Dune

Game developer: Cryo
Game publisher: Virgin Games
Game release date: 1992 year
Game status: Released

The book dune is very popular and of course when someone made a movie out of it there was bound to be discussions about weather or not it is true to the book. This game is based on the book but visually uses many characters and objects from the movie. Some characters are completely restyled and there are new characters as well, I have to admit though I have never read the book so I can't say if they are entirely new. The story is set in the future where the most valuable substance in the universe is spice. Used by the navigators guild to fold space and therefore invaluable to space travel in the entire galaxy. Spice is only found on one planet in the entire galaxy called Dune or Arrakis, a desert planet where there is never rain. The Harkonnen have long had the sole right to mine the spice but now the emperor has allowed house Atreides to go to Dune and mine spice as well. With these two houses who have had a long history there is bound to be trouble sooner or later and that is where you come in.

You play the role of Paul Atreides, son of Duke Leto Atreides, and it is your job to convince the locals called Fremen to help you mine the spice. You can visit their homes called sietches by flying there in an ornithopter and most Fremen will be happy to help because the Harkonnen have treated them badly and many believe that Paul is the one from the prophecies that will free the Fremen people from the desert life. These adventuring parts of the game are played from a first person view and you can easily navigate the places by using the directional controls at the bottom of the screen. On your journey you will have the help from many old friends and teachers like Gurney Hallack and Duncan Idaho. The most important part at the start of the game will be to mine spice so you can ship enough to the emperor to keep him happy but later on it will become necessary to train the Fremen in combat so that they can help you defeat the Harkonnen. The part where you train troops and give commands to the Fremen is seen from an overhead map where all the sietches known to you are shown. Later on as Paul has more contact with the spice he will gain psychic powers and you will be able to contact the fremen from a distance which greatly decreased the time you need to fly around.

Dune is an excellent game that incorporates adventuring and strategic element is a way that neither of them is a letdown. The strategic part is quite involving and you will have to control spice production, train troops and finally to try and take the Harkonnen palace on dune. The graphics are very well done and the different music tracks that the game plays fit the game well. Cryo were often accused of making games that looked very good but offered little in gameplay. Although I like many of their games this simply can't be said of this game because of the vast strategic part in the game and it will take you plenty of time to complete the game even if you have played it before. Dune should be in every gamers collection and I consider it a classic so I suggest you check it out if you haven't done so already...

Game genre: Adventures, Strategy Games
Platform/System: MS-DOS Games, Amiga Games, Sega Mega Drive Games