Review: 'Emperor: Battle For Dune' in 3-D

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The Emperor's New Clothes

(IDG) -- While "Emperor" is Westwood's -- though certainly not the world's -- first 3-D real-time strategy for PCs, this long-awaited sequel to "Dune II" is essentially an old-school 2-D RTS in a prettier modern package. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course.

The Emperor Giveth

The graphics in "Emperor" do look great, clearly inspired by the goofily surreal designs of David Lynch's film version of "Dune" (1984). The sounds of battle ring loud and clear, with some great unit-select one-liners and noteworthy technorific musical numbers -- especially the Ordos House Mix that plays on Draconis. The single-player campaign features FMV cut-scenes that are insanely silly -- a strangely welcome throwback to the days when Mark Hamill hung out with giant cat puppets in "Wing Commander III." Michael Dorn (Yup -- "Star Trek: TNG"'s Lieutenant Worf) plays the head of House Atreides, but it is creepy character actor Vincent Schiavelli as the Harknonnen Mentat advisor who is clearly having the most fun with his job.

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If you've ever played "Dune II" (or its hi-res remake, "Dune 2000"), you'll find yourself right at home with the game's three armies. The Noble House Atreides, the vile Harkonnen, and the back-stabbing Ordos are back once again, and you'll recognize a lot of the units from the game's previous forms.

"Emperor"'s first noticeable gameplay tweak is the addition of a simple Risk Jr.-like board game that ties together the missions in the single-player campaign, adding a nice element of nonlinearity to the game without sacrificing too much of the story. The game's best tweak is the option to ally your house with up to two of five sub-factions-including the Ix, Tleilaxu, Sardaukar, Fremen, and Navigators' Guild-to help round out and customize your forces.

And The Emperor Taketh Away

Still, all is not right on Arrakis. A limited camera, slightly wonky unit A.I., and a few absent unit-handling features seem like a retreat from ground already covered by other, older 2-D RTS games. And while three houses and five subfactions means there are lots of different units with which to play, House Harkonnen isn't really different from House Ordos or Atreides -- especially when compared to the faction differentiation in a game like "Starcraft." When battles ensue, it's not long before you lose track of whose units are whose in the chaos.

"Emperor" brings some cool little ideas to the table, but the game still feels more like a nifty 3-D "Dune"-themed add-on pack for "C&C" than a whole new Westwood world. It's well-polished, fast, and fun�even if it's not particularly original. Don't mess too much with a good thing, the House Westwood mantra goes.