Duke Nukem 3D

Download Duke Nukem 3D and join the iconic action hero as he saves Earth from alien invasion! Blast your way through hordes of enemies, uncover hidden secrets, and enjoy Duke's irreverent humor. Hail to the king, baby! Play now!
a game by 3D Realms, and GTE Interactive Media
Genres: Action, Shooting Games
Platforms: PC, Sega GenesisGenesis, Playstation
Editor Rating: 8.1/10, based on 8 reviews
User Rating: 6.8/10 - 19 votes
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See also: 3D Games, Duke Nukem Games

You do not get much more tude than Duke Nukem 3D. Today I am having some fun as I go all the way back to 1996 and check out the original badass first-person shooter. Even if you have not played any of his games, chances are you have heard of Duke. He is loud, crude and he is not scared to rip off your head and take a dump down your neck.

Back To The 80s

What I love about this game and the series, in general, is how self-aware it all is. Clearly, Duke is based on the action movie heroes of the 1980s and that is great. There is a bunch of ugly aliens that are trying to invade and our hero Duke is having none of it. Duke Nukem 3D may not be the most cinematic game, but there is more than enough here to ensure that you help Duke kill aliens so that he can smoke cigars, have a few beers, and bang a bunch of hot chicks. Duke's constant one-liners are awesome and make you love him even more.

Sexy Sprites

It has been said that this was one of the last first-person shooters that was built around using sprites and not any of that “fancy” 3D polygon tech that was becoming all the rage. It works and gives Duke a style that was starting to fade away by the time this game was released. Duke has a ton of personality and each location which includes such family-friendly places as a porno theatre and a club with nude dancing look great.

Shoot First, Shoot Second & Ask No Questions!

The gameplay of Duke Nukem 3D may seem very linear and basic by what we have in a first-person shooter these days. However, there is so much charm here that it is impossible not to get into it. Most levels do have you doing the same thing over and over. This is getting keys so that you can unlock doors, killing a ton of enemies, and so on. It is much more challenging than modern shooters are too. So, while you are encouraged to go balls to the wall, you do have to think about what you are doing too. To go with the over the top nature of the game, you have some pretty funky and cool weapons that you can use as well. Duke can use normal weapons, but he also can get his hand on some alien technology as well!

Bringing Duke To Console

Let me state that there is no substitute for the PC version of this game. However, I have to give a special mention to Duke Nukem 64 on the Nintendo 64. Seeing this game on a console and on a cartridge was very impressive back in the day. Being able to play local co-op with your friends was so much fun. So, while I would always recommend playing the PC version of the game, do not just flat out ignore the port that was released on the Nintendo 64.

As a kid of the 80s, Duke Nukem 3d clicked with me pretty much right away. Duke is freaking hilarious and he is a total badass. I do admit that I am using a very large pair of nostalgia goggles in this review and it is far from a perfect game by today's standards. However, as far as 90s first-person shooters go there are not many, if any that can match Duke in terms of its over the topness and attitude!

8.5

Final Score

Pros:

  • How can you not love Duke?
  • I loved the alien weapons that you could use
  • It is impressive how good the game looks
  • The Nintendo 64 version is really solid
  • If you play on PC, you can still play with other people online!

Cons:

  • Duke may be too much man and have too much attitude for you!
  • The objectives are near enough the same throughout the whole game

Download Duke Nukem 3D

PC

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
Genesis

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
  • Game modes: Single game mode

Player controls:

  • Up, Down, Left, Right - Arrow keys
  • Start - Enter (Pause, Menu select, Skip intro, Inventory)
  • "A" Gamepad button - Ctrl (usually Jump or Change weapon)
  • "B" button - Space (Jump, Fire, Menu select)
  • "C" button - Left Shift (Item select)

Use the F12 key to toggle mouse capture / release when using the mouse as a controller.

Playstation

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP

Game Reviews

Listen up punk today we are talking about Duke Nukem 3D and you better be ok with that! Sorry about that intro there, but when you are talking about Duke, you cannot help but get a little aggressive and macho. It is crazy to think that this was released on PC all the way back in 1996. It by many is regarded as the last hurrah for the sprites based first person shooter.

He Is The Duke

We kind of take Duke for granted these days, but this icon of video games got his start here. Duke is the ultimate macho dude. He is clearly inspired by all those awesome 80s action heroes and that is part of what makes him so great. The story of the game is pretty simple. There is an alien invasion and only Duke can stop it. Duke's motivations though are also scoring with chicks and pounding some beers! Duke's one-liners are a major highlight of the game for me. It really does make you laugh. The pop culture references through the game are also a ton of fun. Duke Nukem 3D is one of those games that you can clearly tell the developers were having a great time with it when they were making it.

Straight To The Point

The gameplay of Duke Nukem 3D is rather linear by today's standards, but I do not hold that against the game. Each level is kind of the same thing. You need to collect a bunch of keys and kill a ton of enemies. You would think that this would make the game get very old quite quickly. The game though is so much fun that you do not mind how linear it is. The level design is fantastic. You will visit some of Dukes favorite locations such as the XXX movie theatre and the strip club. You will also have to go to more insane places like an alien spacecraft. So, while the actual game is linear, there is so much variety and craziness to the game that you tend to not notice it as much as you would think so.

Guns, Girls, And Aliens!

Duke Nukem 3D is one of the most over the top first-person shooters of its time. Sure, the core gameplay is similar to games like Doom. Doom though does not mate the over the topness that Duke Nukem offers. The weapons are a lot of fun and all feel fantastic. While you get your standard weapons like shotguns and pistols, Duke also is able to get his hands on some pretty cool and crazy alien tech which is a lot of fun to use as well. My personal favorite weapon is the shrink ray. With this gun, you can shrink down one of those butt ugly Aliens and then just stop on them. The variety of the weapons is another thing that helps make up for the more linear approach of the overall game.

Play With Friends & Make It All Up!

While this is regarded as a pretty big game for the Nintendo 64, the PC version is where it is really at. You can still play Duke Nukem 3D online with people if you are on PC and that is great! The modes may be a little limited in comparison to what a Call of Duty offers, but there is still a lot of fun to be had. While it may be more work than some of you are willing to do, Duke Nukem 3D also has a pretty dedicated modded community. So, if you are into that kind of thing and enjoy player created content. Be sure to dive into it as there are some pretty crazy Duke fans out there.

I freaking love Duke Nukem 3D! I really do think that the game is still a lot of fun to play. I do think that it is a product of its time and it clearly is not offering the same kind of experience that a 2019 first person shooter is.

8

However, Duke Nukem 3D is an awesome time and him being so over the top, crude and just generally awesome is a reason why so many people love him to this day.

Pros:

  • This is where the Duke got his start!
  • There is a lot of variety to the levels
  • The weapons are pretty crazy
  • You can still play this online
  • The game is really over the top and fun

Cons:

  • The humor is a bit dated, but some may love that
  • The things you do are pretty much the same on every level

Forget, for a moment, all this wanky "Duke's better than Quake - No it isn't" stuff. Duke's here, Quake isn't. Quake is going to be a stunning game. But it isn't here yet. So let's talk about Duke, shall we? Basically, it's a great game. It's inventive, amusing, cool, and it's very hard. Most of you will probably have already played the share ware version, but some won't, so here's a quick run-down:

It's a Doom-clone, but better - buildings, for example, are proper buildings, with several floors and huge James Bond-style disappearing computer consoles. There are outsidey bits, and you can fly about with a jetpack, land on the roof of a building and work your way down through it. You can catch a tube, or go into the sewers and shoot sharks. You can shuttle around space stations with earth in the background. There are video monitors that you can use to check out your surroundings, and walls that can be blown out completely, allowing access to other areas. There are suspended walkways that can be brought crashing to the ground. There are ventilation shafts that you can get inside and crawl about in, emerging somewhere else. Most things (but not enough of them, some say) can be shot or blown up: windows, lights - you can even shoot aliens in the toilets, prompting all the usual "blowing the shit out of them" jokes. It has puzzles and switches that are more hidden than Doom's, and levels that may get you stuck from time to time, Your character is funny. I won't quote him too much here, because these things always seem more amusing when you are playing rather than in print, but he does say, during an earthquake, "I ain't afraid of no 'quake." And he does sing "Born to be wi-i-i-i-ild" in a karaoke club.

One slight drawback is the mouse aiming system, whereby you can look up and down as you progress, and which had me vomiting copiously after one four-hour session. (A hot Indian dish, if you must know, and yes, it hurt.) About the only thing I can think of more likely to induce nausea is a video of Paul Daniels and Debbie Magee having sex.

New stuff

Then there are the extras - two extra episodes, along with loads of in-game stuff like new weapons, some of which show the aliens obviously have a good sense of humour. Hey, maybe we should just buy them a couple of beers and have a laugh together... but I suppose that might not make such a good game. There are the new enemies: the chainguncarrying Enforcer; the airborne, mechanised death-dealing Sentry Drone: the rocket-firing, gravity-defying Assault Commander and the Protozoid Slimer, which runs up your trouser leg and sucks your brains out (something many people would pay good money for).

There are evil bastards who are very hard to get rid of. like the Battle Lord, a huge lumbering bastard with no weaknesses. who shoots rapid fire artillery and mortar shells at you and can only be killed by repeated attacks; the Over-lord, who launches powerful rocket attacks from a surgically implanted launcher on its back (in episode 2); and the extremely scary Cycloid Emperor, who appears in episode 3. Plus there's the level designer, and the facility to convert any Doom wad into a Duke map.

Walk into our office at the moment and you'll see everyone playing one of two games, and other people standing behind watching. One is (still) Championship Manager 2 - and this is the other.

When it comes down to it, you could be a techno-snob and ignore this and wait for Quake to appear - or you could buy this and have a good time in the interim. It's easy for reviewers to suggest multiple purchases in situations like this, forgetting that everyone else has to pay for their games. But in this case.

I honestly think Duke is more than value for money. It's more inventive, and more entertaining, than Doom. I know they've had long enough to get it right (but so have many others, who've tried and failed), and I know that with Quake about to hit us. things have moved on in the meantime. Someone in the office said that this looks like a cartoon, and Quake looks real. This is also true, but that doesn't mean that this isn't a great game in its own right. We like it a lot. If Apogee don't make much money on it, they'll only have themselves to blame. They've timed its release really badly: it should have been out six months ago. But it's still good.

The Levellers

The level editor that comes with Duke is the very one that the designers use themselves, and allows you to edit everything that's in the game apart from the code that runs the game engine itself. It comes complete with a warning that if you cock up your copy of Duke using it, you're on your own, and that they won't offer any help with its use. Scary. Like Doom, you can sit down and design yourself an evil arena in plan view, but you can also go into the area you've just designed and work on it in 3D from within the level itself, making it much easier to realise that the level you've just made based on the exploration of a giant Pamela Anderson has genitals of the wrong sex and breasts that are too realistic.

Had enough of 3D, first-person perspective, annihilate 'em ups? Thought not. The latest Doom-abee, Duke Nukem, tries to give you everything that the original Doom gave you and more. Look at the buildings, for example. They're proper buildings, with multiple floors, overhanging bridges, video monitors that you can switch on and use to check out your surroundings... They have walls that can be blown out completely (if the designers have designated them as such), allowing convenient access to outdoor bits, and whole suspended walkways can be brought crashing to the ground. They have ventilation shafts that you can get inside and crawl about in, emerging somewhere else. Anything and everything can be shot or blown up: windows, lights - even the lavatories, which raises the interesting possibility of catching someone in the bog and really blowing the shit out of them. The ex-toilets even spew water afterwards.

There are outside bits, and you can fly about with a jetpack, land on the roof of another building and work your way down through it. You can catch a tube, or go into the remarkably clean, but remarkably over-populated, sewers, and swim about, shooting Ik sharks. Or why not try going into the disco and shooting evervone who's wearing last year's sunglasses?

Dukey get your gun

The weapons are many and various, but some of the more interesting/humorous/dastardly ones are the following:

Delayed action grenade-type things

To use: Place in corner of room next to chicken. Retire to safe distance. Press fire. Watch chicken feathers float down from ceiling.

Shrinker-type things

To use: Point at chicken of whom you disapprove. Squeeze trigger. Chuckle as disapproved-of chicken becomes a poussin. Laugh crazily as you chase poussin and stamp it into a puddle of blood and goo.

Booby trap things

To use: Place on wall next to entrance to chicken toilet. Wait for chicken to enter toilet. Watch chicken feathers float down from ceiling.

Actually, there aren't any chickens the game. That was just an example.

Wrecking cruise

This whole destructible walls thing looks like it might be great. There's nothing to stop you, for example, from getting a lift to the top of a building, placing a bomb in the bathroom, getting the lift back down and going outside to watch, then pressing the button and watching the side of the building disappear in a big cloud of vaporised andjdecidedly singed loo roll. Then you'll be able to see into the building, which is all you wanted to do in the first place.

Basically, Doom took the world by storm and will probably never be bettered for originality and fear factor, but the chaps at Apogee and 3d Realms have done everything they can to add features that the other pretenders don't have. They've added humour with the shrinker weapon and the chance to shoot people in the toilets (excellente), and the level designer looks like it's worth having on its own. And there's a network option.

Duke Nukem 3D was one of the first games to take the first-person shoot 'em up by the scruff of the neck and inject some balls into it; the 'real world' level design even managed to include a booming strip joint with live dancing girls. There was even swearing, ft was a bit risque back then, and we loved it.

Duke himself is your usual big gun/small brain action hero, although curiously this ultra-stereotypical protagonist possesses a certain amount of amiable personality. Duke Nukem 3D is the sort of game you want to complete for him rather than for you.

Graphically, DN3D looks dated, with no sign of the 3Dfx wonders we now take for granted. And there's no question that the newer graphic engines seen in Unreal, Quake 2 and Thiel make for a smoother ride. However, when two new mission packs (namely Duke Caribbean and Duke Out In DC) are also bundled into this wholesome 15-quid package, you can forgive the scruffy edges. When it comes to entertainment, this is a whole lot of it.

Duke Nukem 3D released in 1996 on the PC and is widely regarded as the "last great sprite-based first person shooter". Before the likes of Half-Life and Quake released with 3D graphics, most first person shooters had an interesting 2.5D look. Games like DOOM, Wolfenstein 3D, and Duke Nukem 3D all have this unique and interesting art style, which blends hyper violence and cartoon-like visuals for a satisfying visual treat. The game's story is quite easy to follow, and plays as a container for tons of goofy one-liners and pop culture references. Duke Nukem's main goals are to rid the world of alien scum, pick up chicks, and drink beer. He's the amalgamation of 80's action movie stars and all the accompanying machismo attitude. With a giant arsenal of inventive weapons and a boot that was made for kicking butt, Duke (and by proxy, the player) must blast his way through dozens of fun levels in an effort to save the world.

The game is split up into different episodes, all of which contain a slew of linear levels you must complete. Each mission has a different theme, but with the constant throughline of explosions and blood. Early levels see you exploring interesting locations like strip clubs, adult cinemas, and arcades. Later episodes give way to even wackier environments, such as alien ships, giant factories, and space. Throughout each level, Duke's main goal is to collect the different colored keys that are need to progress. These keys are scattered throughout the maze-like levels, and depending on your chosen difficulty level, you'll have to face off against intimidating creatures to reach them. Many different types of enemies will reach the barrel of your gun, including mutant pig police, various unique bosses, obese flying aliens, and much more. Your arsenal of weapons is well suited to take on these otherworldly foes. Duke can grab a slew of fun weapons, ranging from your standard pistol and shotgun to things like ice beams and shrink rays. Regardless of your weapon of choice, there always seems to be an attitude of fun to the combat. Although games like DOOM boast lightning quick combat with plenty of gore, few games can match Duke Nukem 3D's hilarious action. It's always immensely satisfying to freeze and enemy and then kick them into a million pieces, or shrink them down to the size of an ant and squish them with your boot.

While the single-player episodes make up a bulk of the experience, competitive players can enjoy a few rounds of Deathmatch in the game's multiplayer offerings. Depending on your system of choice, you can link up with other players around the word and battle to the death in intense players-versus-player matches. There isn't a huge amount of variety in the modes offered; you have standard free-for-all and some team based modes. However, the game's quick pace and fun attitude make multiplayer matches endlessly entertaining. Duke Nukem 3D's competitive modes are the precursor to many of the online games we enjoy today. If you're a fan of modern shooting games like Halo, Call of Duty, or Battlefield, it's easy to see where the inspiration comes from.

Additionally, the game's engine was specifically designed to encourage user generated content. The console releases of Duke Nukem 3D make it hard to play user generated content, but for those playing on PC, you might be able to dig up some fun levels to try. Since most of these levels were made a decade or so ago, you might have to do some digging to find them. Fortunately, there were several compilation discs released since the game's original debut, many of which features hundreds of custom levels to try out. If you can find one of these retro compilations online, I highly recommend you give it a shot.

When it comes to classic first person shooters, not all of them hold up today. Given the numerous re-releases of Duke Nukem 3D, it's safe to say that the game is still tons of fun to play. Even when compared to modern shooters, Duke Nukem 3D has a snarky and ridiculous attitude that many games have not been able to replicate. Playing Duke Nukem 3D makes you feel powerful and skilled with your weapons, but it also manages to make you laugh. If you're looking for a more casual, humorous romp through pop culture through the scope of a gun, Duke Nukem 3D is one of your best options. Even 20 years after its original release, the game is still tons of fun to play, and one of the best first person shooters to ever exist.

There have been plenty of Doom clones, but what makes one stand out from the rest? The key is to have a title that takes the genre and twists it into something brand new. That's where Duke Nukem 3D comes into play; taking the first-person style and throwing in a new graphical look, with a punisher-esque attitude and a whole array of weaponry. With more than 30 levels-some hidden, some not-this one is bound to keep even the biggest Duke enthusiast busy. The voice-overs, giving the gainer a look into the attitude of. Duke Nukem, are funny and fitting. The player, controlling Duke, battles the evil aliens that have started taking over the areas you jump into. The player's job is to defeat the aliens and save what's left of the crumbling Duke world. In other words, get ready to nuke 'em!

  • MANUFACTURER - GT Interactive
  • THEME - ACTION
  • NUMBER OF PLAYERS - 1

Duke Nukem 3D is a video game developed by 3D Realms and published by GT Interactive Software back in January 1996. The game was developed for PC and was a first-person shooter. Duke Nukem 3D is a sequel to Duke Nukem and Duke Nukem II published by another company, Apogee. Almost one year later an expansion pack, Plutonium Pack, was released for this version of the game.

The game follows the story of Duke Nukem, who has to encounter an alien invasion on Earth. Duke Nukem had lots of weapons and attacks, with the “Mighty Foot” included as well. This was a basic kick attack. The playable character has a pistol, a shotgun, a chain gun, a rocket-propelled grenade launched, pipe bombs, laser trip mines and a rapid fire rocket launcher, “The Devastator”. There are also other items Duke Nukem can pick up throughout the game, but there are so many of them we can’t afford naming all.

The story happens “sometime in the 21st century” and the stage is set both indoors and outdoors. Military bases, deserts, street scenes, a flooded city, space stations, moon bases and a Japanese restaurant are all rendered backgrounds of this game.

Duke Nukem 3D was later ported to many other platforms thanks to the fact that it was a huge market hit. There were versions for PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Nintendo 64, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Game.com (available only in the United States), Xbox Live and even mobile devices such as iPhone or Nokia N900.

There is not that much of a story in the game, except few cut scenes after the completion of an episode. Duke was in vacation in Los Angeles when his ship was critically damaged by some unknown hostiles. He finds out aliens are attacking Los Angeles and have mutated the Los Angeles Police Department and plans to stop them once and for all.

There are a total of three episodes in the game: Episode One: LA Meltdown, Episode Two: Lunar Apocalypse and Episode Three: Shrapnel City. In the first episode Duke Nukem is captured by pig-cops, but manages to escape and tracks down the aliens. He ends up killing the first boss. In the second level he finds captured women held in incubators and after he kills Alien Overlord he finds out that the plot to capture women was just for distracting him - the Earth was already under siege.In the third level Duke battles aliens again and saves the day after killing another boss, the Cycloid Emperor. In the Atomic Edition, there is also an Episode Four: The Birth.

The game was really popular back when released, but had some controversies around it, regarding pornography. The game was considered morally questionable because of the stores where Duke uses XXX posters for target practice. He also throws money at a prostitute at some point in time.

However, the game received very good ratings on GameSpot, with users rating the game with 8.9. The same feedback was given by GameSpot critics. Critics on IGN rated the game even better, with 9.1, while IGN users voted it with a total average of 8.7 out of 10. The game was a huge market hit and sold millions of copies all over the world.

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PC Screenshots

Playstation Screenshots

Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Screenshots

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