Software:Emperor: Battle for Dune

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Short description: 2001 video game
Emperor: Battle for Dune
North American cover art
Developer(s)Intelligent Games
Westwood Studios
Publisher(s)EA Games
Director(s)James Steer
Designer(s)Jamie Ferguson
Neil Marsden
Gregory Mathews
Programmer(s)Philip Veale
Artist(s)Richard Evans
Gary Cox
Composer(s)Jarrid Mendelson
David Arkenstone
Frank Klepacki
SeriesDune
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
  • NA: June 12, 2001[1]
  • EU: June 15, 2001
Genre(s)Real-time strategy
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Emperor: Battle for Dune is a real-time strategy video game, released by Westwood Studios in June 2001. It is based in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. It follows its predecessors, Dune II and Dune 2000. While Dune II was a distinct story to that of Dune, and Dune 2000 was a remake of Dune II, Emperor: Battle for Dune is a direct sequel to the previous games. In particular, it is a sequel to Dune 2000, carrying on from where it left off, with several of the characters and actors returning. Like Dune 2000 and many of the other Westwood games that came before it, Emperor features live action cut scenes filmed with actors.

Gameplay

The player commands one of three Houses and must fight for control of the spice mélange on the planet Arrakis. The player harvests spice, builds a base, and trains units to destroy one or more enemies similar to the gameplay in previous real-time strategy titles produced by Westwood Studios. Battles begin with a black shroud obscuring unseen portions of the map, and a grey fog of war will gradually obscure portions of the map that are no longer within the sight of the player's units.

Screenshot of Emperor featuring an Atreides base

Each House is given a unique set of units tailored to the character of the House, with the Atreides featuring mechs and sonic weapons, the Harkonnen utilizing tanks and flame weapons, and Ordos units benefiting from energy shields and self-healing. Players can gain access to another Houses' units by capturing an enemy building that can manufacture the desired units. Sub-factions like the Fremen, Ix, Tleilaxu, Guild, and Imperial Sardaukar are introduced during the campaign that may ally with the player, allowing them to build special units. Unlike in Dune 2000 where the campaign map only impacted the design of the next mission's battlefield, in Emperor players are presented with options that could attract or anger sub factions, as well as impact the progression of the overall story.

Each of the three main factions is given a single player campaign with full motion video cut scenes. Multiplayer was also available online, through local area networks, or as skirmish battles against computer opponents.

Synopsis

Setting

Emperor: Battle for Dune is set shortly after Dune 2000. Emperor Corrino has been killed by his concubine, Lady Elara, and the Landsraad has been thrown into chaos.

Plot

The Spacing Guild has presented the three remaining Houses (the same as those in the previous games: House Atreides, House Harkonnen and House Ordos) with a unique challenge: a war of assassins on the planet Arrakis. Whichever House wins the war will become the new leader of the Landsraad, and its leader the new Padishah Emperor, Emperor of the Known Universe.

During the campaign, the Tleilaxu are scouring Arrakis with hidden motives, with various probes spotted collecting flesh samples from dead sandworms. After the last battle with any one of the opponent Houses on their home planet, the Spacing Guild leaves the victorious House stranded on the enemies' conquered homeworld, attempting to control Arrakis with House Tleilaxu by genetically engineering an Emperor Worm with immense psychic powers empowered by Lady Elara. They release a mind influencing drug in the remaining forces' water supply on Arrakis to make them slaves under the Guild. A last-ditch attempt must be made back on Arrakis to destroy the Emperor Worm before he awakes, by using the Smugglers Guild to get back to Arrakis. The Emperor Worm is destroyed, and the Guild's plan is foiled. The victorious house regains control of Arrakis and the spice melange and proclaims their side's leader Emperor of Dune.

Subplots

While each campaign has the story ultimately culminating up to the battle with the Emperor Worm, the three campaigns have subplots revolving around each faction's intents to conquer Arrakis.

House Atreides' campaign involves regaining the trust of the Fremen, with whom they have had an uneasy relationship due to unspecified past events. Many of the starting missions revolve around forming an alliance with the Fremen. Later on in the campaign, a party of Fremen diplomats are sent to Caladan, where they and the Duke Achillus are under attack by Tleilaxu soldiers. This attack is eventually thwarted and the Fremen pledge their allegiance to House Atreides. The general benevolence of House Atreides is apparent in their motivation for each map's campaign and they have little to no ulterior motives in lending assistance to any of the factions on Arrakis.

House Harkonnen's campaign revolves around the ailing Baron Rakan and his two sons, Gunseng and Copec, who both vie to take the Baron's place upon his death. Copec and Gunseng are at each other's throats, competing for the Baron's favor as the former's grew larger and the latter's days grow shorter. Gunseng eventually goes to Arrakis to oversee the spice mining. Copec grows impatient, however, and poisons Rakan's food. Copec assumes the title, and goes to Arrakis to have his brother swear allegiance to his new baron. Believing that Copec has usurped the title, Gunseng openly rebels against him. The player character chooses to either side with Gunseng or Copec, and both opposing factions battle on Giedi Prime. Depending on who emerges victorious, the game will then feature Gunseng or Copec as the reigning baron of House Harkonnen.

House Ordos' campaign revolves around their ability to create gholas. The house eventually creates a ghola of the deceased Emperor Shaddam Corrino, who will serve as a puppet emperor subservient to House Ordos. Ordos motives are typically insidious in that they attempt to manipulate many of the subhouses (Fremen, Sardaukar, Smugglers) into conflict with the major houses they are fighting, using gholas and other forms of treachery to thwart any attempts at alliance among their enemies and secure alliances for House Ordos. The Ordos are led by the Executrix, four beings that share a single mind and communicate only through a creature known as the "Speaker". The Ordos are calculated in their thinking, almost machine-like. Advising the "Commander" (player) is the equally cold female Mentat Roma Atani.

There are also subplots within subhouses and factions on Arrakis. Ix and the Tleilaxu have made it clear that they cannot be united, and force the player to choose one or the other, though it is possible to have the support of two. A Sardaukar coffin containing a trooper in suspended animation can sometimes be found in the battlefield. These troopers usually ally themselves with the faction that awakens them.

Cast

The game's storyline is told through full motion videos featuring notable actors.

  • Michael Dorn as Duke Achillus Atreides
  • Mike McShane as Baron Rakan Harkonnen
  • Minae Noji as Roma Atani
  • Vincent Schiavelli as Mentat Yanich Kobal
  • Michael Bailey Smith as Burseg
  • Musetta Vander as Lady Elara
  • Nicholas Worth as Mentat Kolinar Koltrass

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic79/100[2]
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGameStarStarHalf star[3]
CGWStarStarHalf star[4]
Edge5/10[5]
Game Informer8/10[7]
GameRevolutionB+[8]
GameSpot8.3/10[9]
GameSpy75%[10]
GameZone9/10[11]
IGN8/10[12]
Next GenerationStarStarStar[13]
PC Gamer (US)89%[14]
X-PlayStarStarStarStar[15]

The game received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[2]

Jason Kapalka of Computer Gaming World reviewed the game, saying it had "nice graphics, fun cinematics, some interesting units, and a fun interactive campaign map", but panned it for having "outdated graphics, iffy AI and pathfinding, crummy multiplayer, and an overwhelming sense of deja vu" as well as a lack of then standard control features in similar real-time strategy games.[4] Star Dingo of GamePro said, "Emperor brings some cool little ideas to the table, but the game still feels more like a nifty 3D Dune-themed add-on pack for C&C than a whole new Westwood world. The game is well-polished, fast, and fun, however, even if it's not particularly original. Don't mess too much with a good thing, the House Westwood mantra goes."[16][lower-alpha 1] Jason Samuel of NextGen, however, said, "Fans who can't get enough of Westwood's particular brand of RTS or anyone who has missed a Westwood title from the past three or so years will enjoy Emperor: Battle for Dune. Everyone else needs to decide if they want more of what they've seen before."[13]

Notes

  1. ↑ GamePro gave the game two 4.5/5 scores for graphics and sound, and two 4/5 scores for control and fun factor.

References

  1. ↑ IGN staff (June 12, 2001). "Emperor: Battle for Dune Ships". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/06/12/emperor-battle-for-dune-ships. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Emperor: Battle for Dune". Fandom. https://www.metacritic.com/game/emperor-battle-for-dune/. 
  3. ↑ Allen, Christopher. "Emperor: Battle for Dune - Review". All Media Network. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=28977&tab=review. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kapalka, Jason (September 2001). "The Emperor Has No Clue (Emperor: Battle for Dune Review)". Computer Gaming World (Ziff Davis) (206): 86–87. https://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_206.pdf. Retrieved January 29, 2024. 
  5. ↑ Edge staff (June 2001). "Emperor: Battle For Dune". Edge (Future Publishing) (98): 73. https://retrocdn.net/images/e/e9/Edge_UK_098.pdf. Retrieved January 29, 2024. 
  6. ↑ Hudak, Chris (July 4, 2001). "Emperor: Battle for Dune". Greedy Productions Ltd.. http://www.elecplay.com/review.html?article=6275&full=1. 
  7. ↑ "Emperor: Battle for Dune". Game Informer (FuncoLand) (100). August 2001. 
  8. ↑ Ferris, Duke (June 2001). "Emperor: Battle For Dune Review". CraveOnline. https://www.gamerevolution.com/review/33216-emperor-battle-for-dune-review. 
  9. ↑ Kasavin, Greg (June 14, 2001). "Emperor: Battle for Dune Review [date mislabeled as "May 17, 2006""]. Fandom. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/emperor-battle-for-dune-review/1900-2774894/. 
  10. ↑ Asher, Mark (June 22, 2001). "Emperor: Battle for Dune". IGN Entertainment. http://www.gamespy.com/reviews/june01/dune/. 
  11. ↑ Lafferty, Michael (June 21, 2001). "Emperor: Battle for Dune Review". http://pc.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r16315.htm. 
  12. ↑ Butts, Steve (June 14, 2001). "Emperor: Battle for Dune". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/06/14/emperor-battle-for-dune. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Samuel, Jason (September 2001). "Emperor: Battle for Dune". NextGen (Imagine Media) (81): 91. https://archive.org/details/NextGen81Sep2001/page/n91/mode/2up. Retrieved April 26, 2022. 
  14. ↑ "Emperor: Battle for Dune". PC Gamer (Imagine Media) 8 (9). September 2001. 
  15. ↑ Rubenstein, Glenn (July 6, 2001). "'Emperor: Battle for Dune' (PC) Review". TechTV. http://www.techtv.com/extendedplay/reviews/story/0%2C24330%2C3335344%2C00.html. 
  16. ↑ Star Dingo (September 2001). "Emperor: Battle for Dune". GamePro (IDG Entertainment) (156): 52. https://retrocdn.net/images/0/0d/GamePro_US_156.pdf. Retrieved January 29, 2024. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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