The artificial intelligence is brilliant, as is the interface (as I've said already) - allowing you to control 50 mobile units as instinctively as if they were your own fingers. It actually cured me of my withdrawal symptoms from having completed Star Control 2, and is so simple to get to grips with that I had it sussed in five minutes. I don't want to give anything away but let's just say it's a nightmare). I'm forced to conclude that this is a thinking man's shoot 'em-up.įrom the opening level (a simple instructional scenario in which the object is to make 1000 credits and not to bother attacking anything) through the middle levels (where you're eating away at the enemy's hold on Arrakis), all the way to the final level (in which - er. In fact, although I hate the term thinking man's anything. So now what we have is a Sim City clone which is also a real-time shoot 'em-up. Tactics? Yes, there are some serious tactics involved - blit not so serious that they get in the way of the fun. And the control interface? One of the best I've seen. The number of vehicles/weapons at your disposal at any one time? Lots. And the vehicles/weapons with which you do this killing? Effective, to say the least. It's about constructing buildings, doing a bit of town planning, making loads of vehicles/ weapons and then killing every single other thing on the map. So is Dune II just about constructing buildings and doing a bit of town planning? Not onl your nelly.

And if you're familiar with the Dune books, you'll know that violence and death feature quite heavily (in-between all the 'clever' bits, of course). Now call me Mr Unpleasant Personality if you like, but when I'm playing a computer game I like to be able to kill things.

Download the new version Dune II