Matt Chat 74: Dune II

[EnzoValenzetti]

What is the music at the end of this video?

[Capeau]

one of the most awesome intros ever. This intro was totally amazing back in the day

[doctorgalileo]

great reviews and interviews with the makers. thanks for the video's man.

[0Griffinhawk0]

games from this area are in a class of their own.

[FBuilding]

your battle for dune begins... NOWowowow ow ow ow ow... ahah, perfect intro.

[likelylike]

I got it, but it's so crappy with the Sega Controller to play this :)

[gyromancy2]

Great video. I like the way this video was presented. I like learning about these old PC games

[TekmonX]

I accidentally thumbed this down :(.

Sorry dude, but this is awesome :).

[theelusiveone]

Great review. I remember playing this on the Genesis.  I'm going to download it now and play it!

[blacklily8]

@theelusiveone Have fun!

[donjuanlagarto]

Dune 1 was a very nice game is was perfect, except because it was too easy. But storywise is great and graphics are beautiful. I tended to name other game cities (Civ) to Dune 1 provinces: Carthag-Tabr, Carthag-Timin, etc

[blacklily8]

@donjuanlagarto I don't mind an easy game, because they make me feel smart. ;)

[EdwardElric555]

Is it a crime to love your shirt.

[blacklily8]

@EdwardElric555 Only in certain countries.

[FusionNinjin]

odd i have some melange right here, is it realy a spice? does some empire desire this?

[drackbolt]

Thanks for the free shout-out. :)

That version looks pretty old. You should check out the latest builds if you want to see something much more complete and playable. Many casts of games online as well at youtube/dune2online.

[odmcclintic]

This is my 1st episode and loved it! I'm glad you have such a backlog of episodes for me to catch up on! .

[blacklily8]

@odmcclintic Glad you liked it!

[Emrendil]

Played it on the Amiga 1200 :) I think it was a little harder then the PC version.

[sverd123]

Good show! Just discovered this today after browsing for old Civilization videos and I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of your reviews.

(I'm gonna go for the napkin / woman / bar suggestion. :P )

[sverd123]

Good show! Just discovered this today after browsing for old Civilization videos and I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of your reviews.

(I'm gonna go for the napkin / woman / bar suggestion. :P )

[PerfectionIncarnate]

Ugh... this makes me feel so old. I'm talking the whole package here, I recognize most of the stuff even in your intro. Yay for C64 command line interface. ;)

I loved both Dune and Dune 2, as different as they are. This video brought up some great memories. Keep up the good work.

[Sinekyre14]

....and the EVIL Harkonnen *que awesome goosebump music*

[Sinekyre14]

I still get goosebumps when she says "AND THE EVIL HARKONNEN".

The music in this game is LEGENDARY, it's soooo good. It's what made this game.

[ubbecykelkedja]

@Sinekyre14 Agreed, the music for this game was simply incredible.

[ianwilson1978]

Just got round to watching this one Matt, cheers for the mention at the end!

If you do plan to do a video for Populous I really look forward to that, played it a lot on my Amiga back in the day!

[TheMrEPenguin]

I've always considered the Sega Genesis version of this game to be the best version of Dune II.

[Not1Gus]

i too had this game on my old amiga 500, it was great fun to play, Dune II started it all and now i'm a total war fan.

[vintagevideogamegeek]

Since I don't like pointing out the obvious, I've never commented on your resemblance to Weird Al, but since you wore that t-shirt...Do people ever think you are him? UHF is one of my favorite movies of all time.

By the way, nice use of the green screen for this video!

[thebearisoverhere]

Haha, love the quotes at the end of the episodes.

[DLiberator78]

I still love playing this game to this day it is so addictive. I had the PC version when it was released. Although I had an Amiga 1200 I never played the Amiga version and I think the 6 diskettes and the thought of all that disk swapping is probably what put me off at the time. I more recently tried to play this on DOSBox and managed to grab a copy from an Abandon-ware site. I feel like playing it again after seeing this. Great review many thanks.

[YoungGamerKid]

I definitely have to put this on my facebook status. I love this show!

[YadenSamsara]

Great video, please keep up the hard work!

[2gfasqc]

I loved to play both Games.Dune II was good to play a RTS and Dune I was very atmospheric as adventure.

[sys2074]

Matt, this is another very entertaining review! Thank you for your work! I remember playing Dune II on Amiga and couldn't get myself away from the screen because this game was so addicting. Strangely today the game genre I'm least interested in are RTS games. I guess I prefer a good old-fashioned turn-based strategy or tactics game a'la Jagged Alliance. btw have you ever tried Jagged Alliance (the first one)? I'd welcome it if you'd do a review about that one someday! :)

[tgaskill]

Great Matt Chat! Was the original port on the PC? It's nice that it ported well, I guess a sign of a good game and designers.

[crusader666]

Hell yeah! finished this one 10 times [yes, i keep a track on that] with all houses. ;P

I see You're using mouse only, kinda hard, keyboard shortcuts help a lot. [first time i've ever finished dune 2, was with mouse only];)

The PC version works kinda sluggish in the vid.

Neat idea, to throw the game in the background!

[darkmist29]

The spice must flow.

[Programentalist]

Good stuff, I played the game a lot back in the early days (on the PC and sometimes on the Amiga at friends). Just realized Westwood made some kind of remake called Dune 2000 (saw it in the "related videos" for this one), I might have to look that one up and see if it's any good.

The problem I have with Dune 2 today (and with many old games) is not the graphics or sound, but the controls. C&C and later games refined them a great deal and I find myself missing that. Especially troop movements.

[marcusmalone]

Having you superimposed on the gameplay footage is an excellent improvement! Really adds to the narrative flow of the vid. Me + RTS = epic fail. Was Dune 1 (an adventure game, from memory) any good? People? Lynch movie was excellent but I hear it really 'gimped' the book. TV show was also excellent, IMO. Haven't read the rather daunting looking novels.

[blacklily8]

@marcusmalone Yes, my friend was a Dune purist who frequently criticized the film. The show might be better. I'm not a Dune expert by any means, but did read the first novel a couple of times. I was told the rest were no good, but the first is very nice. It felt like a Tolkien-like approach to SF to me.

[skateblind007]

@blacklily8 I am on the 4th book at the moment, God Emperor of Dune. I've enjoyed all the books so far including the 4th one, which I should finish sometime tonight. The D. Lynch movie is great to look at, but does very little justice to the book as a whole. The Sci-Fi channel mini-series and it's sequel are fantastic.

That little quotation you divulged at the end could have been lifted straight from the Taoism philosphy.

Great review Matt, now go and read the other Dune books!

[Soulgotha]

Excellent episode, Matt. That constant disk changing sounds like a pain, but for Dune 2 it's well worth it!

[KetilsGEEKTV]

Wonderful to see this again. I played it to death on the Amiga 500. Did you enjoy the movie?

[blacklily8]

@KetilsGEEKTV I did, and the TV show as well.

[hemrawc]

Hey Matt,

I love Matt Chat and I really enjoy Armchair Arcade Radio!

Keep up the good work.

[james42519]

i heard of dune. the segacd version actually looks kinda good.

[numberninteynine]

Yours is the only channel I've subscribed to that actually has new videos regularly! I find myself excited to watch every time you upload a new video, like my favorite shows on TV. Such a good channel.

[retroboz]

Breaking out the green screen effects!

[dancingcrabspeaks]

@blacklily8 My meaning was more that you'd referenced fan remakes but not Westwood's own remake. 2000 was bland, but Emperor is pretty sweet.

[blacklily8]

@dancingcrabspeaks Thanks for the tip.

[Sinekyre14]

Love the new style, with a blue-screen and the game in the background. Watched the video two times already, trying to send links to spread the word. Dune 2 is one of those games that seemed "too good to be true" when I first played it. I remember being awed, begging my parents to stay longer at my third cousin's place so I could play it. Good memories. Keep it up, Matt!

[blacklily8]

@Sinekyre14 I know exactly what you mean.

[RaulBillieJean]

hey matt i like your videos and reviews they are full of information!

oh i see that you have a copy of the game Runaway 2 The Dream Of The Turtle wow you know that it was made in Spain where i'm from! glad to see people across the atlantic likes it

[blacklily8]

@RaulBillieJean I really did enjoy that game. I wrote a review of it on Adventure Classic Gaming. You might want to read it!

[krize604]

Another great episode !!! Dune 2 is one of my favourite games of all time!! Completed it with ordos and atreidis on the Amiga (hard drive installed :))!!

Great work man!!

[Jacesfaces]

Great episode Matt! Bloody disk swapping...lol.

[cowrevenge]

A great game played it forever, Dune 2000 is decent upgrade, used to play lots of multiplayer with it. It came on different CD for each house, different colors was a nice setup similar to Red Alert 2.

[Tacomaster21]

yet another epic video, matt. i love your reviews! but seriously, you should review populous. It is a game that seems to deserve its own time to shine, don't you agree?

[bsg7]

Still got my big box Amiga version of this - may just break out the 500+ tomorrow and have a play... am I overly medicated or did it origionally come with a novella????

[carbootgamerUK]

I think you should be a youtube partner. This show deserves way more subbers than it gets. The production of your videos is amazing , how do you find time lol. Keep up the good work man.

[dancingcrabspeaks]

Awesome, thanks!

Little surprised there was no mention of the official 'remake' (Dune 2000) or its sequel (Emperor: Battle For Dune).

[blacklily8]

@dancingcrabspeaks I haven't played them, and the reviews I read suggested there was little to be excited about. I take it you have a different opinion?

[amarsh85]

haha dune 2!! man that brings back memories.

[desiv1]

Great vid Matt! Even tho I read Dune (well, the first 3 or 4 I think before it started to get a bit out there for me), I never got around to playing the game. Have to give it a shot. I agree, the overlay tech is a nice addition to the video.. But the best part? Of course, the Weird Al shirt!!! ;-)

[lewa123456]

Trying that multiplayer mode of the remake version with my pals.

Great game and great review.

[blacklily8]

@lewa123456 Let me know how it goes. I'm very curious about that myself.

[doginmylense]

Another awesome video! This is another series I knew nothing about it looks really interesting though. 

[RetroRoadshow]

Dude... just saw The Longest Journey right behind your head there.... Best point and click ever! I finally picked up another copy and am playing it through again after almost 10 years. Love it!

[sin1987runescape]

what ??? theirs a podcast ..ok thats new news to me whats it called ?

[blacklily8]

@sin1987runescape It's called Armchair Arcade Radio. You can get it on iTunes or by going to armchairarcade com.

[sin1987runescape]

@blacklily8 thanks alot ive had a listen and its verry good stuff i really liked the retro pc part and your rants were higly thought out and intresting.

[Highretrogamelord89]

Oh, cool! Dune II! Awesome game...I own it for the Mega Drive :D

Another awesome episode with an awesome host! =D

[rowdyrob3d]

I played a lot of this game back in the day. Great game! Your presentation really did this game justice. As anyone can see, "Dune II" is definitely the progenitor of "Command and Conquer."

The new "keying" effect with you in the foreground is awesome! It really adds to the presentation, and it works great for your style of videos! Excellent episode!

[TameFan]

oh greenscreen : ) nice work

[segagenesis1989]

Matt:

I've been waiting for you to review this game for quite a while. Never bothered to suggest it to you since I knew that this classic game would eventually be covered.

You are absolutely right about how good this game is: I invested quite a bit of time into the PC version. This game is so addictive! The first hour & a half to 2 hours is a bit slow but after than things really pick up! I enjoyed this game so much that I recently picked up the SEGA Genesis version! Thanks for reviewing it

[Rheinheld]

Great review as always! I loved the game back then on my Amiga. Quick and little correction: the game had "just" five disks on Amiga :)

[blacklily8]

@Rheinheld I was including my save game disk. :)

[Jollysepp]

this was one of my favourite games on the amiga. really got me into strategy games. great memories! thx for the video!

[a3HeadedMonkey]

You really don't get enough views, fact! You deserve a proper slot on a proper TV channel. I always look forward to watching your show.

[blacklily8]

@a3HeadedMonkey We can dream! But these poor ol' games are all but forgotten as far as the mainstream media is concerned.

[HardWarUK]

Another excellent review - love you new blue screen technology Matt! I hope you review Dune I too, as it is truly a one-off in so many ways - as indeed Populous was!

Also I remember the early PC gaming days when you got 8 5.25" floppies AND 4 3.5" floppies. Sierra were big on that! :)

[shihonage]

Love you, man.

[Matzeschloe]

Superb made video again:-) Dune 2 is a true classic!

peace

[aaronrex]

hearing the music again sends shivers down my spine... :D

[interghost]

Fantastic review mate. I loved Dune 2 on the PC back in the day. (Cant get it to work on modern PC's) I loved the spice ticking away as they build the new items. Had a great feel to the game and would play this for hours. War Craft 2 was a great one too. Like the use of green screen too, it works well and good that you fade in and out and not just on the screen the whole time, works well. If you want ideas, how about 7th guest, that was another classic game for me! HUGE THANKS for shout out too!

[blacklily8]

@interghost No problem! It was the least I could do. I hope you get some additional subs out of it. I also liked that video in particular because it could open up a whole new world for people who are new to the retrogaming community on youtube!

[amig90]

Ah, Dune. I was just reading Dune yesterday and I've heard a great deal about the RTS Dune (since I do like RTSs myself). Great book. It's like Fantasy-science-fiction, which is my type of fiction, really.

Also, I've been listening to your podcasts lately. You guys got a really great show.

Matt, what is your opinion of the first Dune game? If you've played it, then what did you like and what did you dislike about the game? I'm really interested to know,

[blacklily8]

@amig90 I've played it briefly, though not enough to have a hardcore opinion about it. IIRC, it is more of an adventure game with strategy elements. It also more closely follows the movie's story and plot. I thought it was a fun game, but easily gets lost in the shadow of Dune II.

[Qbuntu]

Thanks! I love the movie but I havn't tried this game. It looks like great fun. And thanks for your great show. I just found it trough a link from open pandora forums and I have watched most of the episodes in the last couple of days. How about one of the best science fiction adventure games ever: Beneath a steel Sky?

[LetsPlayerJoel]

when ever i see a matt chat video i know its going to be awesome, and deserves a click (:

[paridisegrowth]

nice!

[warci]

big fan of everything dune. Played this game and it's first incarnation on my trusted amiga for AGES. Awesome to see the differences between the pc/amiga/genesis/open source versions. Will give these a try!

[sebaswildboy]

greenscreen FTW

[nephildevil]

If you like it: "Write it on a cocktail napkin and give it to a strange woman in a bar." hahaha :'D

[HalfBlindGamer]

Great episode again there Matt! Great game and very important for the genre for sure. Nice use of greenscreen too!

[blacklily8]

@HalfBlindGamer Glad you liked it. It took me many hours to get it setup and working properly, but hopefully now I can start getting more creative with it. I'd love to have a video with me walking out on a giant Commodore keyboard or some such!

[Celeon999A]

I remember how i got Dune II from a friend back in the old days. (An outsourced-backup copy you know) ;-D

I knew Herbert's book and De Laurentiis and Lynch's movie but had no idea what kind of game it would be.

During installation i looked into some gaming magazine and there was an article about Dune 1, hence i expected this game to be an RPG aswell and was kinda confused once i started it up. :-D

Needless to say that i got hooked on the gameplay right away, like propably everyone else :-D

[Dan9550X]

omg, great vid, i love westwood mostly  the c&c series, but i also do enjoy pulling out the old pentium 133mhz laptop and playing some Dune II =D

[fleetwoodsucks]

I love these videos.

I love dune 2, I was about 5 when i first played it. Loved the music. Didnt quite know how to play it properly but I have fond memories of playing it. I went back after C&C came out and got much further in it but I dont think I ever completed it.

Never seen the amgia version, the framerate looks much better.

The first few dune books are great but they went daft as they went on. the film was crap as well.

The iron maiden song to tame a land is excellent. as well.

[blacklily8]

@fleetwoodsucks That's the general consensus, I think--read the first one; maybe the second; pass on the rest. I have three of them, I think, but only read (and re-read) the original. It's a fantastic book, especially when you consider it was written in 1965. I definitely agree with you on the song! I've heard it many times but never paid attention to the lyrics. D'OH!!! It's all about Dune! How could this band get any cooler?

[DlNKYDANA]

Write it on a cocktail napkin and give it to a strange woman in a bar. I actually laughed out loud. LOL

Nice to see you using the green screen too. Looks great. Thanks for yet another excellent review.

[TheDevilBurning]

had to post another comment because at the end you chose my favorite quote from Dune as well :D :D... that's awesome man ^5

[TheDevilBurning]

R.I.P westwood :(

[someonefromsomewere1]

Do you always release your vids at the middle of the night? Anyway good review.

[trekie9001]

Love the show Matt. Keep it up!

[dahuntersdoom]

I love that t-shirt man...Weird Al Yankovic FTW!!!

Good job Matt, I really enjoyed this video.

[egobrane]

I passed the word on to a strange barmaid but she just gave me strange looks, Matt.

Another good review, shame I'm no good at multi-tasking or I could maybe be good at games like this.

I saw your WoW video and I gotta ask, did you ever play Everquest? That seems like something you'd jump at back when it was released.

[blacklily8]

@egobrane I played it fairly recently during one of the free trials. Seems fun, but I get the impression it was a lot more fun when it came out than it is today. I wasn't interested in MMORPGs back then, preferring regular MUDs.

[phreakindee]

Ahh, the father of RTS. Such an epic classic, thanks for the video! Easily the best video I've seen regarding the game - excellent as always, Matt!

[Drrock32481]

Love the show Matt, and I'm really enjoying the podcast also!

[yokohamaguy75]

@Drrock32481 Podcast?! Whaaaaat?! How do I find it?!

[blacklily8]

@yokohamaguy75 armchair arcade com