Emperor - Battle for Dune

The war for universal supremacy will once again rage, and this time, it will happen in glorious 3D. At a press event in Las Vegas, Westwood Studios announced its first fully 3D-accelerated real-time strategy game, Emperor: Battle for Dune.

"We wanted to take the fun and playability of a Westwood real-time strategy game and combine it with a robust 3D engine that delivers stunning graphics," said Chris Longpre, producer of Emperor. "To do that, we're revisiting the fascinating universe of Dune, which gives us a rich setting and an incredible story to tell."

Westwood is adding a new level of strategy to the RTS genre with a completely non-linear Planetary Campaign, which features 33 different maps to fight on, and more than 100 missions, each with its own twists and turns, benefits and challenges. While battling from territory to territory, working across the planet in whatever direction he deems wise, a commander can pull reserve troops from conquered territories, but also might be forced to retreat from territories if his forces are spread too thin.

Emperor: Battle for Dune is not only graphically beautiful, but delivers multiple player choices. The game features three unique sides, the Noble House Atreides, the Evil Harkonnen and the Insidious Ordos, each with vast armies armed with treacherous weapons.

Once a player chooses his main alliance, he will be able to ally with any two of five sub-houses, each with their own special weapons and benefits. The ability to choose from the three main houses and five sub-houses gives players the ability to create a customized army, tailored to specific tactics and strategies.

The epic story of Emperor will be told through movie sequences starring Michael Dorn (Star Trek:The Next Generation), Vincent Schiavelli (Ghost, Man on the Moon, Batman Returns) and Musetta Vander (The Cell, Wild Wild West).

The multiplayer game will give gamers a full slate of multiplayer options, including the ability to fight through the single player campaign as allies. Emperor will be supported through Westwood Online , Westwood's free Internet gaming service.

The game ships October 31st.