Digging Through My Steam Backlog: Duke Nukem 3D
After the kinda dark and dystopian Bioshock I had Resident Evil 4 next on the docket; but I was waiting for the HD pack mod, so I went with what was right next to it, Duke Nukem 3D. In terms of Boomer Shooters I had been wanting to do the Build Engine trinity of Duke Nukem 3D, Blood, and Shadow Warrior for a while. I have Blood, I have Duke, I still need Shadow Warrior though but that's beyond the point. The point is that we're here to ask the question, was Duke Nukem ever truly the king 90's gamers proclaimed him as?
Well to start with we have the story, which is that aliens have invaded Los Angeles and are stealing Earth's women. The only person who can stop them is Duke Nukem; a perpetually horny steroid abuser with a penchant for murdering aliens. Shot down while returning to Earth after his alien killing side scrolling adventures; Duke must kill his way through LA, the Moon, and LA again in order to save the day.
If that description wasn't obvious, Duke Nukem 3D has a cheesy 80's action hero mentality and embraces it wholeheartedly. Duke will give one liners as he blows enemies away by the dozen with a wide variety of massive guns. It's very fun and cheesy but it also suffers from a tonal inconsistency in the world design. It's clear the devs didn't know the word stop because there's times where they simply go too far in terms of world design.
The real problem is the world Duke inhabits, it's here you'll realize the devs had no concept of taste or tonal consistency or the word "stop". You'll go from propositioning strippers one moment and then the next watch a woman in an alien pod beg for death. And I'm not joking, that actually happens in the first level of Episode 3 and it's fucked. On a related note, you cannot save these women, for some reason you just can't in spite of what the plot might make you think.
Note that none of this is actually a smear on Duke Nukem's character, for the most part Duke himself is fine. I actually enjoy Duke as a character, he got a chuckle or two from me and I can see why people fell in love with Duke. Honestly if they cut all the gross and terrible shit out, I suspect Duke wouldn't prompt collar tugs when talking about his franchise. Though from what I understand Duke Nukem Forever doubled down on the things I didn't like, which is a shame.
Alright, but for all the bitching I just did about how tonally inconsistent Duke 3D's world is, it is well designed and lively. As opposed to Doom or even Quake which set the game in more fantastical places and weren't concerned with imitating real-world locales, Duke 3D is mostly about slightly cartoonish replications of places, the exception is the moonbase in Episode 2 and some areas of Episode 1. Compare it to some of Doom 2's city missions with their rudimentary and abstract shapes and it's easy to see why people were impressed by Duke 3D.
What makes Duke 3D's environments pop however is that there's quite a bit to do with them, the environmental interactivity is off the charts in these games. Arming dynamite to blow up walls, opening secret passages in bookcases, turning off and on projectors. It isn't just that these places are based on real locations, it's that they act like them as well. It also allows for a lot of secrets with either weapons or refrences being your reward, a nice incentive to stop and look around between bout's of alien murder.
Speaking of alien murder, if you played the original Doom you'll pick up on what Duke 3D is doing with it's gameplay. Strafing around at 300mph and killing everything in sight is the name of the game and the weapons are all fun and satisfying. Shout out goes to the shrinker which does exactly what it says on the tin and is super fun to use. Though it is odd that the pistol has a reload, none of the other guns do and it kinda breaks the pace.
The enemies aren't really special, they all have unique patterns and ways of firing that keep you on your toes but beyond that I wouldn't classify them as memorable beyond the pig cops. The only exception is the chain gun enemiesl, they're like Doom's chaingunners in that I hate them and kill them ASAP. But they also drop the ammo for the chaingun which, given how often those guys pop up in Episode 2, makes the chaingun your main weapon in that episode.
The level design though was frustrating, it's something to adjust to but Duke 3D's first Episode is very obtuse with the path forward and I was getting frustrated with it quickly. But then Episodes 2 and 3 were very straight forward and significantly less frustrating. That or I finally adjusted to what Duke 3D was asking of me and adapted to it. It's like a reverse Doom, there Episode 1 was great and the later Episodes soured me.
My other major gripe is the bosses and how unspectacular they are. Episode 1's boss actually did kick my ass to be fair but the bosses of Episode's 2 and 3 were chumps and I quickly smashed through them. I suspect it's because Episode 1's boss uses hit scan weapons and those are always hell to deal with while the others used projectiles. Those hurt more but I can also dodge much easier so they might as well be a non-factor.
But those are minor quips in the face of a pretty revolutionary game and Duke Nukem 3D certainly was that. The world design and things happening in it haven't aged well. But in 1996 when FPS heroes were mute and characterless, I can see where Duke would have left a mark and become so beloved. But what truly helps Duke 3D stand the test of time is its interactivity, real world mimicry, quick gameplay, and likeable hero. Duke may not be king anymore, but it's worth remembering when he once was and how he can be again.
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