I had played both Duke Nukem and Duke Nukem 2, which were both standard Commander Keen type action scrolling games. So when I heard that Duke Nukem 3d was out I thought, big deal. But then I heard that it was a first person game like Doom. Still, big deal. That's been done before. But then I tried it out- and to my surprise it was really fun.

What made this game so great was it's element of fun. Unlike other first person games where you are killing people, this game is full of aliens and pig hogs. There are a wide variety of weapons which are different from the standard weapons. Though the play is like Doom, the levels are actually 3-dimension, and that comes along with jumping, crouching, swimming, aiming up and down, and a jetpack.

The design put into the levels is amazing. The first couple levels actually look like cities, and have shops with books, buildings where you can actually break windows, washrooms with toilets, and a movie theatre full with seats and posters and curtains that open. Everything is so detailed, and this makes it much more enjoyable to play. Some of my favourite features of this game are that Duke actually talks to you. Some of the language is a little dirty, but you can actually turn off the "adult" mode if these things offend you. If you walk up to the toilet and press the "use" button then Duke will say "Ahhhh, much better" with a toilet flushing noise and will give you ten more health. In the washrooms, there are also mirrors that actually work. You can see the reflection in them to spot enemies around a corner. In the first washroom, there is even an alien sitting on a toilet if you open the stall door. In the video arcade, there is a Duke Nukem game, and if you press the "use" button he says "Hey, I don't have time to play with myself."

All these small details are less plentiful in the later levels, but they add to the enjoyment of the game. The designers were clearly putting emphasis on making this game fun aswell as making it a breakthrough in first person shoot-em-ups. Even though it is a shoot-em-up, it is not a bloody gory game like Quake. There is reason why this is the only shoot-em-up game in my top 5, and that is because it was the most original of all of the shoot-em-ups I've ever played.

I've also played DukeMatch, which is the network version of the game. The only problem with DukeMatch is that the experienced players will completely dominate the game. I played this game for the first time on a DukeMatch, and I often found myself getting blown up by a rocket 5 seconds after materializing by someone flying above in a jetpack. But then that is the same for most net-games. The levels are too big for a two-person modem game, but aslong as there is an equal number of experienced players to noobees then everyone is bound to have a blast.

As for how this game performs on my 486- I would not recommend it for play. It was just too choppy. On a 486-66 with no sound it should run fine, but the sound is one of the integral parts of the game. It runs fine on pentiums however, and this is the game that hogs the most memory on my top ten list. There is a shareware version out, and I highly recommend downloading it to give it a try.

Steve's Rating for Duke Nukem 3d

Gameplay
Fun
Difficulty
Graphics
Sound
Network

Overall Rating:

Steve's Rank - 4th