Duke Nukem

aka: Duke Nukum, Metal Force
Moby ID: 559
DOS Specs

Description official descriptions

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Videos

See any errors or missing info for this game?

You can submit a correction, contribute trivia, add to a game group, add a related site or alternate title.

Credits (DOS version)

5 People

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 45% (based on 1 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.3 out of 5 (based on 61 ratings with 7 reviews)

A great game with a few flaws.

The Good
Great gameplay, lots of action, and unforgettable humor.

A classic, fun side-scroller/shooter with th old apogee style fun!

Rampaging through deadly robots, mines, & underground worlds you are guaranteed to have the time of your life!!

The Bad
Poor graphics. I don't like the fact that this game spawned terribly violent sequels from a man shooting side-scroller to Quake-style action games.

The Bottom Line
A great game worth buying even if it cost you $100!

DOS · by Jim Fun (207) · 2001

Fun platform shooter; the best of Apogee's EGA games

The Good
Duke Nukem is mindless fun. Levels aren't so difficult that I became frustrated. Lots of little touches and generous bonus items are everywhere. It's cheesy and goofy, but I liked it. The other Apogee with better graphics didn't live up to this standard.

The Bad
The gameplay is too scripted. Everything is in exactly the same place each time you play. Animation is choppy.

The Bottom Line
Of the brief era from 1991 through 1994, when PC game developers were racing to show that they couldn't be outdone by NES games from six years earlier, Duke Nukem is a high point.

DOS · by James Hague (10) · 2000

One of my favorite platformers.

The Good
The cool items like the shoes and the grappling hook. There were a good variety of monsters and point items.

The Bad
It would have been cool if he had a variety of weapons.

The Bottom Line
Just like any other platformer except better. You have to destroy all the bad guys and find your way through huge mazes of levels.

DOS · by Attila (553) · 2001

[ View all 7 player reviews ]

Trivia

Duke Nukem 3D

Duke Nukem for DOS (full version, all three episodes) was included on the Duke Nukem 3D for DOS CD.

Editor

While it would later become a standard matter of course that companies would form solely to sell new level packs to iD Software's first-person shooters, a couple of enterprising individuals led the vanguard as early as Duke Nukem 1, before there was the same calibre of groundbreaking excellence to co-opt. One Tony Kamin of Green Bay, WI seems to have reverse-engineered the DN map format and gotten a level editor together as early as 1992, shopping around two alternate level sets under the name "Duke Nukem Extension Set" for only five dollars' registration a piece. It would look like a coincidental case of parallel evolution when Larry Shanker of Salem, OH began selling his map pack, "Duke's Next Adventure", the following year for the same price... but suspiciously much of the legal boilerplate and installation instructions in their respective README.TXT files are identical! There's no word on the record as to how Apogee responded to these cats turning a quick buck off of their product.

Sales

The trilogy was rated the best selling shareware software (of all categories) for 1991 and 1992.

Soundtrack

Even the world of Duke Nukem got its own soundtrack to establish the realm. Soundtrack was released in 1999.

Tracklist: 1. Duke Nukem Theme - Megadeth - Cinnamon Girl - Type O Negative (previously unreleased in U.S.) - What U See Is What U Get - Xzibit - Blisters - Coal Chamber (previously unreleased in U.S.) - Song 10 - Zebrahead - The Thing I Hate - Stabbing Westwards - It's Yourz - Wu-Tang Clan - Screaming from the Sky - Slayer - New World Order - Megadeth (previously unreleased) - Stone Crazy - The Beatnuts - Land of the Free Disease - Corrosion of Conformity (previously unreleased)

Sprites

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery! Keen-eyed gaming enthusiasts might notice through the first Duke Nukem series occasional level sprites as having been adapted or lifted wholesale without credit from PC ports of Mega Man and Turrican.

Title

From the Apogee FAQ:

There is frequently a great deal of confusion over the correct spelling of one of Apogee's most prized characters, Duke Nukem. The original spelling for the name was "Duke Nukem"; however, during the code fix stage between v1.0 and v2.0 of the original game, Apogee found a character overseas named "Duke Nukem" that was thought to be copyrighted. So, for v2.0 of the original Duke game, the name was changed to "Duke Nukum." Then, during the programming of the next Duke Nukem game (Duke Nukem II), it was discovered that the character they found overseas was not copyrighted after all -- and so the original name was reinstated. "Duke Nukem" is also the spelling used in all successive games that featured the character.

The spellings "Duke Nuke 'em," "Duke Nuke'um," "Duke Nuke'm," "Duke Nuk'em" or other variations are not, and were never, correct. The correct spelling of the game is "Duke Nukem".

Awards

  • FLUX
    • Issue #4 - #39 in the " Top 100 Video Games of All-Time" list

Information also contributed by Big John WV, Indra was here, LepricahnsGold and MAT

Analytics

MobyPro Early Access

Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!

Related Games

Duke Nukem II
Released 1993 on DOS, 2013 on Windows, 2022 on Linux...
Duke Nukem Arena
Released 2007 on BREW
Duke Nukem Mobile
Released 2004 on Zodiac, J2ME, BREW
Duke!ZONE for Duke Nukem 3D
Released 1996 on DOS
Duke Nukem: Time to Kill
Released 1998 on PlayStation
Duke Nukem Forever Collection
Released 2012 on Windows, Macintosh
Duke Nukem 1+2
Released 2012 on Windows, Macintosh, Linux
Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition
Released 1996 on DOS, 2001 on Windows, 2014 on Linux...

Related Sites +

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 559
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

Contribute

Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by MajorDad.

Linux added by Plok. Windows, Macintosh added by lights out party.

Additional contributors: Trixter, Xantheous, Frenkel, Caelestis, Patrick Bregger, Narushima.

Game added December 10, 1999. Last modified February 15, 2024.