A game that needs very little introduction on its own and was another landmark in the First Person Shooter genre of video games. Duke Nukem wasn’t perfect, but it certainly was a fantastic way to jump from Doom to a new age of games when it came to play style. Where Doom made different vertical levels possible, Duke Nukem made it to where you could not only jump, vertical aim and platform, but also fly around on a jet pack. There were now recognizable structures that you could view around a city with different environments and entire alien worlds.
After the abysmal port of Doom to the Sega Saturn, many might think that Duke would be similarly tainted by framerate and movement problems. The exact opposite is true, as it ported the game with seemingly no differences and even did it better than the Playstation and the N64. Textures, lighting and graphics were transported to the system and it delivered on an amazing scale.
As said before, it wasn’t perfect. Using the controller was a bit of a switch from the normal keyboard and mouse and it took some getting used to, especially when it came to things like aiming. However, the learning curve worked well with the levels. As difficulty grew, so too did your ability to use the Saturn controller. Many, such as myself, played this port of Duke Nukem more than the PC itself.
With such great innovations as environments rich with both detail and interactivity, Duke Nukem had a great deal of high points that still shine bright today. The main character was a badass, although his one-liners weren’t exactly what we’d call original. His large array of weapons was a lot of fun to sort through and test out in the battlefield.
While his franchise didn’t exactly pan out very well at the end of it, it certainly shined in the early games. Duke Nukem 3D remains the best game in the entire line-up and that is not an insult to the other games. They even made the conversion over to the Saturn with grace and elegance and you can master the controls in no time. If you have the opportunity to pick up this title, do not hesitate. Although, it has become somewhat pricey among the retro gaming community. Just stay safe and game well while you’re drinking water.
