The developer doesn't take pride in its work, doesn't put effort into it, and ends up with a half-assed final product. We're not sure what went wrong, but all indications say that it's just another shoddy translation. To put it simply, the visual prowess of this port could be replicated on Super NES or Genesis. In large battles, at times you'll find yourself having trouble managing your units simply because their blocky and pixelated nature makes them hard to track and even discern from enemy units.Įven though the PlayStation is undeniably showing its age, I know the little console is capable of far more than this. Individual soldiers are represented by a small blocky mess of pixels, looking strikingly similar to humanoids seen in first-generation NES endeavors. Games like this absolutely need high resolution graphics to be at all intuitive With the PlayStation version's exceptionally low resolution visuals and pixelated models, it is often difficult to tell what is going on or where your units are.
Gruntmods dune 2000 movie issue Pc#
Graphics The original PC version of Dune 2000 wasn't particularly impressive, and the PSX port is far worse.
The very nature of a console RTS has the game working against itself Frankly, I don't see any way that Dune 2000 could have been accurately ported to the PlayStation without major control issues. Not only does this limit your effectiveness as a competitive warring faction, but it also distracts you to the point that you can't really immerse yourself in the experience. You'll be spending so much effort trying to do would-be basic operations and micro-management that you'll be hard pressed to focus on the meat of the gameplay itself.
Gruntmods dune 2000 movie issue series#
Because of the obvious controller limitations, gameplay selections are largely made through a series of menus that are navigated with the directional pad-controlled cursor - I don't think I need to tell you that this is cumbersome and frustrating, as often you will need to go several menu layers deep just to perform a basic action.īecause of the sluggish nature of the gameplay, it's really difficult to discern what kind of game lies beneath. Even with the most valiant adaptation effort, the game can't be easily played without a keyboard. Obviously, with the PlayStation, this isn't possible. Conventionally, PC realtime strategy games are controlled via a series of hot keys and mouse clicks.
Being that the game takes place on a desert world, don't expect a lot of variety in the tile sets - This alone doesn't kill the gameplay, but you will get tired of constantly looking at the same color after a while.Īs I mentioned earlier, one of the main problems with PS version of Dune 2000 is simply that the game isn't suited for a game controller. The gameplay is based on the planet, and all of the mission objectives serve the ultimate purpose of seizing control of the spice mines. The basic idea behind the game is comparable to Iran: The Planet Arrakis' spice mines make it a resource giant, and whichever race, or "house" controls them will be the ultimate power in the high-tech love triangle. The story is told through a series of live action FMVs, which aren't particularly bad, but aren't at all complimented by the shoddy gameplay. Gameplay In Dune 2000, you take control of one of three "houses," each having its own unique strengths and technology trees. As so many could have predicted, the somewhat sour grapes of Dune 2000 are infinitely more sour now that it's arrived on console. Westwood Studios' Dune 2000 is certainly not a worthwhile play experience on your PlayStation, especially considering the game wasn't especially good to begin with. To put it simply, a game controller just isn't suitable for this type of experience. I suppose it is possible to make a worthwhile console port of a strategy game, but doing so would require a major overhaul of the game's mechanics, and if you're going to do that, you may as well start from scratch. I may be going out on a limb here, but the delicate, intimate experience of a good strategy title is one of the defining experiences of PC gaming. Some computer games were just never meant to see the light of day on consoles, particularly strategy titles.