For those who haven't experienced the earlier games or haven't navigated through the great novel, Dune is set on the desert planet Arrakis, where you play the role of Paul Atreides, also known as Paul-Muad'Dib to the Fremen. The Fremen are the natives of the dusty planet Arrakis, also known as Dune. Spice, the most valuable commodity in the universe, can only be found on Arrakis and is necessary to fuel ships and many other functions that the galaxy needs. At the start of the game, the Emperor of Dune, Duke Leto Atreides, has been murdered by the evil Baron Harkonnen. His wife, Jessica, and his son, you, escape and take refuge with the Fremen.

The player's job is to take on several missions in order to regain his fathers throne. Each mission (five in all) have certain objectives that must be met in order to progress. The game is linear, but a great deal of exploration is possible within each mission. During the game, the player will travel from the Sietch to various locations on the planet Arrakis, including heavily guarded military installations and the palace itself.

Unlike previous Dune editions, Dreamcatcher's edition is a 3D third-person adventure game. The interface is relatively simple, although it's nothing that's totally innovative. There are two life meters that are essential to survival on the harsh planet. One is the energy meter, while the other is the water meter. Since this is a desert planet, water is essential to the survival of any life form on the planet. In just about every mission, Paul has a reserve of water in his inventory that you can use to restore the life force that he loses. In order to replenish your water supply, you must either either find items scattered in a level or disable an enemy with a Krys. The Krys is a special weapon that can be used on an enemy to disable them in one hit. Every time this weapon is used, Paul regains a little of his water meter. After a few missions, Paul also learns about an ability called The Voice. The Voice allows him to immobilize enemies and wipe their memories for about five seconds when he is near death. In addition to these little weapons, Paul also has access to other, more lethal weapons in the game, such as laser beams.

The mouse controls the camera while the arrow keys on the keyboard control Paul's movement. Enemies are targetted by clicking on them with the right mouse button, while attacking is done with the left button. Much like in Metal Gear Solid and Tenchu, Paul can also lean up against walls and peek around the corner, which is vital for survival during some of the stages.

Many of the missions in the game are fairly straightforward. While there are numerous puzzles to solve in the game, none of them are especially hard. The developers did a really nice job in juggling the action and puzzle aspects of the game really nicely so that the game doesn't lose any of its pace. Fighting enemies is also a welcome challenge, as you won't be faced with any pushovers in any missions. They won't give the seasoned gamer too much trouble, although I can see gamers who haven't really played third person adventure games having a bit of trouble with the game.

Graphically, the game is really good. Although some would assume that since the game takes place on a desert that it may not be too colourful, that's really the opposite. Somehow Widescreen Games did attempt to make the game go past what would've been a rather drab world. The character designs themselves are very nice, and carry at least some sort of personality, which is something I can't say for some other games of the same genre. The sand worms in the desert are also a sight to behold, which just tower right over Paul.

Sound effects and music are also very enjoyable. As Paul runs through the desert, the sound of his shoes smacking the ground is believable. The voice acting is professional, although the actual dubbing of them to the character's mouths aren't too great. Music fades to the background like it should, never becoming too powerful or annoying to the story, and really make it seem as if it's reacting to the action on the screen.

In the end, while I was afraid that this game might had become just a crappy ass licensed game, I'm glad to say that it's not. At its worst, Frank Herbert's Dune is an average, but very solid game. At its best, it's a game that not only hardcore Dune lovers would love, but gamers in general.

· · · Reno