Summary
Apogee's first platformer, and one of the best
The Good
The year is 1997, and Dr. Proton has built an army of TechBots, robots built with enhanced technology, that will help him take over the world. Due to the militaryÂ’s failures to overcome him, the CIA has asked Duke Nukem to wipe out Dr. Proton off the face of the earth.
There are three episodes to Duke Nukem. “Shrapnel City” has Duke going through Los Angeles, wiping out some of Dr. Proton’s army, including TechBots, MechBots, and Rabbitoids as he goes after him for the first time. In “Mission: Moonbase”, Duke goes to the moon and must find Proton’s secret moonbase, and in “Trapped in the Future!”, Duke uses Proton’s time machine to transport himself to the future, where he has a final showdown with Proton. Also present are choppers that try to hurt Duke’s head. There are hazards Duke also must avoid including spike balls, and fire chutes. In a few levels of each episode, Dr. Proton makes death threats by speaking to Duke through televisions
When you start the game, Duke will have only his pistol with limited ammo, but he can find more pistols later in the game to increase his firepower. You also have eight health units. The same deal in Duke Nukem as with other games: One health unit lost for each time you touch an enemy. Once Duke has no health bars left, he has to restart the level, but unlike other games, Duke has unlimited lives. You can get soda cans and a turkey leg to increase a heath unit, but shooting a turkey leg will cause it to have a mate, which if Duke grabs, increases his health twice as much. YouÂ’ll find soda cans and turkey legs by shooting the red boxes.
In each episode, there are quite beautiful backgrounds that are spread throughput each episode, including the LA skyline, a mountain, a futuristic city, and a spaceship. All throughout each level are security cameras that watch DukeÂ’s every move, and if he fires at a security camera, he will score some points. Duke will also score points if he collects the letters D, U, K, and E in the correct sequence; finishing the level with no health lost; collecting small items such as balloons, radios, floppy disks that are found in blue boxes, or fall out of the sky. You can also shoot soda cans and catch them in mid-air to score points There are also gray boxes. Shooting this box with either release dynamite which, as usual, is hazardous to your health; pr an atom that will give you full health units.
The points you are awarded with are shown when Duke enters a hallway between levels. Here, you can stand in front of the notice and press the Up direction key on your keyboard allows Duke to read it. The same procedure applies when you stand in front of the exit doors to exit to the level or hallway, or when you find a keypad that requires a red, green, blue, or violet key.
Besides collecting the different colored keys required to open doors so he can find his way to the exit door, Duke has to find other items, which include a robot hand (to extend a platform), grappling hook, jumping shoes (to get to those hard to reach places), and computer board (to deactivate a laser barrier).
Duke Nukem contains EGA graphics only, and the sound is only produced through the PC Speaker.
The Bad
Nothing.
The Bottom Line
I consider
Duke Nukem to be one of the best games
Apogee has done, and if you enjoy it, then you might want to download the extra levels from the
3D Realms web site, plus an level editor. Duke Nukem is followed by a sequel, complete with Sound Blaster support, and Dr. Proton makes a comeback in 3D RealmsÂ’ long-awaited game,
Duke Nukem Forever. ****
