Let me begin by saying
AngryPete wrote:
This is no hindrence however, in fact the concept design and art of the computer game is very idiosyncratic and refreshing. It follows a Moebius, French style but yet looks practical. That Fremen with the Elvis hair always amused me though.
It certainly is what I see in my mind when I read the books. The smart uniforms, marvellous architecture (though the Carthag palace being this huge structure standing on its own out in the middle of nowhere was a bit strange) and futuristic yet not entirely outlandish hair. The Elvis hair good, the slightly older looking Fremen who has a startled look on his face better.
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Thurfir Hawat (looking rather freaky in the art design) cunning and fascinating
They got it a bit wrong... his teeth are red and his lips are black, if I recall correctly. Gurney at least looks like someone who's had every bone in his body broken twenty times. And there's not a single mention of his inkvine scar rippling nor his accursed baliset.
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Duncan (a Londo Mollari lookalike) officious and bureaucratic, yet warm and friendly.
Duncan is a Swordmaster, among the most highly trained and feared warriors in the empire. Which is why he's been assigned to stand in the empty banquet hall for the rest of his life, counting out individual grains of melange, and getting rather podgy.
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The soundtrack is a work of art in itself, especially during the transit scenes, destinied to be skipped over but its surprising how long you'll keep sitting through them.
Indeed. There was a seperate album release of the music (called Spice Opera) which is more highly sought after than a commemorative plate artist. I had it set on just 'play the tracks in order' so it wouldn't keep changing as I did stuff. It provided a glorious soundtrack to play to.
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It's impossible to state how impressed I was by this. While other games (until Grim Fandango came along) had voiceovers that were pantomine ham and over-earnest, with cheesy dialogue, Dune kept a straight face and held a lot of honest charm.
Yes, it can hold its head high as being a genuinely good early CD-ROM game - instead of crappy FMV, it used the masses of storage for good music, voices, and animation.
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The game is intriguing in being a hybrid of the book and the film, so you have both the weirding martial art, and the sound modules. It plays like an alternate, early draft of the novel, unfolding differently to the book but reaching the same destination. As such it's pretty fascinating, certain characters are dropped, others introduced or fleshed out - the feisty Harah (Paul's first girlfriend, and his mum's reaction is amusing!) being a welcome expansion.
"Oh! Paul with a girl....
I knew this would happen."
She's not really much of a girlfriend, is she? Well, I suppose she is, but she's a shit one - she goes everywhere with you but never puts out or even kisses you, and nags constantly. Chani meanwhile spreads 'em almost instantly and isn't nearly so much of a bitch.
It's odd, then, that Harah was given that role considering her role in the books. And there's lots of little comments dropped by characters that will make little or no sense unless you've read the books...
ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!
Such as Harah's comment when Paul hooks up with Chani that 'does she look Fremen to you?'... it's never said that she's Kynes' daughter and hence is only part Fremen. In this way, reading the books has enhanced my enjoyment and memory of the game, and vice versa. Likewise, there's no mention of the Bene Gesserit, only a passing mention that 'Your mother has special powers' which she uses to sound the hidden rooms in the palace.
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As a game, it is flawed admittedly. Too easy as a whole, and heading back to old locations when you're unclear what you have to do to move things along is a chore. All the same, the injection of a turn based strategy element spices (AHA!) things up a bit, and you get quite proud of the training of your divisions and the output of your harvesters. The game steadily builds, introducing new elements with perfect timing, until before you know it you're ready to claim back the planet. Thanks to an intelligent, witty script (take note, Sci-Fi channel) and a great sense of immersion, the game easily papers over any flaws, and a sense of love for the source material shines through. Because of this, it's one of my all time fave games.
It's quite cool to turn up to a battle on a worm to inspire your troops. The battle scenes were clearly inspired by the then recent Gulf War (desert in fuzzy green night vision, with shadowy buildings and tracer fire arcing up into the sky and explosions). Likewise, going out to watch a harvester chugging away is a nice touch.
"If this was a race, I won."
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