The Collection Chamber: DUNE II: THE BATTLE FOR ARRAKIS (aka THE BUILDING OF A DYNASTY)

He who controls the spice... Controls the Universe.

Exotic. Savage. Harsh.

Inspired by the best-selling science fiction adventure of all time, this simulation-strategy game takes resource management to epic proportions. As either the honorable Atreides, the mysterious Ordos or the brutal Harkonnens, you must overcome violent known and unknown adversaries to build up military prowess, political security and mining monopolies to secure the future of your dynasty on the planet of Dune.

FEATURES:
Three very different Houses to choose from
Real-time action is easy to control and fun to play
Over 1 megabyte of digitized speech and sounds make combat exciting and realistic
Build tanks, trikes, turrets and more as you defend your cities and wage wars
Discover lost technology and secret weapons
Set your war machines in motion and watch the battle or closely control their moves
Capture enemy Houses to gain control of the planet

~ from the back of the box

The birth of the RTS starts here! While you can argue other real-time strategy games like Powermonger or Herzog Zwei came before it, there's no denying that Westwood Studios' Dune II: The Battle for Arrakis revolutionised the genre and gaming in general. Based on the David Lynch movie that hit theatres almost a decade before, it captured the desolate desert landscape and warring families perfectly.

Cryo's Dune was the game originally commissioned by Martin Alper of Virgin Games. Their plan to create a point-and-click adventure wasn't to Alper's liking so he gave the rights to Westwood Studios. He forgot tell Cryo who went on to complete their opus in 1992. Because of this, the better-remembered strategy title earned a 'II' after its name.

With many copycats refining the genre, it is a little hard to go back to the original DOS and Amiga release. Controls are slow and clunky with only one unit being able to be selected at a time and resource management accessed through a variety of screens. It's not unplayable and certainly not unenjoyable, but it's incredibly slow. Imagine clicking on a single soldier, then clicking on "move" before clicking again on the map to confirm the order. Imagine doing this for an army of men and machines. They attack enemies if fired upon, but if you don't want to have them twiddling their thumbs while others get slaughtered, you'll then have to do the same sequence with 'attack' as your command.

As for the management side of things, it is never less than absorbing. You begin each stage with only a base of operations. With this you can build energy turbines to power the settlement or a spice refinery to mine spice for credits. The more you build, the more structures and other strategic options will be available. The more spice that is mined, the more you'll be able to afford them. Just be aware of the objectives of each stage. There's no point planning an entire metropolis when the goal is just to collect spice. Likewise, spending that spice means nothing if your objective is to destroy that evil Harkonnen base. Just build more tanks and hire more mercenaries than they do so you're the last one standing.

It is because of the slow nature of the original that I sourced some fan-made remakes. Both Dune Dynasty and Dune II: The Maker each modernise the gameplay in different ways. Dune Dynasty is the purest of the two, keeping the look and feel of the original while adding a context-sensitive mouse and multi-selectable units. Despite this, it was Dune II: The Maker that I played the most. This project imports and interface from Dune 2000 further streamlining its controls. It's faster, boasts better graphics and has the added bonus of being a creation tool too.

No matter which version you play, Dune II deserves it's all-time classic status. Even the Genesis port transfers the PC-centric genre to console quite successfully. A feat not many could boast. Sequels increase the variety, complexity and playability but there's still nothing like the original.

To download the game, follow the link below. This custom installer exclusive to The Collection Chamber uses DOSBox to bring the PC version to modern systems, FS-UAE to emulate the Amiga version and Retroarch with the Genesis Plus GX core to emulate the console port. Also includes the fanmade remake for Windows call Dune II: The Maker. Read the included ChamberNotes for more information. Manuals included. Tested on Windows 10.

File Size: 276 Mb. Install Size: 623 Mb. Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ

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