Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19031 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Sold Out Software
• Platforms: Windows 98, Windows 95

Manufacturer's Description
Dune, a blazing hot deserted planet deep into the solar system, populated by a fierce tribal race called the Fremen and giant sandworms. A planet that is the source of the most precious substance in the Universe - spice.

It is here that Paul Atreides must face up to his fate. His Imperial family has been granted the lucrative rights to mine the spice by the Emperor, knowing that it will involve them in a fight to the death with their sworn enemies the brutal Harkonnen, who have enslaved the Fremen to mine spice for themselves. Take control of Paul and guide him to his destiny by winning over the Fremen and ridding Dune of all Harkonnen.

Dune is an absorbing interactive adventure game with breathtaking graphics and atmospheric sound based on the other world science-fiction classic written by Frank Herbert.

Customer Reviews

Classic retro gaming milestone
It's difficult to award a star rating to an elderly game like this. For its time, it was definitely worth 5 stars, and still is if you're looking for games that will run on an old 486. But in today's world, I decided on 3 stars - partly because it was such a milestone of a game at the time.

The fact that it draws on Frank Herbert's Dune world and storyline gives it a major advantage over other games where the story and setting are seemingly bolted on as an afterthought.

There's also one of the most haunting soundtracks ever, totally evocative of the desert world in which the game is set (but this game dates from when software expected to find an original Soundblaster, Gravis, or similar card in your computer, the soundtrack may not play as well with modern cards relying on Windows emulation of the old standards).

The graphics also add to the atmosphere of the game, particularly the cut-scene stills. The development team was French, and the graphics have a definite Gallic quality...

The game itself will seem old-fashioned nowadays -after all, it dates from the early 90s. It's a mixture of point-and-click first person adventure (click where you want to go, choose dialogue from the list of options) and simple strategy/combat (recruit, train and equip troops, build their morale, capture territory, harvest spice). The interface is wonderfully baroque - for example, there's an ornate globe that you can spin around to find the map view you want, exactly the sort of thing you'd expect to find in the Atreides palace on Dune itself...

Compared to the latest offerings, it looks dated. Nevertheless, it's interesting as an outstanding game of its time, and will appeal to retro-gamers, users of ancient hardware, and die-hard fans of Frank Herbet's masterpiece.