Dune II

Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty (also known as Dune II: The Battle for Arrakis in Europe, and simply Dune: The Battle for Arrakis in the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis port) is a Dune computer game, released in 1992 by Westwood Studios. It is a loose sequel of the computer strategy game Dune (although it shared no storyline or gameplay). Both games were based upon David Lynch's 1984 movie Dune, which was in turn taken from Frank Herbert's science fiction novel of the same name. A new house, House Ordos (not found in the novels or film), appears in this game even though it is mentioned only once in the non-canon Dune Encyclopedia.

While not the first real-time strategy (RTS) game (it was preceded by Herzog Zwei), Dune II established a format that would be followed for years to come, and is the first to use the mouse to move units, giving much fluid interaction. As such, Dune II is the founder of the RTS genre in its modern form. Striking a balance between complexity and innovation, it was a huge success and laid the foundation for the coming Command & Conquer (which was nicknamed "Dune III" by some fans and detractors), the Warcraft series, and many other RTS games.

Plot
Emperor Frederick IV of House Corrino is desperate for the harvesting of the valuable spice melange, only found on the planet Arrakis, to pay off all of his debt incurred on internecine wars with family members. To achieve this, he now offers the sole governorship of Arrakis to the House (huge nobleman family/cartel) which delivers the most spice for him out of House Atreides, Harkonnen and Ordos. War begins as deputations from all three Houses arrive on Arrakis.

The player is a military commander from a House of their choice. In the first few missions the objective is to successfully establish a base on an unoccupied territory of Arrakis, to harvest spice and defend against intruders. Later, when the three Houses divide Arrakis among them, the player has to assault and capture enemy territories. When the player dominates Arrakis on the world map, the two other enemy factions ally against their common enemy. The ultimate final showdown is the battle among the player's House up against three enemy sides, among them Frederick's forces the Sardaukar (an unplayable elite force whose heavy infantry are particularly powerful). The final cutscene is different for each House, in consonance with their very disparate worldviews.