Dune 2000
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''Dune 2000'' is a
real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a Video game genre, subgenre of strategy video games that do not progress incrementally in turn-based game, turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time". By contrast, in Turn-based strategy, turn ...
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
, developed by
Intelligent Games Intelligent Games Ltd was a British video game developer based in London. The company was established in 1988 as The Intelligent Games Co. by Matthew Stibbe, who was studying at Pembroke College, Oxford, Pembroke College in Oxford. Following ...
and released by
Westwood Studios Westwood Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle in 1985 as Brelous Software, but got changed after 2 months into Westwood Associates and was renamed to Westw ...
in 1998 for
Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
. It was later ported to the
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
in 1999. It is a partial
remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...
of ''
Dune II A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...
'', which is loosely based on
Frank Herbert Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. (October 8, 1920February 11, 1986) was an American science fiction author best known for the 1965 novel '' Dune'' and its five sequels. Though he became famous for his novels, he also wrote short stories and worked a ...
's ''Dune'' universe. The story of the game is similar to ''Dune II'', and is continued in '' Emperor: Battle for Dune''. Although ''Dune 2000'' was originally intended to be a remake of ''Dune II'', the plotline differs completely and makes a reference to the execution of Mentat Amon of House Ordos and the replacement of the Harkonnen Mentat from ''Dune II'', Radnor, by Hayt De Vries. The story is told with full motion video.


Gameplay

The player commands of one of three Houses and must fight for control of the spice mélange on the planet Arrakis. The player harvests spice for 'solaris', the in-game currency, and uses the solaris to make units to supply their forces. Dune 2000 features an interface and gameplay similar to ''Command & Conquer: Red Alert'', where unlike in ''Dune II'', the player can control more than one unit at a time. Like most
real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a Video game genre, subgenre of strategy video games that do not progress incrementally in turn-based game, turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time". By contrast, in Turn-based strategy, turn ...
games, the game map initially starts with a black
fog of war The fog of war (german: links=no, Nebel des Krieges) is the uncertainty in situational awareness experienced by participants in military operations. The term seeks to capture the uncertainty regarding one's own capability, adversary capability, ...
covering the entire map, with an exception to units' line of sight. As the units explore the map, the fog is removed for the duration of the mission, allowing the player to observe activity in those regions even if they do not have any units with line of sight to them. Like ''Dune II'', the player may construct concrete before placing buildings. In ''Dune II'', all buildings would deteriorate regardless, but the concrete foundations slowed the process. However, in ''Dune 2000'', the buildings do not deteriorate over time when built in their entirety on concrete. Although each house has many common units, such as infantry, Wind Traps, and Mobile Construction Vehicles, each House also has its own set of units, such as the Atreides Sonic Tank, the Ordos Deviator and the Harkonnen Devastator. Houses Harkonnen and Atreides share the Trike, while House Ordos has an upgraded version, the Raider. Like many games of the Westwood franchise, a player can gain access to other Houses' special units by capturing an enemy building that can manufacture the desired units. House Ordos can obtain the Missile Tank by ordering it from the Starport when it would otherwise be inaccessible. After patch 1.06, the Harkonnen can eventually train the
Sardaukar Multiple organizations of the ''Dune'' universe dominate the political, religious, and social arena of the setting of Frank Herbert's ''Dune'' series of science fiction novels, and derivative works. Set tens of thousands of years in the future, ...
, which are soldier-fanatics loyal to the Corrino Emperor.


Synopsis

Emperor Corrino ( Adrian Sparks) has issued a challenge that the House which can produce the most
spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices a ...
will control its source, the
desert planet A desert planet, also known as a dry planet, an arid planet, or a dune planet, is a theoretical type of terrestrial planet with a surface consistency similar to Earth's hot desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipit ...
Dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...
, with no rules as to how the Houses can achieve the goal. Meanwhile, Lady Elara (
Musetta Vander Musetta Vander (born Musetta van der Merwe; 26 May 1963) is a South African actress, model and dancer. Biography In 1991, Vander landed her first notable role, portraying Zander Tyler in seven episodes of the action-adventure TV series '' Supe ...
) of the Bene Gesserit and bound concubine to the Emperor, secretly takes the commander - the player - into one of the Heighliners, a person whose bloodline and future the Sisterhood had checked. According to Elara, they saw many visions of the commander dying —and only in one vision does the commander live and even rise to control massive armies and bring peace to Arrakis. As in ''Dune II'', the three main playable factions are
House Atreides ''Dune'', also known as the ''Dune Chronicles'', is an American science fiction media franchise that originated with the 1965 novel ''Dune'' by Frank Herbert and has continued to add new publications. ''Dune'' is frequently described as the best ...
,
House Harkonnen Baron Vladimir Harkonnen () is a fictional character in the ''Dune'' franchise created by Frank Herbert. He is primarily featured in the 1965 novel '' Dune'' and is also a prominent character in the ''Prelude to Dune'' prequel trilogy (1999–20 ...
and
House Ordos A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...
. There are also four non-playable subfactions: House Corrino, the
Fremen The Fremen are a group of people in the fictional ''Dune'' universe created by Frank Herbert. First appearing in the 1965 novel ''Dune'', the Fremen inhabit the desert planet Arrakis (also known as Dune), which is the sole known source in the ...
, the Mercenaries and the Smugglers. ;House Atreides :Hailing from the water-planet of
Caladan ''Dune'' is a 1965 epic science fiction novel by American author Frank Herbert, originally published as two separate serials in ''Analog'' magazine. It tied with Roger Zelazny's '' This Immortal'' for the Hugo Award in 1966 and it won the in ...
, the Atreides have a strict loyalty to their Duke and follow him with zeal. The Duke's famous
Mentat Multiple organizations of the ''Dune'' universe dominate the political, religious, and social arena of the setting of Frank Herbert's Dune (franchise), ''Dune'' series of science fiction novels, and derivative works. Set tens of thousands of year ...
, Noree Moneo (
John Rhys-Davies John Rhys-Davies (born 5 May 1944) is a Welsh actor best known for portraying Sallah in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise and Gimli in ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy. His other roles include Michael Malone in the 1993 series ''The Untoucha ...
), advises and resides over the Duke's forces on Arrakis. The House's fleets of
ornithopters An ornithopter (from Greek ''ornis, ornith-'' "bird" and ''pteron'' "wing") is an aircraft that flies by flapping its wings. Designers sought to imitate the flapping-wing flight of birds, bats, and insects. Though machines may differ in form, t ...
ensure their superior air power backed by Sonic Tanks to humanely destroy enemies. The Duke also wishes to develop an alliance with the Fremen, the native warriors of Dune. ;House Harkonnen :The Harkonnens are ruled by the wicked Baron and come from the volcanic waste-planet of
Giedi Prime ''Dune'' is a 1965 Epic (genre), epic science fiction novel by American author Frank Herbert, originally published as two separate serials in ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Analog'' magazine. It tied with Roger Zelazny's ''This Immortal'' f ...
. According to Lady Elara, the only thing human about the Harkonnen is their genetic makeup, as all humanity was abandoned long ago in favor of brutality and maliciousness, favoring pure firepower brought by Devastator Tanks and the Death Hand Missile. The Baron's Mentat, Hayt De Vries ( Robert Carin), was born from the flesh of a dead man in the
Tleilaxu The Bene Tleilax, also called Tleilaxu , are an extremely xenophobic and isolationist society in Frank Herbert's science fiction ''Dune'' universe. Genetic manipulators who traffic in biological products such as artificial eyes, gholas, and "t ...
Flesh Vats. ;House Ordos :The Ordos originate from a frigid, ice covered planet unnamed in ''Dune 2000'' but later called Sigma Draconis IV in '' Emperor: Battle for Dune''. As they import their goods from nearby star systems, House Ordos relies on their skills as merchants to make their profits; however, their wealth has made them increasingly paranoid. According to the manual, House Ordos buys all of its units instead of constructing them themselves, including Saboteurs to demolish buildings and Deviator Tanks to temporarily turn enemy vehicles against each other. Unlike the other two houses, House Ordos is not mentioned in any of
Frank Herbert Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. (October 8, 1920February 11, 1986) was an American science fiction author best known for the 1965 novel '' Dune'' and its five sequels. Though he became famous for his novels, he also wrote short stories and worked a ...
's ''Dune'' novels, but it is mentioned in the non-
canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...
''
The Dune Encyclopedia ''The Dune Encyclopedia'' is a 1984 collection of essays written by Willis E. McNelly and multiple other contributors as a companion to Frank Herbert's Dune (franchise), ''Dune'' series of science fiction novels. Overview ''The Dune Encyclopedia ...
''.


Reception

The game received mixed reviews on both platforms according to the
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website
GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...
. ''
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' criticized the PC version's production values for being drab by 1998 standards, and cited balance problems despite the remake's attempt to introduce unit balance where the original game had none. '' Next Generation'' said of the same PC version: "We applaud the fact that Westwood did exactly what it said it would do with this game, but we have to question the person who approved the idea in the first place. Oh, well – maybe the company will do a true sequel next time instead of yet another tired realtime rehash. And it gets an automatic one-star deduction for featuring John "Multimedia Whore" Rhys-Davies in the FMV". Peter Suciu of ''
AllGame RhythmOne , previously known as Blinkx, and also known as RhythmOne Group, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel. Blinkx was founded in 2004, went publ ...
'' gave the PC version four-and-a-half stars out of five, saying that "for fans of the original game, or those who like a real-time challenge, ''Dune 2000'' is an instant classic". However, Glenn Wigmore of the same website gave the PlayStation version three-and-a-half stars out of five: "With smooth visuals, superb sound, a plethora of gameplay modes, strategy and replay value, ''Dune 2000'' is a real winner. It also makes great use of the various PlayStation peripherals, making for a well rounded experience".


Notes


References


External links

* * * {{Authority control 1998 video games PlayStation (console) games Real-time strategy video games Science fiction video games Video game remakes Video games based on Dune (franchise) Video games developed in the United States Video games scored by Frank Klepacki Video games set on fictional planets Virgin Interactive games Westwood Studios games Windows games Video games developed in the United Kingdom