I can't imagine anyone reading this review found it by searching this game out. Even though no one still plays the game anymore, when I saw the title listed, I thought I had to put in my two cents. Duke Nukem was the best of all the pre-Quake II 1st person shooters, and I liked the multiplayer better than any shooter up until Unreal Tournament. In short: This game rocked!
This game was so entertaining for many reasons. In single player, it had impressive and varied level design that was more interactive than most games made today. Most impressively the levels worked just fine for both single and multiplayer games. ID software has never really done that right, except for the first six levels of Doom 2.
Every window, every wall, and every item in a room was movable and/or could be destroyed. I still remember the pleasure I had shooting up a glass house an opponent was hiding in, and watching all the windows breaking, the mirrors shattering, as well as pieces of the furniture. Whereas Doom was dark and moody, Duke was bright and very 'in your face' with various things. Who can forget the first time they set off some charges and watch a building collapse in front of them. Even the legendary John Carmack was reported to have gone "Wow" when he saw that at a tradeshow!
The engine did some things that no previous game did, and once the three dimensional engines came out, no game has really done as well since. For one, there were perfect mirrors. One of my most embarrassing moments was when I was playing multiplayer, and in a dark corridor I got in a huge deathmatch with myself! I thought my reflection was someone else, and I was shooting the shrink ray back and forth thinking it was my opponent trying to hit me. The game also has 'fake' three dimensional crawlspaces and tunnels. Now they exist and are no problem with the current 3d engines, but back then, being in a room and hearing someone crawling around in a duct hanging from the ceiling was something special. I loved filling it with machine gun bullets listening to him grunt as my wounded opponent tried to crawl away. There were also security cameras where you could see other parts of the levels to learn where enemies may be waiting for you.
The levels had working light switches, and of course there were those of us who liked the dark and just shot everything out. You could flood rooms, run on conveyor belts, and even use lifts to crush opponents. There was neat colored lighting, strippers, and lots of things that exploded as you ran past them. This might have been the first FPS that actually had scripted events like Half-life.
The weapons in the game were well balanced and fairly inventive then. Aside from your standard rocket launcher, machine gun and shotgun, there is also a Shrink Ray, pipe bombs, trip wires, and various power-ups. When hit by a shrink ray you would actually look smaller to the other players, but could be automatically stepped on if they got directly over you. The pipe bombs worked because you could throw as many of them down on the ground as you wanted, but you didn't have to set them off until you pressed another button. The trick was to lay them down in places where you knew your opponent would have to stand, often using yourself as bait!
The game also was downright funny when you listened to all the B movie one-liners that Duke liked to say. I remember hearing "Let's Rock" on someone's computer years after the game had left. It also came with a pretty usable level editor. Still there were never as many levels made with that as there were level made for Doom 1, and later Quake.
Where the game really shined was in the multiplayer. Aside from what I've already mentioned, I have to remind readers of both the Jet Pack and the Holoduke. The Jetpack was a crude flying device that worked very well for a 2D engine. It wasn't enough to float endlessly waiting for your opponent to come running along, but it helped you get to areas and to escape explosions at your feet. The Holoduke was similar to the hologram Arnold Schwarzenegger had in the movie "Total Recall". You could basically erect a phony version of yourself. In multiplayer games this was great! I remember sending my holoduke up an elevator only to listen to rounds and rounds of rockets being wasted on my image. I remember putting it in a doorway, and lying in wait like a sniper for my enemies to give up their position to start shooting at it. I remember using him so much one game, that once I just sat still and watched a group of my multiplayer friends stare at the real me, and think "I wont be fooled by that again", and when they turned around I launched multiple rockets into their midst.
I get a tear in my eye just thinking about those days. How come no other company has ever put a holoduke feature into their current multiplayer games?
Better than a book! Features full-motion video and advanced map technology that guides you through every level. Includes Duke Nukem 3D shareware plus ...More at eBay
Better Than A Book! Full Motion Video! Advanced Map Technology That Guides You Through EVERY Level! Includes Free Tips & Tactics Guide & Duke Nukem 3D...More at Amazon Marketplace
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