Introduction
So as we are currently living in very tumultuous times, what with the end of the Mayan calender coming around and the many cries of the 'Duke Bros' holocaust still ringing loudly in our ears, I figured it would be a good time to reflect on the forgotten years of one of America's greatest heroes.....
No, no; a much greater man than even our current monarch. Nay, the man I'm referring to was a true patriot. First seen fighting against Dr. Proton's evil robotic forces in Operation Desert Storm and then later fighting for his freedoms against the nefarious Rigelatins so as to save the USA from being put under their strict theological rule. And even after all that thankless work, what does Duke find when he gets home? Why another group of aliens have stormed the planet and are attempting to abscond off with the lovely lady folk (it can only be assumed that all the fatties and fuglies were wiped out beforehand). And Duke was indeed able to drive off all these hideous forces but like any great hero of time he requires attention to sustain him. With the oral passing of his tales of daring might limited in most respects to his first 3D outing it's not overly surprising to find his many other feats of nationalism and manliness have all but been forgotten.
So it is with that that I hope to lead you on a guided tour to give some retrospective look of both Duke's earlier years and his later triumphs (both on inferior systems and through the annals of time) to keep his genial spirit alive even through these very rocky times. So please enjoy as we take a look into the past and possibly grizzly visages of tomorrow in this:
After the success of Duke Nukem 3D on the PC, 3D Realms decided to further license out it's successful IP in the cheapest way it knew how. But simply porting their highly successful FPS onto other consoles. Ending up on roughly 6 different systems over a decade, the Duke Nukem 3D IP is easily the most recognizable venue of Duke Nukem and rightly so as many felt it really encapsulated Duke-dom. The brash attitude and wit, the ultra violence, and sexism that populated each mission really attempted to solidify what the previous games could only make mild allusions to. But back on Earth Duke was able to fully unleash who he truly was (or what 3D Realms envisioned him to be). So since we've all played Duke Nukem 3D in it's normal incarnations instead I'll be bringing you a special PS1 only episode lovingly called 'Plug'n'Pray'; not canonically connected to the other episodes and largely forgotten (as the PS1 port of DN3D was largely considered to be the worst) it is really a trainwrecked mish-mash of levels. But hey, just sit back and enjoy the trainwreck.
| Stage 1: Nightmare Zone | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Stage 2: Trackside Tragedy | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Stage 3: Gates Motel | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Stage 4: Duke Royale | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Stage 5: Alien Rendezvous | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Secret Stage: Faces of Death | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Stage 6: Ministry of Fear | YouTube | blip.tv |
DukePlus is a game-enhancer and customizer for the EDuke32 port of Duke Nukem 3D. Written by Dan Gaskill (a.k.a. “DeeperThought”), the DukePlus mod provides optional enhancements to the original game as well as giving level-designers a vast selection of new options and effects to utilize in their maps.
| Have Fun Storming the Castle | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Scar City | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Nightshade Army | YouTube (Part 1, Part 2) | blip.tv | |
| Dukecide | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Attrition: Hollywood Holocaust & Red Light District | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Attrition: Death Row | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Attrition: Weapon Time!-Youtube | YouTube | ||
| Attrition: Toxic Dump | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Attrition: Launch Facility | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Attrition: Abyss | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Attrition: Freeway | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Attrition: Derelict | YouTube (Part 1, Part 2) | blip.tv | |
| Attrition: Space Port & Incubator | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Attrition: Warp Factor | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Attrition: Fusion Station | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Attrition: Occupied Territory | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Attrition: Tiberius Station | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Attrition: Lunar Reactor | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Attrition: Dark Side | YouTube (Part 1, Part 2) | blip.tv | |
| Attrition: Overlord | YouTube | blip.tv |
Made in 1991 by Apogee Software (what would later become 3D Realms), the 3 episode (with 11 missions per episode) Duke Nukem 1 was a mostly overlooked title as it shared many common themes....and graphic properties which were probably stolen...from other games at the time. The very first entry into the Duke Nukem saga finds our virgin hero to be pitted by the CIA against the evil Dr. Proton and his Techbot army. As Duke had yet to really cement in the full aspects of his personality (being an awkward adolescent and teenager, his aspirations of someday being a hero are sometimes assumed to be mere delusions at this point) he is but a mere shadow of what he will become. But all heroes must have a start and this is the start for our Duke.
For this outing I will be playing the first episode as the other two episodes don't really add many other features to the overall game, and I feel for the most part it is indicative of the overall game. So onto the levels!
| Level 1 | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Level 2 & 3 | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Level 4 & 5 | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Level 6 & 7 | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Level 8 & 9 | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Level 10 | YouTube | blip.tv |
Following up in 1993 with another 2D platformer, Duke returns with more action and explosions and attitude than anyone previously expected. After stopping the evil Dr. Proton's plans of world domination via shitty robots, Duke returns home to get the accolades he finally deserves but no sooner is he hocking his new biography ('Why I'm so Great') on Oprah then he is snatched up by some evil alien dudes. Apparently the aliens caught wind of how amazing is and want to use his brain to power a super computer to take over the world. Obviously Duke needs his brain otherwise erections will be nigh on impossible, so he sets about kicking some alien ass for the first time.
For Duke Nukem II I'll actually be going through the second, out of four episodes, to really show off a lot of the new and exciting stuff that this game has over 1.
| Level 1 | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Level 2 | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Level 3 & 4 | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Level 5 & 6 | YouTube | blip.tv | |
| Level 7 & 8 | YouTube | blip.tv |