By the time this title was released - sometime late 2001 - RTS games had been done to death already, with RTS titles being a dime a dozen, but this offering by Westwood managed to release a game that rises above the competition. Only fitting, and well-deserved, since they practically invented the real time strategy genre with a game called "Dune 2" - the distant predecessor of "Emperor: Battle for Dune".
The game has excellent production values, featuring wonderful 3D graphics; you can rotate the view of the battlefield, and zoom in and out. It also has a great soundtrack that varies depending on which of the three Houses you play House Atreides, House Harkonnen, and House Ordos (which was first introduced in `Dune 2').
Game play works very intuitively, and is close to flawless. Not surprising, perhaps, since Westwood have had many years of practice in the business...
Also worthy of mentioning are the many excellent cutscenes that flesh out the world of Dune, featuring a look based on the David Lynch movie, while adding new characters and settings, not to mention the original storylines for each House you happen to be playing.
If you like RTS games, check it out. If you like SF in general, and `Dune' in particular, you will no doubt be able to appreciate this game.
The game has excellent production values, featuring wonderful 3D graphics; you can rotate the view of the battlefield, and zoom in and out. It also has a great soundtrack that varies depending on which of the three Houses you play House Atreides, House Harkonnen, and House Ordos (which was first introduced in `Dune 2').
Game play works very intuitively, and is close to flawless. Not surprising, perhaps, since Westwood have had many years of practice in the business...
Also worthy of mentioning are the many excellent cutscenes that flesh out the world of Dune, featuring a look based on the David Lynch movie, while adding new characters and settings, not to mention the original storylines for each House you happen to be playing.
If you like RTS games, check it out. If you like SF in general, and `Dune' in particular, you will no doubt be able to appreciate this game.