1996 (shareware only, with the full game releases in May). These three Duke titles are the only official games, even though some console titles did surface after the success of Duke Nukem 3D.ĭuke Nukem 3D was released in early Jan. Duke Nukem 3D together with Quake and Doom make up the holy trinity of FPS games, responsible for the extreme popularity of the genre.
The game that made history however, was the third installment, Duke Nukem 3D, which was a First Person Shooter. That game and Duke Nukem 2 were sidescrolling - platform games. The gaming world was introduced to the Alien Ass Kicker through Duke Nukem the game. Duke Nukem might be a ridiculous, misogynist, anachronistic dinosaur, but he’s got personality.Duke Nukem Forever is destined to become the fourth official game of the Duke Nukem saga.
Yet, as the Duke wanders around, blasting aliens while spewing out gratuitous and frequently scatological one-liners, it’s hard not to crack the odd smile and even (the shame) the odd chuckle. The fact is that many people simply won’t get the joke - and there’s not really an awful lot of joke to get. It’s also dated, offensive and mildly embarrassing (and when the strippers get dragged out for the umpteenth time, you can take away the “mildly”). It’s crass, sexist, deeply adolescent and dumb, and no longer relevant to anything in current popular culture or even games culture. Most importantly, Duke Nukem Forever still looks, feels and sounds like Duke Nukem. Puzzles, when they come, are a bit of a chore, and incongruous decisions to adopt a modern recharging health system, checkpoint-only saves and just two weapon slots cause irritation, but not to the point where you feel like giving up. There’s also much to like about some monster truck racing and miniaturised sneaking later on.
Levels featuring a miniature Duke in a remote-controlled car outstay their welcome, but until that point are fun, and the trampoline structures in an alien hive give the game a weird Sonic the Hedgehog ambiance. Plus, there are some nice ideas thrown in there - albeit ideas that aren’t quite as revolutionary in 2011 as they might have seemed had the game shipped before the millennium rolled around. “Dodge its attacks, fire rockets and blow it up.” “Here’s something big and ugly” is the message. They’re not trying to be epic or portentous. Even the boss battles feel like a blast from the past. And while it’s all very predictable, with few impressive set pieces and little in the way of orchestration, it’s actually kind-of fun. The old baddies - the pig cops, the jetpacked alien commandos, the fireball-throwing octopoids - behave exactly as you’d expect them to, with minimal sophistication or finesse. The old weapons - with some minor new additions - are as satisfying as you might remember them (particularly the trip-mines and the pipe bombs). If you wasted the years between 19 running sideways around dumb enemies while pumping the left-mouse button for all you’re worth, playing Duke Nukem Forever is a bit like getting back on an old bike. The surprising thing is that this dated style of gameplay holds up surprisingly well. Our guide to the best Switch games - including exclusives, indies, single and multi-player titles. Top Nintendo Switch games 2022: Best Switch titles every gamer must own Yes, Duke Nukem Forever is a mongrel, but like a lot of mongrels it’s got charm. Got a little nostalgia left for the Duke? Trust your instincts, and you won’t go away unrewarded. Followed the whole sorry saga since the beginning? Then playing Duke Nukem Forever is almost a historical necessity. If, however, you’re going to play the game as its creators originally intended - on PC, with a mouse and keyboard - then read on. The substandard graphics, poor controls and painfully protracted loading times will spoil all the fun. Planning to play it on a console? Don’t bother. If you did play it, but have zero affection for the character, steer clear. Should you buy it? Well, if you never played Duke Nukem 3D, no. The graphics and gameplay are horrifically dated, portions defy belief for all the wrong reasons, and the whole thing has a weird late-90s feel to it, like it belongs to a world before Half-Life 2, Call of Duty and Halo transformed the FPS. Fourteen years of development has resulted in a scruffy, scrappy mongrel of a game which, in a lot of ways, should have been put down permanently several years ago. (Pocket-lint) - Duke Nukem Forever almost doesn’t need a review, just a flowchart.