History of games according to Dune, part five -apkrig

In 1992, Cryo and Westwood clashed for the first time in the field of video games from the Dune saga universe. Coincidentally, 9 years later, in 2001, the companies competed again. And again, it was a duel of real-time strategy and adventure, although in this case already more action-packed and moreover with stealth elements. This time, however, Westwood and its Emperor: Battle for Dune, which follows Dune II and Dune 2000, were the first to enter the market. That was in June 2001. And as you did, we remembered last time. It wasn’t until mid-November that the Emperor was followed by a game called Frank Herbert’s Dune. Although in the menu titled as Franck Herbert’s Dune.

Cryo Interactive did not develop the new Duna itself, it was primarily a publisher, even in Europe. DreamCatcher Interactive took care of the release in the United States and Canada. The project itself was taken care of by the French team Widescreen Games based in Lyon and it was its debut, which was not twice an easy or successful start. Frank Herbert’s Dune is based on the license of the three-part television series of the same name from 2000, which was also filmed in our country. Paradoxically, it’s not particularly recognizable about her.

Although the story tries to be based on the original, you might be very surprised that apart from the prized soundtrack, it does not adhere to the aforementioned TV dunes from 2000.

Unlike the original Dune from Crya, it is already fully 3D from 2001 and is powered by the RenderWare engine from the British studio Criterion. In addition to the PC, it was also released on the PlayStation 2 console and it is an adventure with action elements, in fact, today we would simply call it an action adventure. However, the version for PS2 eventually officially hit the shelves only in Europe. At the time when the game was being worked on, Cryo was already facing serious financial problems, which of course had a negative effect on the title.

The main character is again the young Paul Atreides, who must gain the trust of the Fremen living on the desert planet Arrakis. Although the story tries to be based on a model, you might be very surprised that apart from the acclaimed soundtrack, it does not adhere to the aforementioned TV Dunes from 2000. The video game has a completely different design, architecture, costumes, and after all In addition, many of the heroes look very strange. Diplomatically speaking.

The player was also interested in the fact that in the main menu they were welcomed in some versions of the game by the logo of Franck Herbert’s Dune, ie Franck with C.

It is also unusual that Frank Herbert’s Dune does not begin until Paul and his mother Jessica flee the Harkonnens to the desert in search of the Fremen. The player was also impressed by the fact that in the main menu they were welcomed in some versions of the game by the logo of Franck Herbert’s Dune, ie Franck with C. In particular, PC gamers complained about the legacy of the console version.

The fans were not pleased with the dubbing, which “of course” did not involve actors from the television miniseries. In addition, many dubbers, including the main ones, have edited several roles and characters at the same time, which is a hallmark of cheaper projects. As if all this isn’t enough on its own, Frank Herbert’s Dune is a very short trip to the desert world. It is even significantly shorter than a television model. You’ll finish it in two and a half hours.

With regard to everything said, you will probably not be surprised that the game failed in reviews, for the players themselves and in sales, and therefore mainly commercially. Critics did not spare the title and the average of its marks stabilized at around 50 percent. There were some eights, but also 2/10 or 3/10 marks. The reporters blamed the game for failing to capture the majesty of Dune, for doing almost nothing well, or for being boring. But it would certainly not be fair to say that the whole game is bad from A to Z. An interesting idea was for the player to have to watch the water indicator in addition to the health indicator, without which, of course, you will not survive long on Arrakis.

In the end, it was one of the last titles from Cry, which went bankrupt less than a year after the release of Frank Herbert’s Dune, thus concluding the history of the company, which has been operating in the gaming market since 1990. Its end also marked a stop for the upcoming online game Dune Generations. . But we’ll look at that again next time. And this is not the only canceled project from the space of Frank Herbert. We will remember you and the titles from the fans in other parts of our series.