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Welcome back to the planet Arrakis, better known
as Dune. This desert planet is perhaps the most widely known fictional
planet of all time, having been the subject of books, movies and games
since
the beginning of the Dune saga way back in 1965,
when SF writer Frank Herbert first published his multiple award-winning
book, which later became a series. The game Dune, in 1991, spawned a brand
new field- strategy gaming. Dune2 followed in 1992, and now, near the close
of the millennium, Westwood have released Dune 2000. This is more or less
a remake of Dune 2, and retains the basic storyline: three Great Houses
of the Imperium -the Atreides, the Harkonnen and the Ordos- are locked
in mortal conflict over Dune. The Padishah Emperor is quite deliberately
pitting the Houses against each other in the hope that they will destroy
each other and leave him in control of the desert world.
Why is such a barren place, fraught with danger
-from the harsh elements as well as from the vast
and destructive sandworms- coveted by so many?
Well, because the world of Dune is set in a distant future where there
are no computers, and the intricate calculations required to navigate a
spacecraft through the cosmos cannot be performed by mere mortal minds.
Hence the Melange spice- a highly addictive substance that gives its user
the power of prescience: the power to see the myriad possibilities of the
future and to choose among them. The spice is the key to navigation and
space travel: space travel the key to the unity of the Imperium and therefore
to it's control. Spice is the key
to power- and unfortunately for those who desire
power, Melange spice is found only on one world
in the Imperium- Dune.
Will you cast your lot with the forces of Duke
Leto Atreides and strike a blow for truth and honor?
Or are you in the mood to join forces with the
scheming Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, to become wealthy and powerful, to rule
the known universe under the Harkonnen banner? Or perhaps you are
a cynic, and respect neither nobility nor villainy-
then the House Ordos will appeal to you. Unlike the other Houses, the Ordos
are not a military power- their great weapons are wealth, sabotage and
treachery, and their vision of Arrakis is only as a key to still greater
wealth. Ladies & Gentlemen,
Dune 2000: let the battle for Arrakis begin.
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