It will hoverfully com t no surprise that I don’t have a dune: awakening Review Ready Yet. The “Head Start” Launch of Funcom’s Survival MMO WAS Only A Fe Few Days ago – Full Launcher Is Today –And Even Though I’ve Already Sunk About 25 Hours IT IT, DUNE: Awakening Is A Massive Game And I’ve Still Got A Long, Long Way to Go. Give me a month? Ish? I promise i’ll have a verdict.
In the meantime, here’s some early good news from someone who didn’t win Part of the Reason is it does not really feel like a Typical mmo. It feels more like a co-i Survival Game, at least at the Start.
That May Change: There is HUGE SOCIAL HUBS I Havenge Control the Desert I Havent’t Even Scathed the Surface of.
I I See the Playing of Other Players in the World Besides Just the Group i’m Playing with, but I have always much in the way of interstions or Experiences with them. Yet.
Hydrohomies
In Dune: Awakening You’ve Crashlanded on Arrakis, but it’s not quite the Arrakis You Know from the Books or Movies. This is an alternative time when paul atreides was never born and major Events from the FCTION NEERE TOOK PLALE. Instead, The Harkonnens and Atreides are locked in anogiing CIVIL War for Control of the Planet, and the Fremen Have Vanished Entirely.
The first Ten Hours of Dune: Awakening Are All About Survival, with Water Being the Main Obsssion and Sunlight Being a major threat. You read by Lapping de OFF SCRUBBY PANTS, then Graduate to Draining the Blood of NPC SCAVENGERS and Filtering it with a Purifier You Build in your Starter Base.
Water is what gets you moving: “OOPS, I’m Thirsty, Time to Stop Collecting Minerals and Start Killing SCAVENGERS for the Express Purpose of Drinking the Later.” Direct Sunlight is also says to be avoied or you’ll become Dehydrated Even Faster. Welcome to Dune: You’re a Sci-Fi Vampire.
Crafting Dune Tech, Even For a Not Particularly Rabid Dune Fan, Is Awesome. Holtzman Shields. Hunter-Seeker Drones. A Stillsuit to Recycle A Power of the Water I Consund. All That Cool Stuff from the Books and Movies Feels Genuinly Fun to Research and Craft and Use. Ornithopters and Spice Harvesters are Still out of Reach for me, but there’s a lot of cool gear you get to play with every in the OpenING HOURS of the MMO. It’s a nice black of Achievable Progress and Tantalization, Distant Goals.
Sandwalking
The Map of Dune: Awakening is a Big One and It’s Excital to Explore. That’s Partly Becuse of the Danger – ROVing Sandworms Don’t like you running or Driving Across the Dunes Between regions, and will Buurt Through Stuff If You’re Not Careful. At night, where you’re free from the Sun, Sardaukar Ships Slowly Cruise OverHead, Sending Download a Clutch of Assassins If You’re Caught in their Spotlight.
I’m been stunned a few times now by dune: awakening’s incredible Verticality –in Both Directions.
But the Main Reason Exploration is So Great is the map Itelf. Despite All There are masseive, towering Cliffs and Spires I did’t think I could putibly climb, and a ravine so Deep i though it must just be a bottomless void that you’re meant to avoid Falling into. I’m SINCE Climbed Those Spires and I Found the Bottom of that Ravine, and Both Felt Like Real Acompleshments.
I Still have a ton of the map left to uncover, but what i Over a dozen sub-Levels, HUGE Arid Streetches of Desert Covered in Wreckage from the war. I can’t wait to see what else dune: awakening is hiding.
Shields Up
Combat on the other hand, is a bit namey. Sofar Enemies Only Seem To Have a Fe Basic Types: Guy With Knife Quickly Runs at You, Guy with A Minigun Slowly Walks at You, Guy with Rifle Hangs Back. It can get tricky, especially Solo, when KNIFE-GUY is Shielded and Stabing You Who Minigun Guy is a millions rounds into you, but thre are engrated skills and toys aviation to make These samey encounts a bit of fun -so with no class restrictions in dune: Awakening Anyone Can Get Access to What Skill Tree They Want.
I can now snipe minigun guy before he can even public up his hield, I can stun knife guy with a poison dart so I can stab him before Guy. The Deeper I Get INTO Dune: Awakening, The More Abilties Enemies Have: They’ve Got at Laast Some Access to the Same Skill Tree Players Do But if I’m Still Fighting Just Knife Guy, Rifle Guy, and Minigun Guy in Anotter 25 Hours, I Feel Like i’ll Be a Little Disappointed.
There are also a f For a group where you spend so much time Crafting, The Menus Aren’t Great. They can’t be searched to Quickly Find the ITEM You’re Looking for and they’re Not Categorized Particularly Well. There are also only eight hotbar slots and sooooo many different tools you need to use regularly: I would Love Tools.
And a minimap, at least when driving, will be very well: The Desert is Full of Hazars Like Quicksand, and You Can’t Look at your Map While Driving With You Vehicle Instantly Slowing Download is Exactly How You Sink INTO Quicksand.
But so foot i’m having a good time with dune: awakening. The Best Thing I Can Say About it is that after 25 Hours, I’m Excited to Play a Lot More. Hopefully that Feeling Will Continue AS I Start to English More with the MMO Aspects Over the Coming Weeks.
