The Duke Is Coming To Town.

Yeah, you heard me. Duke Nukem, one of my personal heroes, is fianlly coming back in the form of PC. Read this review I found on IGN, it's worth it for any die-hard fans of the series. Later.

June 1, 2001 - Gamers everywhere know the name Duke Nukem. The alien-killing, girl-getting, cigar-smoking bad-ass is perhaps the most recognizable digital hero in the business. He has starred in his own series of video games across the PC and home platforms. Duke Nukem Forever is the latest in the long-running first-person shooter series and will arrive, according to series developer 3D Realms, "when it's done." For PC owners, it's looking more and more likely to ship in mid- to late 2002.
So what can players expect of Duke's next big offering? More of just about everything, to be sure. It's bigger, badder and, according to 3D Realms, all-around better than any other Nukem offering before. That's certainly a bold claim, as many of the Duke titles have impressed. The 1996 first-person shooter improved upon id Software's Doom with larger, interactive environments, truly unique weapons and gadgets and a careful balance of B-movie humor. If everything goes as planned, DNF will bring it all to the next level.
FeaturesWhile concrete details about the PC version of Duke Nukem Forever are still somewhat scarce, we've been able to put together the following facts.
A 3D first-person shooter starring everyone's favorite bad-ass Duke Nukem
Duke travels to the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, and surrounding areas to kick some alien ass
The hero must save the City of Sin from an evil cyborg determined to turn regular citizens into flesh-eating zombies
Nukem can use an arsenal of weapons including a rocket launcher, a shotgun, a pistol, an automatic, a sniper rifle and his own feet
Players can travel through large 3D environments with various vehicles including a motorcycle, a "Hummer," a jet ski, a donkey, a mine cart, and a jet fighter of some sort, among others
The game features extremely interactive environments allowing Duke to eat foods from vending machines, shoot holes through walls and glass, break through barriers and generally blow stuff up
An advanced 3D engine allows for real-time lighting effects, a spectacular particle system, facial animations and lip-synched speech, and more
Plus, and perhaps most importantly to the Nukem faithful -- a whole lot of blood, guts, cussing, one-liners and yes, even strippers
The StoryThe setting is Area 51 -- the mysterious military base located on the outskirts of Nevada. Duke's old nemesis Dr. Proton, a muscle-bound cyborg who stands almost eight-feet tall, has nuked parts of Las Vegas, gained control of Area 51 and stolen an alien spacecraft. The evil foe uses the extraterrestrial ship to contact aliens from around the universe and align them in his new army. He has also killed and reanimated various soldiers guarding the top-secret base to make them do his bidding. It's up to Duke Nukem to swing into action, take back Las Vegas, dispose of the evil aliens and zombie military guards, save the women and ultimately restore order to Nevada.
GameplayThe Duke series has never been about storyline so much as it has raw action and funny one-liners, so it's no surprise that it's here Duke Nukem Forever looks to excel. Players control Nukem as he travels through the underworld of Las Vegas killing alien pig-military -- the only characters to return from the older shooter -- as well as zombies, and other still-unknown otherworldly baddies. Duke is out only for himself -- and the women, which of course has always been a trademark of the franchise, and what makes it so special.
The real difference between Duke Nukem Forever and its granddaddy is the sheer scale of the first-person shooter. A look at the footage of the game in action shows a fully realized Las Vegas, Nevada, complete with stretching skyscrapers, flashing lights, signage, cars, and life -- all as far as the eye can see. Duke can, as in other games, explore the city as he desires, going in and out of buildings, through the streets, into the desert, inside Area 51, and more. Already it looks incomparably huge, and as 3D Realms has often been quick to point out, it's not even finished. Other areas featured include, of course, Area 51, as well as the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, the Vegas strip and parts of Arizona.
Aiding Duke in his adventures are several vehicles that the hero can now pilot. Duke'll drive a Harley Davidson through the streets of Vegas, roll through the city in the back of gang-car, soar through the skies in a jet fighter, or hobble slowly into the desert on a donkey. Each "vehicle" -- be it animal or jet ski, reacts in a complete different, realistic manner, and allows Nukem access to areas of the game otherwise inaccessible, or too time-consuming to access in another fashion.
While the first thing players are likely to notice is the grand scale of the worlds in DNF, 3D Realms has stated repeatedly that is trying to create a living, breathing environment that is fully interactive for the game. To that effect Duke can blow holes into walls, shatter out windows, blow up building areas, destroy doors and video cameras, obliterate internal objects and more. Furthermore, in keeping with the realism of exploring such gargantuan environments, Duke can also play pinball machines he encounters, buy food from vending machines, and fool around with other contraptions.
Of course, in any Duke game weaponry is integral and DNF is no different. In this all-new adventure Duke can take out foes with a truckload of new weapons including, but not limited to a pistol, automatic, sniper-rifle, rocket launcher, shotgun, laser-gun and his foot -- he can stomp on smaller enemies and splatter their guts onto the floor. Developer 3D Realms is keeping much of the arsenal in the title secret still, but players can look forward to a whole cast of new weapons and such gadgets as a jet-pack and laser trip-wire too.
Graphics and TechnologyDuke Nukem Forever runs on a modified version of the Unreal engine, which any first-person shooter fanatic will swear by. This has allowed 3D Realms much more freedom to realize truly realistic looking 3D environments on a grand scale. The engine effortlessly spits out polygons to draw city blocks that seemingly stretch forever with no loss in texture detail. Characters come to life with picturesque facial animations that are synched perfectly with speech, hair that swings as they bob their heads, eyes that follow gazes, and more. The particle effects system, meanwhile, boasts impressive explosion effects with shimmering fire, shattered glass, and blood spilt in every direction -- just like Duke fans want it. Add in real-time lighting effects, interactive environments, and a variation in locales unequaled in any other first-person shooter and you begin to see and understand why Duke Nukem Forever has been one of the most hotly anticipated titles over the last couple of years.
OutlookDuke Nukem Forever has been in development forever. But when 3D Realms finally delivers the product unto PC owners, the wait will most likely have been worth it. The title brings the tight play mechanics and super-cool theme and style of the Nukem series into the next-generation of 3D first-person shooters. In addition to shooting everything in sight dead, Duke can fly jets, float jet skis, control cars, ride donkeys, shoot out environments, interact with realistic sidekicks and enemies, and all with a visual finesse that's sure to inspire drool upon FPS fans.
The game will almost certainly hit PC mid-to-late next year. You can look for more information as we get closer to the release date.
-- Matt Cassamassina
E3 2001 UpdateMay 18, 2001
The newest game in Duke Nukem franchise, Duke Nukem: Forever seems like it has been in development for eons. We've waited forever like a starving Survivor contestant being lured with a crumb of food for a look at how the game actually played. We expected this E3 would finally be the time it would happen.
We were wrong.
3D Realms, who continues to say the game will be out "when it's done," only released a new video of the game at the show. But even that impressed us enough to leave us wanting more -- and hoping it will come soon.
The video starts out by showing us that this is the 10th anniversary of Duke; the first game in the series, Duke Nukem came out in 1991. It then goes on to show the 1996 hit Duke Nukem 3D, which got us all hooked on the franchise.
Finally, it fades to a prominent 2001 and then to a breathtaking cityscape of Las Vegas, from the air. As the camera pans around the city, showing casino after casino, we're finally treated to a little bit of Duke-ness.
We see Duke sporting bazookas and sniper rifles, riding on motorcycles, Jet-skis, trucks and helicopters.
We also see gorgeous explosions and freaky monsters -- octobrains from Duke Nukem 3D are back, but in fully rendered glory, but there's also new aliens that look mean and nasty, including a terminator-like creature. We also see hot chicks talking to Duke. What would a Duke game be without hotties, after all?
Planes whiz by casinos in Las Vegas, unleashing missles on the buildings and creating massive explosions.
In addition, the same level of interactivity as we saw in Duke Nukem 3D looks to be included in the new game. We see Duke pushing keypads to open doors, buying snacks from vending machines, and playing pinball.
Of course, the story sound awesome, too: At one point in the trailer, a general says, "It appears they have the President." We can only assume it will be Duke's job to get him back safely.
Near the end of the trailer, a character asks, "What are you gonna do? Save the world by yourself?"
Why yes. Yes, we are.
-- Mike Morrissey