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35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Impressive, September 19, 2001
All right, I've heard all the complaints I ever want to about how Westwood never does anything new with its C&C franchise. But hey, it works, doesn't it? Time and again, experiments have shown that changing a tried-and-true formula usually ends in disaster. Just look at Force Commander if you don't believe me. Additionally, with Emperor, they really have done something new. Obvious things first- the graphics. You'll immediately notice this, unless you are blind. They are more than impressive, but utterly astonishing in detail and workmanship. You can zoom, pan, and rotate to see the different vehicle models, all done in gorgeous 3-D. Aside from the structures and units, combat looks fantastic. I was almost tempted to blast my own base after missions, just to see the fireworks. The single player campaigns are far more interesting, since you can ally yourself with any of five different sub-houses, each offering tempting units. You can also attack and defend at will, and when you defend, your old bases will be reactivated. It's an interesting touch, and one that makes the campaigns much more fun than any previous Dune or C&C-type game. You'll also get various secondary objectives, some of which can be pretty fun to carry out. The balance is excellent. Each house has its strengths and weaknesses, as do the sub-houses. I don't think the debate will ever end as to which combination works best, since it's really just a matter of favorites. Of course, no game is without it's problems, and Emperor is no exception. I found that defending in the campaigns is laughably easy if you just attack your intruder right away. You'll also probably know the map, so you can exploit its advantages to better destroy them. Path-finding can be a pain at times. Although it does work, it seems they tried to make units have realistic 'space' to take up, which means they don't bump into each other. This is cool to a certain extent, and that limit is when you can't move something from point A to point B. The acting is a bit forced. I'm not one to complain too much about cinematics and actors, since they're only there to augment the game, but at times it was really quite bad. The Atreides mentat in particular struck me as an evil person, which just doesn't fit the House. The plot is weird. I can't really explain it otherwise, other than to recommend you read the books (they're great, anyway). I know the folks at Westwood are leaning more towards the movie version of Dune, not the novel. However, the way they have taken the story seems an amalgamation of elements from God Emperor of Dune, the movie, and... well... something. For example, they never really explained how the Atreides recovered from being handily slaughtered by the Harkonnen and Sardaukar. This will probably be of concern only to a Dune purist, though, and should not deter you from playing the game. All in all, Emperor was a pretty riveting experience. If you were disappointed by Dune 2000 (basically just a remake of Dune 2), then you will want to check this one out. It surely won't disappoint.
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