Play Dune - The Battle for Arrakis Online

Pick your house, build a base, and fight for spice—the AI doesn’t mess around, so get those turrets up fast. Controls are way smoother than the PC version, letting you focus on crushing the enemy instead of wrestling with menus.

Developer: Westwood Studios

Genre: Real-Time Strategy (RTS)

Released: 1994

File size: 587 bytes

Game Overview

Dune: The Battle for Arrakis on Genesis takes Westwood’s PC strategy classic and gives it a serious console makeover. You still pick between House Atreides, Harkonnen, or Ordos to fight over spice on Dune, but everything feels tighter—the controls actually work with a gamepad now. Instead of wrestling with menus, you just point at stuff and your units know whether to move or attack. Nice.

They trimmed some fat from the tech tree too—no more fiddling with different concrete slab sizes or separate factories. You’ll miss the branching mission paths from the original, but the new linear campaign throws in fresh levels to balance it out. First time I played, I got wrecked because I didn’t realize how fast the AI rushes you. Pro tip: build turrets early.

It’s still Dune II at heart, just with better explosions and less micromanagement. The Harkonnen’s Devastator tanks are as satisfyingly OP as ever.