Duke Nukem was fun for the time. Like, I was playing Doom II back then.
Doom II was actually a lot better. Other than the stripper scenes, Nukem wasn’t all that unique. Sorta Doom clone with bewbs.But Nukem made enough of a splash for people to remember it and wonder about a sequel.
And wonder they did. For many years.
These are the original “When it’s done” guys.
They mocked up game footage to get funding and gawd knows why else.And then they released a shit game. Nobody liked Nukem Forever.
And I play crap like that. I’ve got all the Serious Sam and completed the first three games.
Never bothered with Nukem Forever.Encyclopedia Dramatica remembers.
https://edramatica.com/Duke_Nukem_ForeverIn my case it was the opposite. Doom was ok-ish and Duke Nukem blew my mind, the fact that you could move the camera around with the mouse, it was like wow, this is the future. Haven’t played them since so not sore which one will hold better now.
What I loved about Duke Nukem, especially in contrast to Doom, was the interactivity and that all the places actually looked like places. Doom’s levels just looked like video game levels. In Duke Nukem 3D you were in real cities with real shops. And the cinema worked, the billiard table worked, he’d comment when you tried to use the arcade machines, the toilets worked, electrical outlets gave you a shock, etc.
Seems like they technically went a bit farther than mocking game footage (but barely). A 2001 demo of sort, that’s probably close to what they showed at E3 that year, was leaked in 2022.
It’s “playable”, in the sense there are quite a few maps you can explore and player physics and weapons are functional. But there is basically nothing to do, in particular no enemies at all.
Anyway, DNF has been a fun ride all these years, and the best part is you didn’t even have to play it. The pathetic attempt from gearbox to salvage it just gave a final punchline to the whole joke.
