Duke Nukem 3D

The Good
Released concurrently with 'Quake', this game polarised opinion like nothing since Marmite. On the one hand, it had the off-hand, campy fun of Doom (something Quake lacked), a varied set of levels, and lots of really neat touches, but on the other hand the technology looked old-fashioned in comparison, especially when you consider that the engine is very similar to that which powered 'Dark Forces', released a year of so beforehand.

It's still great fun, though - you fight through a varied series of post-apocalyptic level designs, with destructible scenery, shattering landscapes and some finely-detailed environments. The 'pipe bombs' were the only decent use of a mine in a game of this type ever, and it ran quickly on 486es.

The Bad
Eventually the gameplay become quite dull - it's a straight action game, and it's unfairly hard at times (although not unfairly). Worst of all, the end-of-episode bad guys were much too tough. Over-familiarity blunts it, too - the same engine powered a host of very similar follow-ups, including 'Blood', 'Shadow Warrior' and 'Nam'.

The Bottom Line
Fondly-remembered, self-parodic action shoot-em-up, like John Carpenter's 'They Live' brought to your PC.