Many machines on Ix...
Westwood talk about the Houses and other factions in their first 3D real-time strategy game, "Emperor : Battle For Dune"
When Westwood released their first real-time strategy game "Dune 2" way back in the mists of time, it helped to shape the genre that we all know and love / loathe (delete as applicable). It also introduced fans of the Dune novels and movie that the game was based on to a new House, "the insidious Ordos", who took their place alongside the familiar Harkonnen and Atreides. Now Westwood are hard at work on their first 3D real-time strategy game, "Emperor : Battle for Dune", and along with the three major Houses from their debut game there will also be several new factions taken from the Dune series.
"We are introducing five sub-houses with which you can ally during the campaign", Emperor producer Chris Longpre told ActionTrip in a recent interview. "These include the native Fremen, the space-faring Guild, the high-tech Ix, the terror-troops of the Imperial Sardaukar, and the bio-tech Bene Tleilaxu. Each house brings with it its own distinctive technologies that you can take advantage of if you forge an alliance. Each sub-house will give the player one structure and two units to control."
Although the game is taking most of its factions from the best-selling series of novels, many of the characters and the storyline itself are new, with the three Houses battling over the throne after the death of the Emperor. Controlling the all-important spice production on Dune is the key to victory, but you will also find yourself fighting on the homeworld of each of the three houses to add some much needed variety to the endless sands of Arrakis. With Westwood's first truly 3D graphics engine powering the game, and an impressive cast of B-list actors including Michael "Worf" Dorn and Vincent Schiavelli (the sinister doctor from "Tomorrow Never Dies") behind the typically impressive in-house cinematics, the game is one of the most anticipated real-time strategy games of the year.