Duke Nukem 3D is a title that literally everybody knows, even if they have not even played a minute of it. The titular protagonist's voice, the memorable enemy variety and the overall style of Duke Nukem 3D made the game the classic that it is today.
However, this title was re-released so many times now, that fans of the game literally prefer different versions of it over the others. I played the currently available edition, the 20th Anniversary World Tour, which does not include the 3 main expansions, that are considered good by the community. It only contains the extra chapters called "The Birth" and "Alien World Order".
What can I possibly say about Duke Nukem 3D? It is clearly a decent game, however, I start to see cracks on it's impenetrable nostalgia as the enemy variety and the level design seemingly did not age well at all.
For example, there is an enemy type that literally just flies toward you and explode, which is a fine and tested concept, but these enemies are literal bulletsponges, and very hard to avoid. The pig cops are also very cool in design, but they can be so cheap at times.
The whole game just reeks cool design, despite for every major good idea, there are minor bad ones, that drag down the experience. There are many, and I mean many, different guns in this game, but the last few gimmick weapons are almost useless, as you will probably never use them, aside from a few instances. Shrinking down enemies is fun, it just does not worth it after a while.
The level design is pretty, but the overall chapter/campaign themes are not very consistant and the overall keyhunting aspect is a bit too confusing with this layout. It is not impossible, just annoying on the long run.
Overall, Duke Nukem 3D is still fun, and the whole vibe of the game sells it. The weakest from the Build Engine holy trinity (Duke Nukem 3D, Blood, Shadow Warrior) but that does not mean that it is bad at all, quite the opposite. These 3 games are essential for any FPS fan out there in the wild, as they are stunning games on their own and for their age.
However, this title was re-released so many times now, that fans of the game literally prefer different versions of it over the others. I played the currently available edition, the 20th Anniversary World Tour, which does not include the 3 main expansions, that are considered good by the community. It only contains the extra chapters called "The Birth" and "Alien World Order".
What can I possibly say about Duke Nukem 3D? It is clearly a decent game, however, I start to see cracks on it's impenetrable nostalgia as the enemy variety and the level design seemingly did not age well at all.
For example, there is an enemy type that literally just flies toward you and explode, which is a fine and tested concept, but these enemies are literal bulletsponges, and very hard to avoid. The pig cops are also very cool in design, but they can be so cheap at times.
The whole game just reeks cool design, despite for every major good idea, there are minor bad ones, that drag down the experience. There are many, and I mean many, different guns in this game, but the last few gimmick weapons are almost useless, as you will probably never use them, aside from a few instances. Shrinking down enemies is fun, it just does not worth it after a while.
The level design is pretty, but the overall chapter/campaign themes are not very consistant and the overall keyhunting aspect is a bit too confusing with this layout. It is not impossible, just annoying on the long run.
Overall, Duke Nukem 3D is still fun, and the whole vibe of the game sells it. The weakest from the Build Engine holy trinity (Duke Nukem 3D, Blood, Shadow Warrior) but that does not mean that it is bad at all, quite the opposite. These 3 games are essential for any FPS fan out there in the wild, as they are stunning games on their own and for their age.