Dune 2000

"Not exactly my cup of Spice, but enjoyable anyway."

For those of you who have read Frank Herbert's well-known Dune series, or enjoyed Dune 2, this game will be something you'll want to see. Of course, it's not without it's flaws, but it's enjoyable, nontheless.

GAMEPLAY: 7/10

Nothing too impressive. Standard Westwood RTS Gameplay. Point, click, select, make groups, etc. There is an interesting variety of units, although it can be slightly unbalanced. A.I is ok, and can get pretty challenging at Hard difficulty level. Although one thing I never did really like was how you couldn't really make the Game Speed higher.

GRAPHICS: 8/10

Although some might complain of the lack of variety for the terrain, since it's all desert, the maps are well-designed, and there are some details like the Sandworms trying to eat your mechanical units. Graphics looks quite dated now, compared to newer C&C games, but they're not too bad either.

SOUND: 8/10

The music is one of the best things about this game, IMO. It captures that desert-feel of being in a barren, lonely Desert world(at least for me), and the variety of music for each House is good. In-game sounds are a bit weaker, though, not a lot of variety with standard unit responses and such.

STORY: 5/10

The story is quite different from the book. It starts out as the Emperor of the known universe declaring a challenge to the 3 most powerful Houses of the Universe - House Atreides, House Ordos, and House Harkonnen. The game revolves around these 3 Houses, either which you can choose, fighting for control of Dune, a barren, desert planet that also happens to have the most valuable item in the whole universe, Spice, an organic drug-like substance that can prolong life and is neccessary for space travel.

Compared to C&C, Dune 2000's story is quite a let-down. Sure, games shouldn't be judged by their cutscenes, but Dune 2000 is rather lacking in them, and what little cutscenes there are won't really motivate you to complete the mission to see the next cutscene. Acting is ok, but especially with John Rhys-Davis playing the role of Noree Moneo(those who've read the books will see that this is a combination of the names of two main characters in two of the Dune series), mentat to House Atreides. But the overall plot is rather weak, nothing compared to the Dune novels, which I recommend all sci-fi fans to read, if you haven't done so already.

REPLAYABILITY: 6/10

There are 3 sides, House Atreides, House Ordos, and House Harkonnen. This should be enough to keep you busy for a while. But it's nothing to go back to after you've finished it.

BUY?: Buy...if you can find it cheap. This game isn't really expensive and it's easy to find used or online.

Overall, Dune 2000 was an ok game. Not too good, but not too bad either. It could have been a lot better, but it's fun enough and challenging to keep you busy, as long as you can overlook some of the flaws. It's not for everyone, but the relatively low price of this game should catch the attention of anyone willing to try out an older RTS.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/09/02, Updated 06/09/02