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Dune

DOS game, 1992

Genre:: Adventure
Year:: 1992
Developer:: Virgin Games
Publisher:: Cryo Interactive
Perspective:: 1st-person, Top-down
Theme:: Sci-Fi / Futuristic
Releases:: DOS (1992), Amiga (1992)

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The first commercial game based on the Dune book (written by Frank Herbert) is an unconventional combination of adventure and real-time strategy. The player assumes the role of Paul Atreides, the son of Duke Leto Atreides and his concubine Jessica. The player's task is to travel around the desert planet of Arrakis (known as Dune) and try to convince the indigenous Fremen to cooperate. First for spice extraction and later for combat or ecology. Units can be equipped with various weapons, from knives to atomic bombs. The ultimate goal is to banish House Harkonnen from the planet. The game is based on the book, but only very loosely. Rather, according to the book, places and characters are only named, but in the end it is not harmful. The development of the story can at least surprise even those who have read the book.

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Game review

Perhaps everyone knows the Dune 2 strategy - the great-grandmother of all real-time strategies. Fewer people know the book by Frank Herbert, who dreamed of this sandy world. And few people know Duna, a strategic adventurous expedition into the world of Dune, which is the fault of the French company Cryo, the first game adaptation of this saga.

On the planet Arrakis, also called "Dune", there is a rare substance called "Spice" with which people can travel long distances. This, of course, attracted the Harkonnens, your family's age-old enemies, to this planet. You are Paul Atreides, the son of Duke Leto Atreides of the mighty Atreides, and you must expel the brutal and bloodthirsty Harkonens from this planet once and for all. However, you will need help with that ...

The game was obviously made with an emphasis on originality. From the moment you start playing, you are not sure what you are playing. At first it looks like an adventure. From your own point of view, you see people you can talk to or give orders to. Then it looks like a flight simulator on an ornithopter, and finally a strategy emerges. The truth is that Dune doesn't fit into any of these genres, which could be great, but unfortunately it's not. You will not find any subjects or key interviews here, and you will also not find a number of units or the opportunity to tactical as in strategy. The whole game is pre-lined, and you are asked to do the tasks in the order the game tells you. You can fail if you can't handle the onslaught of the Harkonnens. In contrast, the game will keep you as the story progresses, albeit minimal. The graphics are great at the time, and such little things as the dimming of the sky or the gradually bluing eyes of your hero under the influence of Spice are little things that show that the game was not just a commercial gold.

In other words, if you enjoy Sci-Fi or the world of Dune and would like to play something else, be sure to try Dune. For others, it depends explicitly on taste.

Reviewed by Anonym – 1. april 2014