Emperor: Battle for Dune

Developer: Westwood Studios 
Publisher: EA

 

System Requirements Pentium II 300 Mhz, 64 MB RAM, 3D accelerator

Recommended Athlon 600MHz, 192+ MB RAM, 17 inch monitor, GeForce video card

Ratings
Code Issues Graphics: 9.5 - In a word-beautiful. While the units could use more detail, everything comes together so perfectly. Audio: 7.0 - Disappointing music for a Westwood game, good sound effects. There is nothing mind-blowing in this department. Interface: 8.0 - Where is the toolbar from Red Alert 2? Otherwise, everything is as expected for a Westwood RTS interface-with hot keys galore. Perfect camera control with the mouse.	Pla Issues Solo Play: 8.8 - The campaign can get repetitive, but is still lots of fun. Nice skirmish mode with plenty of maps. Good AI overall. Replay Value: 8.5 - They dynamic nature of the campaign makes it very replayable, plus the skirmish mode and multiplayer ensure this will last as long as the other Westwood RTS games. Multiplay: 9.0 - Outstanding. I found my games on chat to have a bit more lag than I would have preferred, but the variety of units make for a great time online. Learning Curve: 9.0 - If you can't pick this one up in a day, maybe you picked the wrong hobby.
Other/Notes Documentation: 7.0 - Adequate black and white manual. Covers all you need to know, so no strategy guide is required. Just don't expect it to be bathroom worthy reading material ;-) Pros: Wonderful use of the Dune license, nice variety of sub-houses to ally with, proven gameplay, and great graphics. Cons: The campaign is a bit weak, minor AI quirks. Overall: 8.8 If you like RTS, this is your game.

The mythos of Dune is strangely beautiful. Upon a verdureless, sand-ridden planet, noble and not-so-noble royal Houses battle for control of the spice melange-a commodity so valuable, an entire universe seeks to control it. Amid this war are giant sand worms that burrow beneath the surface, attracted by movement and ready to strike at any moment, as well as Fremen-natives of the planet that wander the desert wearing suits that recycle their body's water. It is no surprise then, that Westwood's Emperor: Battle for Dune is a beautiful game. While first appearances dictate that the tired real time strategy formula takes precedence, dig deeper and you'll find a game that manages to get it all right-and in the process look incredible.

To get to the essentials of this review a bit more quickly, I'm not going to delve into the mechanics of Battle of Dune. It plays like every other real time strategy game you have ever experienced--harvest, build, destroy. While such a rudimentary explanation would more often than not signal the start of an incessant critique of the game, Westwood has managed to capture the atmosphere of Frank Herbert's classic and fuse it with what they do best-real time strategy. The battleground of Dune, however, does make for some interesting additions. All building is done on rocks, where the ground is secure and the sand worms cannot reach. But to attack, you'll of course have to cross the deserts. Your army may become the victim of a sand worm attack or an enormous sand storm. Also, scattered about the map is infantry rock, in which you can place infantry for an added attack bonus as well as protect them from being run over by enemy armored units. These additions really spice things up and give you a sense that despite its barrenness, you are fighting on a living planet. In terms of units, Battle for Dune builds on the original Dune game (which many of you are aware gave birth to the genre) and the ill received remake Dune 2000. It tells the story of three royal houses-Atreides, Ordos, and Harkonnen-and their struggle to claim the planet. What makes the gameplay of Dune so attractive is the great variety these houses entail. While all of them share many essential units and buildings, such as harvesters, carryalls to shuttle the harvesters to the spice, barracks etc., the similarities stop there.

The Atreides rely on their powerful infantry to lead attacks, and thus have the powerful Kindjal infantry, which can quickly deploy a powerful cannon on the battlefield, as well as snipers. But to protect these soldiers, they have several powerful long range armored units, such as the hulking Minotaurus and the more sleek Mongoose with anti-air capabilities. The Harkonnen rely on waves of powerful armored units, with flame-thrower infantry clearing the way of enemy soldiers. Their missile launching tanks can chew up most armored units in seconds. The Ordos, on the other hand, rely on speed. Deploy a squadron of their mortar infantry and you will surely take out a host of enemy units before they come into attack range. Also, their Laser Tanks are perfect for hit and run attacks. This of course is merely scratching the surface of each House, but there is not a wealth of units for each side when compared to, say, Red Alert 2. Also, all the units are pretty much grounded, as there is no water on Dune. There are air units, but only a couple for each house, and you'll find that they get destroyed very quickly if the enemy has sufficient defenses. One air unit, however, deserves a special mention. The Ordos Eye in the Sky flies over enemy buildings, explodes to cause splash damage, and in the process the kamikaze pilot parachutes down and explodes. What makes up for a lack of units in the three main Houses is the variety of sub-houses that you can ally with. The aforementioned Fremen are masters of the desert and can even summon a sand worm to ride on and attack with. The Sardaukar are elite troops of the Emperor, and a dozen of them can easily mow down three times their number in infantry. There is even a sub-house that lets you breed mutants to kill and convert enemy soldiers to its side. These add incredible variety to the strategies that must be implemented during the course of the game. Since each and every unit in the game is specialized, you will definitely need to create a well-balanced army.

One complaint is that the units in Emperor are a bit too disposable. In the course of the game you'll find yourself constructing at least three times as many units as in most real-time strategy games. Whereas in Red Alert 2 or Tiberian Sun, armies would meet and fight with one coming out the victor, the battles in Dune turn into battles of attrition far too often, with wave after wave being thrown at each other with seemingly little ground gained. The AI is also to blame a bit, because while on the most part being a challenging opponent, attacking key targets if they manage to get into your base, it sometimes sends dribble after dribble of units, that while easily disposed of, delay your attacks. This is not a problem in multiplayer, however, where human opponents make sure their attacks are substantial. Playing over Westwood chat was a blast. The variety of sub houses made for some very unique matches time and time again. While there were not as many opponents on WC as I expected, the number is sure to increase as time goes on. Another trouble spot is the game's campaign. There are only a handful of scripted missions, including the end battles with each House and an eventual invasion of their home-worlds. The rest of the missions are just skirmishes. There is a map of Dune divided into territories, and you choose which to attack on your turn, defend on the computer's turn, or give up if you feel you can't win. You can also receive periodic reinforcements from adjacent territories or even retreat units back to them. The sense of an ongoing war this conveys is great, but after about a dozen such matches it can get repetitive.

Aesthetically the game is incredible. Battle for Dune's 3D engine is solid, and allows you to rotate and zoom in and out to get the best view of the action. While the units and buildings are not as detailed as they could be and seem a little blocky, they are so fluid and well animated that you won't even care. The landscape is equally beautiful and contains a number of nice touches. Atreides scout bikes throw up a trail of sand as they cross the desert, electrical charges signal the approach of a sand worm, and sand storms throw debris (and your soldiers) every which way. Just wait until you see a sand worm spring out from below and eat a dozen of your units-I'm still picking up my jaw. While there are campaign missions that take place on additional landscapes (forest, lava world etc), the majority of the game takes place on the desert planet Arrakis--yet I never got bored of it. The level of atmosphere that the graphics convey is unparalleled and will immediately draw you in. There are even night battles, and the lighting effects are incredible. I was so drawn in that I started reading the novel which, while very different from the game story-wise, seems very familiar after all the time I spent with Emperor. The cutscenes that convey the game's story are relatively well done. The acting is generally convincing, if a bit over the top at times, and is handled by some familiar faces. Nicholas Worth (Romanov from Red Alert 2) takes the role as the Atreides advisor, and Michael Dorn (Star Trek's Worf) is the Atreides Duke. As always, the sets are very well done and meld convincingly with the CGI. The music is the only weak point. While it is atmospheric during gameplay, I can't recall any of it while writing this. There are no unforgettable tracks a la Hell's March from Red Alert.

While Emperor: Battle For Dune is sure to be criticized by many as being just more of the same, it succeeds because it is essentially a major overhaul to an already established classic and a solid investment for any fan of real-time strategy-period.

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Reviewed by Anthony Micari