and text. Dune 2 provided quite a lot of eye-candy and glitz to make the action even more pallatable. And I'm not even gonna bother describing what a milestone such things as voice-feedback and the great sfx represented to the genre.

The Bad
Well, I DID say for better or for worse right? What I meant by that is that this game introduced the rts genre, and.... it also introduced the rts genre...if you know what I mean... :)

Quite frankly I like to take time to think instead of frenetically moving the mouse as in an epileptic attack when playing strategy games, but hey that's me! :) Yet I am still able to recognize that there is a lot to like about the genre.

Other than that there's only the issue of being able to select only 1 unit at a time, but I guess that those were the limitations of the time...

The Bottom Line
So it's strategy light... so What??? Dune 2 brought strategy to the masses and didn't forget to ad a lot of fun and excitement in the process, while taking time to singlehandedly define a genre... for better or for worse ;) Not bad for a sequel, huh?

Dune 2 may not be the holy grail of gaming and it's ...shall we say "pop", roots are certainly questionable, but it still deserves the respect it has. If you have never played it before, you owe it to yourself to at least check out were it all started.

The Good
This game is a childhood memory for me, so most of the good things I have to say about it are filtered through the eyes of a kid with an overactive imagination who was barely getting his feet wet in PC games and played so much that I had all the details of the different units from the manual memorized. (Like how light infantry use 9mm RP Assault Rifles.)

For people who are familiar with more modern RTS games won't be finding new features of course, but many of the things that are found in today's games exists here in Dune 2.

While the unit tech tree is fairly linear (each unit is stronger than the last), there is some variety as you get into the final units of the game. Building nothing but your top tanks can give you a victory, but like current games its much more cost efficient to exploit the strengths of your top few units. There are limitations how where you can construct your buildings, and you have to monitor the power requirements of your base. Also, there is an element of "hostile" terrain if you factor in the sandworms that patrol the sandy portions of the maps that will eat your units.

The music, while of course outdated, was epic for me at the time. Hearing the tracks today throws me back to those Sat mornings and still gets my adrenaline up. The quality of the sound is low, but the quality of the music is high. It's a shame that the tracks were played with the tech of the time, because I think they are really well written.

The Bad
Some of the frustrations of the game were that the different factions you can choose from really weren't that unique. Other than a limited few units and weapons, all 3 forces in the game had totally identical units. While some later games still had this, it was still annoying to suspend the belief that 3 futuristic factions with different cultures, technologies, and goals would have carbon-copy tanks and arm their infantry with the exact same rifles.

Another problem was that the tech tree could be so linear, that each mission I often only used the most powerful unit available. Weaker units had very little purpose except for scouts or baiting sand worms. The only real tactical use of your units was to include rocket tanks with whatever your strongest unit for that mission was.

I won't bother touching the predictable AI. That should be expected. :)

The Bottom Line
The bottom line is that this is a classic game that is worth the play if you are into the RTS genre. Be prepared for many of the faults of the older games. The more awkward gameplay, the poor AI, and the simple strategy. However this game is definitely entertaining despite it's flaws, and worth playing!

The Good
It's been a good many years since I completed this game, so please forgive this review for being tainted by nostalgia. Dune 2 bears no resemblance to the the first game and instead takes elements from the famous book series to create a strategy game which is a prototype for Westwood's Command and Conquer series. You have the option of playing as one of three 'Houses'; Harkonnen, Atreides from the novels and the new House Ordos, each fighting against the other to control the spice fields of Arrakis.

Each House has a different fighting style, ranging from brute force to infiltration, and can produce different vehicles and troops once you have established a base and harvest the planets natural resource - spice. The mechanics of the game are the same as the later Command and Conquer series where each level you start small and gradually build a base and an army to win, then select a map area of the planet to fight over. This creates an enjoyable challenge that had me stuck for hours trying to win.

The Bad
Aside from locations and names, the game carries nothing across from the novels, there no questioning of power and responsibility, ecology or anything of the sort. This is a shame, as instead you play out the role of a mindless brute!

This game has become pretty dated too, especially since it was updated with the release of Dune 2000. It is possibly the first RTS and as such the genre has been refined since, when I played I often found myself ending levels in a war of attrition with the computer who would eventually do something stupid allowing me to win.

The Bottom Line
A good if outdated game that was fun to play back in the day, though if you want real time strategy, then I'd recommend a more recent refined game such as Command and Conquer. If you're desperate to see a mangling of Frank Herbert's concepts, maybe play Emperor: Battle for Dune. If you want some old Dos game fun then sure give this a try, why not, it sucked away many a happy hour of my youth.

The Good
Well, just the simple fact that it takes place in the Dune universe is a good start. Also, the music is excellent. From the title screen, to House selection and into actual gameplay, the music is better than in many other games released during the same time. The graphics are pretty good, although they really aren't very exciting. The cinematics, on the other hand, are very well done and fairly well animated. A nice little feature is the mentat. When you begin your game, you receive a mentat (human computer) which will give your orders for each mission, and inform you on the various types of buildings and units you'll encounter in each mission. The game itself it fine, and is similar to other RTS games (you know, mine resources, build stuff, kill bad guys). There are some gripes though...

The Bad
...namely, the fact that you can't select more than one unit, which is very annoying if your trying to assault an enemy base and you have to micromanage each and every one of your vehicle and infantry units. Also, conversing with your mentat is sort of a dry experience. The AI is also sort generic, resorting to tank/trooper rushes most the time. Another thing is that the Harvester AI doesn't seem to mind going to spice fields that are guarded by 10 or so tanks all the time. It doesn't learn from it's mistake(s), and returns to the same spice field again and again. It almost never tries to find another patch, which makes resource raids relatively easy, as long as you aren't getting shot at too much.

The Bottom Line
Dune II is a spin-off of the Frank Herbert novel and Ray Lynch movie Dune. However, instead of playing out young Paul Atreides' adventures, you must instead command a military force to take over Arrakis, the planet also known as Dune, the only planet known to have a organic substance called Spice. The spice extends life, increases psionic powers, and tastes like cinnamon (no joke, but ;) ). The spice also is the center of the economy.

The Spacing Guild (sort of like the United Airlines of space) needs spice to create and maintain Navigators, mutated humans who have regressed somewhat into a fish-like state. Guild Navigators are powerful psionics, and can see all the dangers in a hyperspace tunnel ahead of time, which is crucial for effective space travel. The Bene Gessrit, a powerful group of female psionics and martial artists, need the spice to make vials of the spectrum awareness narcotic, which in turn enhances their psionic powers to an extent when consumed. The Emperor needs spice because the Guild and the B.G. need it, and because they need it he gets lots of money out of the whole deal.

The Houses Major, chief among them House Atreides, the good guys, House Harkonnen, the bad guys, and, first appearing in this game, House Ordos, the in-between, money-grubbing guys, need the spice because they also get lots of money by harvesting it. House Harkonnen has, or rather had, governorship of Arrakis, but the Emperor has rescinded that recently. Instead, he wishes to have a contest to see who can own Arrakis. Whoever harvests the most spice wins, and gunplay is allowed. Only House Atreides, House Harkonnen and House Ordos can partake in the contest. You enter the game as the commander of military forces on Arrakis for whichever faction you choose.

Overall, this game is fun RTS exercise in the Dune universe, although it lacks in features and personality to an extent. Still, it's an ok game and a strong recommendation for purchasing if you can get a copy.

The Good
This game was a great competitor for the original Warcraft, and surpassed that game in many respects. It has great graphics, 3 campaigns, tons of units, hours upon hours of good gameplay. Several units could only be obtained by one faction.

The Bad
The only thing I didn't like about this game was that all the units, save the ones that were only for one faction, looked the same except for color.

The Bottom Line
Great RTS game for newbies to the genre. Good MCGA graphics, good mouse support. Definitely buy if you can get it for a reasonable price

The Good
First of all, let me say that today, 2007, I still play this title on my shiny new computer. This surely means something. The ability to choose different houses, each equipped with its own unique weapon, plus with very challenging opponents makes this title one of the best strategy games ever.

The Bad
Some minor control problems, like lacking the ability to choose multiple units at the same time.

The Bottom Line
If you like strategy games and never played this one - so go ahead and do so. With no doubt, this game started all of the strategy-games revolution that lasts even now. A MUST.

The Good
In a word - WOW! Sure, nowadays that we got Command & Conquer, Warcraft, Starcraft and whatnot, Dune 2 might pale in comparison - but it started it all! Yes, folks, this was the FIRST real-time strategy wargame. The name Dune 2 might be misleading, as it has nothing to do with Dune 1 (which was first and foremost an adventure). You've had almost everything - different units and buildings to build to your heart's content.

The Bad
Well, you've had ALMOST everything. The two most annoying non-features were: a) no group-attack mode (when you have to tell 20 units individually to go attack something it gets tiresome) and b) no unit experience.

The Bottom Line
Fun all around - however, nowadays there are so many more advanced clones in the genre, so only the collector or Dune lover should go out of his/her way to acquire a copy of it. It's definitely worth a look for historical reasons, though. I was blown away when I first got it in '92 or '93.

The Good
Although Dune II wasn't the first RTS game (preceded by Art of War, Herzog Zwei and few others), it was the breakthrough that made it all possible. Just like the Ford wasn't the first car, the assembly line Ford invented made it all possible.
The reason Dune II is the father of the modern RTS is because it featured so many innovations and improvements in just one game that it resembles its predecessors as much as you modern car resembles the first cars made. Some of Dune II features and innovations:

• Dynamic background music. The music seamlessly changes to fit what is currently going on - whether its a fierce battle, a possible threat or simply peaceful gathering of resources. And the music is very good on your basic Adlib.
• Truly beautiful VGA graphics. Every piece of graphics in Dune II was hand drawn, and the work was detailed. Although some of the earlier RTSs had some nice graphics - this is the first that actually utilized it so perfectly, since it had the technological edge of using the VGA's 256 colors.
• A choice of who you played. You could choose between the three houses. And the choice mattered since every house had a few exclusive weapons and different technological evolvement rate during the game.
• Simple resource management: Spice and Power. This paradigm remains true today in Tiberian sun and most other RTSs.
• Strong emphasis on the real time element. You had to think fast, react fast and move fast. This was new.
• Speech. The units spoke (if you had a soundcard with DAC), and let you know what happens with them. You also had someone to tell you what is happening: "construction complete", "enemy approaching, from the north!", "unit destroyed", "your base is under attack!" and so on. The speaking helper is taken for granted in today's games - but try to play without it once and see how you fare.

Dune II featured many other improvements, such as a mouse interface, the sandworm that eats mechanical units and the automatic turrets.

And it was fun. So much fun indeed. You'd play it for houres at a time, only stopping when you had to, then keep playing it again.

**The Bad**

• The interface, although advanced for its time, is very annoying by today's standards. You have to select a unit, then choose an order, then click on the target. And you could only select one unit at a time, making army movement a tedious process. Although this interface was the best at the time, the developers should have thought if this problem during beta-testing.
• The AI is pretty bad, even when compared to art of war, but that could be attributed to the limited amount of memory and CPU cycles available for the AI.
• The map variety is limited, and once you play all 9 missions with all 3 houses, there is nothing new.

**The Bottom Line**
A great game. Fun to play, even by today's standards. If you like RTSs, you should play it, if only to see how it all started.

The Good
It gave me a special feeling, a feeling that no other game ever gave me.

The Bad
Nothing at the time I played it (1994-1997).

The Bottom Line
Graphics, sound, review rating, this means nothing to me. No other game made me play it for months in a row, no other gave was ever so addictive. Everyone who says this isn't a great game means he never played it or he like other genres, not RTS. DUNE II meant, means and it will mean RTS, even if some people don't agree.

The Good
Many things.. the graphics were/are pretty nice, the aurality is fine (Musics are dynamic and good) and the game style was new when Dune2 arrived. And the intro is terrific. :) And the Mentat is great.

The Bad
Hum.. some tidbits. Controlling the troops is a bit irritating with the bad control system, some of the internal balance is screwed (Just try to use something less than an entire army to destroy a building that is being repaired) and the plot is pretty weak, and doesn't quite have much to do with any of the actual Dune books.

The Bottom Line
The game that started the modern bad RTS genre, definitely worth a look. Forget Dune2000.

The Good
This game practically invented the genre, which is kind of odd considering the ridiculously pathetic games that followed it from the same company (C&C etc.) The graphics are (for the time) really good, the gameplay is the most addictive I've ever experienced, the music is simply wonderful and the general atmosphere of the game is great.

The Bad
I guess I can't hold it against the game (since it was one of the first), but controlling the units can be extremely annoying at times, especially because you can't control more than one at a time.

The Bottom Line
The game can still be acquired in shops for a ridiculous price -- get it! You won't regret you did.

The Good
Well, it was one of the first RTS around. It's got decent music. Actually the very best computer beeper sounds I've heard and the MIDI sound on real sound cards is not bad either.

The Bad
It's got horrible graphics. They are horrible by today's standards and they were horrible back then when the game got released. Heavy tanks looked mostly like deformed pigs. The computer AI is just about as intelligent as a brick - to counter this it cheats massively (for example, it can place it's buildings everywhere - even over your units). The units themselves are ridiculous. If a rocket tank that generally shoots in a 90 degree arc in front of it is the highest technology available, I'll start to cry. Game tactics/strategies is nonexistent. Might require a little more thinking than original command&conquer due to the fact that the missile turrets are so powerful. The amount of units and buildings is strictly limited (25 units/side,99 buildings/map), and especially on the last two levels you are pounding both limits frequently. You cannot control more than one unit at a time, making a coordinated attack impossible.

The Bottom Line
If you REALLY want to play every single RTS out there, then go for it. Otherwise, almost any RTS is better than this.

The Good
Dune II gets more undeserved praise than any other game ever released. This naturally leads us to ask: Why is it so overrated? The answer is complicated, but I think we can figure it out.

The Bad
GRAPHICS/SOUND -- Allegedly this game was groundbreaking in the visual department at the time, but I do not see it personally. I admit that I did not first play Dune II until many years after its release, but I have played many strategy games of roughly the same time period and see nothing special about Dune II. I must conclude that anyone praising the blocky little graphics of this game bases their evaluation on tech specs rather than actual artistic merit.

As for sound, it was so moving and impressive that I have absolutely no memory of it whatsoever.

GAMEPLAY -- But hey, visuals aren't what really matter, so long as the thing PLAYS great. Well guess what? Dune II doesn't. It's a simple action game with minor strategy elements thrown in, period. Seriously, if this is considered to be a strategy title, then Galaga and Defender must have been groundbreaking RTS games as well. I won't even comment on the laughable AI.

Dune II would have been a forgivable offense had its underlying concept not caught on like bubonic plague in the 90s. Alas, we got a massive flood of similar games that exchange depth and real strategic/tactical thinking for fast-paced action and brain dead mouse-clicking. A few of these titles (Warcraft II, Age of Empires) were good, but these were exceptions and not the rule.

I must conclude that those who praise the gameplay are low in skill and/or self-esteem when it comes to strategy gaming. Why else would you indulge in this simplistic arcade action and then call yourself a strategist?

The Bottom Line
Dune II has all the strategic depth and graphic splendor of an Atari 2600 game, with none of the fun.