Not sure about Funcom's ambitious MMO? Dune: Awakening is free to try this weekend

Dune: Awakening is a survival MMO with, shall we say, a rather mixed bag of reviews - although there's certainly some praise for the game, or parts of it.

If that's left you rather on the fence as to whether to take the plunge, you might be interested to learn that it's free to play the sprawling survival game this weekend, as Wccftech reports. In fact, it's free from today through to Monday, so you've got a long weekend of the spice flowing, should you want to partake.

This is a celebration of the arrival of Chapter 2, a free update for the game, and a new piece of DLC called the Lost Harvest.

Funcom tells us:

"We're excited to share that Dune: Awakening is free to play in the Free Weekend that runs from September 11-15! This is the perfect opportunity to get your friends to join you on Arrakis, as Free Weekend players can join any World and Sietch."

Dune: Awakening will also be discounted for the first time, from today through to September 22, when you'll be able to buy the game for 20% off.

As noted at the outset, there are some mixed reviews, but there are certainly highlights with this MMO.

That includes the world and atmosphere, which Funcom has seemingly pulled off really nicely. There are a number of gamers who enjoy simply wandering through the rich environment and absorbing everything as a solo PvE'er, and are big fans of this way of experiencing Dune: Awakening.

That said, there are a lot of complaints about bugs and general jankiness too, particularly when it comes to the MMO side of the experience and social elements - and the grindy nature (where Awakening might be in danger of becoming 'Sleepening').

Although even the critics admit that Funcom has done a great job with some of the game mechanics here, with a seemingly high-quality combat system, and character development, too.

You can see for yourself, for free, this weekend - and also check out how much difference the first content pack makes (fingers crossed on that front).