Developed by 3D Realms
Released for XBLA (9/2008)
Also on Android/Game.Com/Genesis/iOS/Macintosh/Mobile/Nintendo 64/PC/Saturn
Duke Nukem 3D was originally released in January 1996 for the PC and was a pretty big deal in the history of '90's first-person shooters. This was one of the first games in the genre to have a protagonist with a voice, which helped add a layer of personality and attitude we hadn't seen before. Duke would often deliver some memorable one-liners, many of which were lifted from film classics like the Evil Dead and They Live. The environments, the majority of which take place on Earth, were less abstract and more varied than previous efforts in the genre. The game also featured a very unique weapon set to help set itself apart from the competition.
The Xbox 360 port of Duke Nukem 3D is a solid port of the PC classic, playing pretty much exactly how I remembered it back in the day. There's no graphical enhancements to be mentioned, but everything is intact and the game runs smoothly. The three episodes from the original game are included, as well as the fourth episode that was included with the Atomic Edition add-on. The second episode has Duke traveling into space to fight the alien invasion, but the majority of all the other levels take place on Earth. There are some great level designs here, with a good variety ranging from a fast-food burger joint, strip club, police station, grocery store and many more. It can be easy to get stuck in some of the levels if you're not familiar with them, but if you explore everything thoroughly you can find your way through.
The weapon loadout for Duke Nukem 3D offers a nice diversity of options to dispatch your foes. You have your standard pistol, shotgun, automatic weapon and rocket launcher but you also have some more exotic weaponry like the shrinker, pipe bombs, expander, laser trip mines and the freeze-thrower. The shrinker allows you to shrink your enemy, allowing you to walk up and stomp on them. Pipe bombs can be thrown and detonated from afar. Laser trip mines can be placed on a surface and will explode when something walks through the laser, allowing you to lure enemies into traps. The freeze-thrower will freeze the enemy which can then be shattered. The expander will cause the enemy to increase in size until they explode. There's also a devastator which launches multiple rockets at a fast-rate, making quick work out of enemy crowds. The weapon load-out is still a personal favorite in the FPS genre and the weapons are all a blast to kill the aliens with.
There are a few nice additions in this port, including replays, online co-op/deathmatch and the rewind feature. The leaderboards allow users to share clips of their best times, and it's always interesting to see how unreal some of the quickest speed-runs are for this game. The game allows up to two people to play co-op or up to eight in Dukematch mode. The servers are barren these days, however it does still function as of 2017 so if you have a friend with the game you can still play online. Also new to this version of the game is the rewind function which allows you to go back in time upon your death. It will save up to your last ten minutes of play and you have a slider to choose how far back in time you wish to go. It definitely eliminates a lot of potential frustration and allows you to quickly get back into the action after you die.
Duke Nukem 3D isn't going to blow anybody away graphically, and in all honesty the game wasn't exactly a graphic powerhouse when it came out back in '96 either, but the creativity, charm and personality of the game more than makes up for it. Whether you're somebody who played the game back in the day or just interested in the history of the FPS genre, this is a solid port of Duke Nukem 3D that won't let you down.
Final Verdict: Duke Nukem 3D is a classic first-person shooter that has been faithfully ported to the Xbox 360 with a few extra bells & whistles. If you want a great retro FPS experience look no further!
Related Links
Buy Duke Nukem 3D - Xbox Marketplace
Duke Nukem 3D - Metacritic
Duke Nukem 3D - GameFAQs
Duke Nukem 3D Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
Duke Nukem 3D - True Achievements
Lazy Game Reviews: Duke Nukem Series Retrospective - YouTube
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