”Dune is back!”  Given the huge Dune II fanbase, you’d think Westwood would be screaming this from the top of every building in the world.  Not so when it comes to Emperor: Battle for Dune, given that the Dune name appears only in small type at the bottom of the ad.  Instead, the creative-types have come up with the unique idea of a four-ad series, each depicting a different game world.  Nice idea, especially since it gives fans something to anticipate.  Better yet, the tagline here oozes emotion, adding to the anticipation: Across This Bridge, Your Empire Awaits.

Unfortunately, the rest of the ad doesn’t quite live up to the great tagline.  First, there’s the sense of hubris in the other tagline: “Finally, Perfected RTS Gameplay in a Stunning 3D World.”  It’s one thing to call your gameworld stunning, but quite another to proclaim that the gameplay is “perfected.”  Setting the bar a bit high, are we?   Wordplay aside, the ad could do a much better job setting up the Dune universe – In other words, who are these three warning factions?  What do they stand for, what do they want, and why do they hate each other?  Long time fans of Dune know the answers, but others won’t have a clue.  Therefore, most people will be wondering, “Who the heck is the African American guy in the upper right corner?”  He’s seems particularly concerned about something, but Westwood doesn’t tell us much about why he’s even in the ad.

Overall, the idea of setting up a series of four consecutive ads is a great idea, but perhaps it would have been a better idea to highlight the three sides instead of the gameworlds, especially when the ad doesn’t really tell you anything about the gameworld Geidi Prime.  After reading this ad, you wonder, what makes Geidi Prime any different than the other worlds?  Yes, this is another unanswered question.

Grade: B-

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