Retro Corner: 'Duke Nukem 3D' (PC)

For a game that's yet to see the light of day, Duke Nukem Forever has garnered an impressive amount of media attention over the years. Suffering more delays than a Guns N' Roses comeback, the notorious sequel is infamous for its generation-spanning development cycle. After more than 13 years in the making, the long-delayed follow-up is on its way to completion courtesy of 2K Games and Gearbox Software. To celebrate, we brushed up on our best one-liners and dusted off our copy of its predecessor Duke Nukem 3D.

Released by Take Two Interactive in early 1996, Duke 3D capitalised on the first-person shooter boom of the mid-'90s. It was billed as a sequel to Apogee's platforming efforts Duke Nukem and Duke Nukem II, though the similarities to its forbears were minimal. The end result was a refreshing blast of machismo, movie homage and unabashed gunplay. Building on the foundations laid by the likes of Doom, the 3D Realms-developed offering injected personality and humour into the FPS formula and even stirred up controversy with what some deemed to be a questionable portrayal of women.

The game began on Earth in the 21st century. Aliens had invaded the planet, captured most of our women and transformed the LAPD into bloodthirsty bipedal warthogs. Of course, such a scenario could only call for an action hero with machismo oozing from every pore and a barrage of cheesy one-liners in reserve. The redesigned Duke was every inch a Hollywood tough guy, complete with the egotistical charm and razor sharp wit. Granted, every one of his wise-cracks were plagiarised from classic movies, but that didn't make them any less satisfying to hear right after you've blown an extraterrestrial to oblivion with a rocket-propelled grenade.

From a gameplay standpoint, this was your fairly standard run-and-gun fare, though the game did have some standout qualities. For starters, Duke 3D offered more opportunities for environmental destruction than many of its forbears in the genre. Stages played out across movie sets, military bases, space stations and strip clubs - and there were plenty of props to blow up along the way. Many of these levels were non-linear to a degree, offering the player the chance to explore air vents, sewer systems and other alternate means of traversing the environment. The Duke packed a reasonably impressive arsenal, but it wasn't all about firearms. Equipment such as the jet pack and aqualung enabled our smart-mouthed hero to take the seas and skies, offering gameplay variety.

Dispatching Predator lookalikes and humanoid pigs was certainly fun at the time, especially when done so with a freeze ray, a shrink ray or those twin rocket launchers collectively known as the Devastator. At the end of each of the game's three episodes, the player was pitted against an oversized alien boss, and these encounters were not for the faint of heart. However, the option to save your progress at any point tipped the odds in the Duke's favour, compensating for the fact that end of level baddies could withstand more bullets than a convoy of heavily armoured tanks.

If we're counting secret levels and the bonus stages included in the Plutonium Pak add-on, Duke Nukem 3D boasted an impressive number of maps and - given their size and maze-like nature - ample longevity. If that wasn't enough for you, there was the option to duke it out online in deathmatch encounters - providing you had an account with a pay service such as the IPX network utility Kali or the Total Entertainment Network (TEN).

Internet gaming was in its infancy back in '96, thus Duke 3D did not initially garner the kind of online following that a title of its calibre would attract today. However, when TEN began hosting online tournaments later that year, there was a surge in online play. A thriving mod community helped the game go on to maintain a dedicated following in the ensuing years, providing a wealth of user-generated content via the in-game build engine. Even today, Duke Nukem 3D still has a cult fanbase on the internet, as fan-made services distribute new maps and host online sessions.

Duke 3D owed much of its initial popularity to the scandal it attracted back in the mid-'90s, but it stands up fairly well today on merit alone. Its tongue-in-cheek approach and memorable protagonist remain as amusing as ever, while the gameplay is no less entertaining than the majority of shooters from the genre's golden age. Given that the game has been ported far and wide, it's readily available from online storefronts at a budget price, so we suggest checking it out. Just stay away from the ropey iPhone and iPad conversions.

Do you have any fond memories of Duke Nukem 3D? Add a comment in the space below!