Dune 2: Battle for Arrakis

Dune II, here titled Battle for Arrakis, is the game that effectively defined the real-time strategy genre. Developed by Westwood Studios and originally released in 1992, it takes Frank Herbert's desert planet as the battleground for three noble houses, Atreides, Harkonnen and Ordos, all fighting to control the harvesting of the precious spice melange. This version reflects the game as it spread across platforms and cemented its influence.

Almost every convention modern RTS players take for granted was codified here: harvesting a resource to fund a base, constructing buildings from a build menu, teching up a tree of units and structures, and directing armies with the mouse in real time. On Arrakis that means sending harvesters out to collect spice while watching for the giant sandworms that swallow vehicles whole, then funnelling the income into tanks, infantry and devastating house-specific superweapons.

It is not without rough edges by today's standards; you can only select one unit at a time and the AI can be crude, quirks that Westwood's own Command & Conquer would soon smooth away. Yet the core loop is instantly recognisable and still compelling, and the distinct playstyles of the three houses give it real replay value. As the blueprint for a whole genre, it is both historically vital and, remarkably, still fun to play.