The Ultimate Alien Ass Kicker

Always bet on Duke

An evil alien invasion has begun on Earth, turning police officers into nasty pig cops, abducting women and impregnating them with alien fetal spawn, and generally causing massive death and destruction across a variety of locations. As Duke Nukem, players will make use of a variety of unique weapons, such as micro-missile launchers, a shrink ray, a freeze ray, a Nordenfelt gun and others, all in the name of saving hot babes and busting alien skulls. A memorable aspect of the game are Duke's one-liners, the majority of which are lifted directly from various movies with heavy cult followings (Big Trouble in Little China, Army of Darkness, They Live, and others). Combined with fast-paced combat and a new engine displaying unrivaled 3D technology, the game was both highly anticipated and received critical acclaim on release.

The Build Engine

Almost as important as the game itself was Duke Nukem 3D's use of Ken Silverman's Build engine, an advanced piece of development technology which allowed for some of the most complex, detailed and intricate environments ever seen at the time. Build technology allowed for rooms to be built directly above other rooms, sloping surfaces, moving geometry and even for complex special effects that could be triggered by player interaction, causing buildings to collapse, walls to come apart and basically anything else the level designers wanted to happen within the limits of the engine's abilities. Compared to other games of the era like Doom or Star Wars: Dark Forces, this technology was attractive and very impressive to players and developers alike.

Expansions

Plutonium Pak

New weapon and enemies

Plutonium Pak / Atomic Edition

Main pages: Duke Nukem 3D: Plutonium Pak and Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition.
The official expansion by 3D Realms, adding the 4th episode "The Birth" containing 11 new levels, 1 new weapon and 3 new enemies.

Duke it out in D.C.

The White House

Duke it out in D.C.

Main page: Duke it out in D.C..
The first of the three expansion packs not made by 3D Realms. This expansion adds a 4th episode, where Duke Nukem was heading to the white house to save the president. This is expansion didn't alter any enemies or weapons -- only new levels.

Nuclear Winter

Pig Cop dressed as Santa

Duke: Nuclear Winter

Main page: Duke: Nuclear Winter.
The second of the three expansion packs not made by 3D Realms. This expansion adds a 4th episode, where Duke Nukem is heading to the North Pole to kill Santa Claus, who's beaing controlled by aliens. The game adds new enemies, such as snowmen or elfs, and changed the skin of many others to be more "Christmas-ish".

Duke Caribbean

New skins

Duke Caribbean: Life's a Beach

Main page: Duke Caribbean: Life's a Beach.
The last of three official expansion packs not made by 3D Realms. This game adds a new episode with a Carribean beach theme, with areas like hotels, svimming pools and, of course, beaches. The game added new skins for every weapon and enemy.

Ports

Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown

The final boss of the new episode

PlayStation: Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown

Main page: Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown.
This port was the first time Duke Nukem appeared on the PlayStation platform. This port contains the original 3 episodes from Duke Nukem 3D an additional 4th unique episode called "Plug'n Play", which added 7 new levels, new music and new enemies.

Duke Nukem 64

Lots o' changes

Nintendo 64: Duke Nukem 64

Main page: Duke Nukem 64.
This port was the first time Duke Nukem made his entry to the Nintendo 64. This port was heavily moderated; a lot of levels were altered or even combined, the adult content was removed, secret places and enemy spawns were added, new skins for all weapons, and even changed the functionality of some of them. The RPG was changed into a grenade launcher, the Devastator into a Missile Launcher (shown on the picture to the right), the Ripper into two SMG's and the Freezer was changed into a Plasma Cannon.

The title screen

The new rewind feature

Xbox Live Arcade: Duke Nukem 3D

Released the 24th of September 2008, this is the newest edition of the game. The game is available on the Xbox Live Marketplace for 800 MS points. The Plutonium Pak expansion is included in this version, which means that the title "Duke Nukem 3D" on the Xbox Live Marketplace is a bit misleading, since it's actually "Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition."
The game stays very close to the original game -- practically leaving everything intact, while adding new features such as the new "Rewind" ability. Whenever you play the game, it will automatically record every action you make. This becomes useful when you die, since the game will let you rewind back in time and respawn at whichever point you like. The game also supports up to 8 player online Duke Match or Co-operative, but offers no local multiplayer.
On 29th September 2008, VGChartz announced that Duke Nukem 3D had sold 40.000 units in 1 week -- making it the only game to beat Castle Crashers, which sold 19,000 units in its first week.

Enemies

Assault Trooper

Assault Trooper

The easiest and most encountered enemy in the game. These guys shouldn't be a problem to anyone. They often appear in groups of 2-3 or even more, and have the ability to use their jetpack to reach the player, but their low HP prevents them from being a real threat. A single shotgun blast, or a few pistol rounds, is enough to silence it.

May drop Pistol ammo upon death.

Assault Captain

Assault Captain

An upgraded version of the Assault Trooper. They're just as weak, but have the ability to teleport a short distance, making them quite confusing at first hand.

May drop Pistol ammo upon death.

Pig Cop

Pig Cop

The Pig Cop is, together with the Assault Trooper and the Assault Captain, the most encountered enemy in the game. They're wielding a shotgun, which makes them quite lethal at close encounters. They require two shotgun blasts before they drop dead.

May drop a Shotgun or an Used Body Armor upon death.

Recon Patrol Vehicle

Recon Patrol Vehicle

Though first seen very early in the game, this enemy is one of the rarest in the game. They're usually seen patrolling streets, although they never really become a threat to the player. Their damage is low, but their vehicle can take quite a punch, requiring 2-3 shotgun blasts before the vehicle crashes to the ground and a standard Pig Cop appear.

May drop a Shotgun upon death.

Octobrain

Octabrain

These eight-brained monsters will attemp to kill you by launching plasma nova towards the player, or even bite if the player's close enough. Their ranged plasma novas move slowly through the air, and are easy to dodge. That, combined with their already slow movement speed, makes them less than a threat then you should think. Takes 3 shotgun blasts to bring them down.

Turret

Turret

The damage of this rarely-encountered turret is minimal, but they're often placed in hard-to-reach spots, which makes them dangerous to an unaware player.
Takes about 2 shotgun blasts to destroy it.

Enforcer

Enforcer

First seen in the second episode "Lunar Apocalypse", these agile beasts will attempt to surprise the player by jumping towards -- or even down to you. They use a chaingun as their primary attack, but might also try to spit acid at the player. Since the Enforcers are practically replacing the Pig Cops in the second episode, they're no harder to kill; 2 shotgun blasts should do the trick.

May drop chaingun ammo or even a Ripper upon death.

Sentry Drone

Sentry Drone

These AI controlled sentry drones are packed to the brim with explosives. When they find a player, they will instantly attemp to charge him and selfdestruct -- making them the primary target in most encounters. They will slow down when shot, preventing them from reaching the player. Takes about 3-4 shotgun blasts to destroy.

Protozoid Egg

Protozoid Egg & Slimer

Protozoid Slimer

These wierd stationary alien eggs aren't a threat to anyone -- only when they hatch. They usually hatch when the player comes nearby, and unleash a "Protozoid Slimer", which will attempt to bite your head off. They move very slow and die instantly of any source of damage, but their ability to crawl on walls and ceiling combined with their often huge numbers, makes up for quite an annoyance.

Assault Commander

Assault Commander

The Assault Commander is best described as a big, ugly pile of flesh floating on a spiked disc with an attached rocket launcher. As bizarre as it may sound, it's actually the case here. The commanders are able to take a lot of damage (5-6 shotgun blasts), and meanwhile deal a good amount of damage as well. When they're away from the player they will continuestly launch rockets towards you, and when engaged in close combat, they begin to spin their spiked disc like a maniac. A nasty fiend indeed.

Shark

Shark

The game's most irrelevant enemy. First seen fairly late in the game (episode 3 and 4) in watery areas. Their slow speed and laughable damage renders them no threat to anyone. At all.

Battle Lord

Battle Lord

This huge roaring monster appears as the final boss in the first episode. He's capable of dealing a tremendous high amount of damage with his huge chaingun, and it's attached grenade launcher. It will take a while before this alien drops dead, so prepare for a long fight.

In the later episodes, weaker Battle Lords will appear. They're still very deadly, so watch out.

Overlord

Overlord

This dual-rocket-launcher-attached-to-the-back fella is the last boss of the second episode. He's proclaimed to be the easiest boss in the game, since his rockets are quite easy to dodge. Like other bosses, he has a huge amount of health, so prepare for a long fight.

This boss is only used once in the original game. He did, however, also appear in a weaker state on some levels in the Nintendo 64 version Duke Nukem 64.

Cycloid Emperor

Cycloid Emperor

The last and final boss of the original Duke Nukem 3D. This boss fight is one of the most memorable parts of the game, since you battle him on a football stadium. For his attacks, he uses his attached rocket launchers to launch a high amount of rockets at the player. He's also able to shoot plasma novas, similar to the Octabrains, through his mouth.

When he finally drops dead, a cutscene appears where Duke kicks his eye out of his head and over the goal line, finishing with the words: "Game over!" before the credits starts rolling.

Weapons

Duke's Mighty Boot

Kick you enemies when you're either out of ammo, or when you have nothing else to do! Duke Nukem is able to kick alien monsters in the face, while he's shooting them at the same time. Truly the ultimate alien ass kicker. Since this is the unarmed weapon of the game, the damage is rather low. The quick kick, however, is a nice addition to your damage whenever an enemy is up close.

Pistol

The basic weapon throughout the game. Whenever you're low on ammo, or simply want to save the powerful weapons for a better time, don't hestitate to use the pistol. It's damage is low, but the firing speed is incredible -- resulting in great damage per second overall.

Shotgun

The shotgun is probably the oftenly used weapon in the game. The damage is -- like any shotgun -- great up close, but rather dull at longer distances. It's able to kill most enemies in the game with a 1 or 2 shots, and ammo is easy to find. This -- combined with the awesome firing sound -- makes it one of the most beloved weapons in the game. The shotgun will surely find the way to your heart as well.

Ripper

The Ripper, combined with the pistol and the shotgun, are the basic weapons of the game. Ammo for these weapons is often found, and they're useful for killing the basic enemies. The damage of the Ripper is identical to the pistol. The firing speed, however, is not. The ammo will die before you know it, but so will the enemies.

RPG

This unbelieveable powerful weapon is a danger to anyone -- including yourself. One misfired rocket into a wall, and you're dead. It's often a good idea to save the ammo for very hard encounters i.e. boss fights. This is one of the most outsought weapon in any multiplayer game, since the player who's controlling the RPG, have the power to control the game.

Pipe Bomb

The pipe bomb is the grenade of Duke Nukem 3D. When tossed, Duke pulls out a detonator, and upon pressing the fire button again, blows up the pipe bomb. The explosive damage of the pipe bombs are massive. Players are able to pick up a pipe bomb again once they're been thrown, thus cancelling the detonator's ability to blow them up.

Shrinker

The Shrinker is a unique weapon, and is an iconic weapon in the Duke Nukem franchise. It does just what the name says - shrinks enemies. After doing this, the player can run up to the victim and stomp right on top of them. When you're the victim up the shrink ray, you move very slow and are unable to attack. You can, however, still use items (medkit, holoduke etc.), while you're fleeing from the feet of the enemies.

Devastator

The Devastator is a dual wielded rocket launcher able to clear a room of enemies in seconds. It can be fired automatically, and its damage is insane. The ammo for this weapon is scarce though, so use it with though.

Laser Trip Mine

The laser trip mines are mines that are placed on any wall by the player, creating a laser that extends to the other side of the wall. When an enemy crossed the beam, the laser mine explodes. In single player, this weapon have little to no use, but it was revolutionary in multiplayer games. Setting traps for others have never been more fun! Valve had their own version of the laser trip mine in Half-Life, but it was practically identical.

Freezer

The freezer is an automatic weapon that fires ice crystals, which freezes victims in place. When frozen, any sort of damage will instanly kill them. When walking up to a frozen enemy, Duke will automatically shatter them with a kick. The ice crystals, however, bounces off walls and has the potential for both harming the player himself, and shoot around corners.

Items

Pickup Items

• Health Kits:
  These are consistantly found throughout the game. They appear in a small ( 10 Health) and a large ( 30 Health) edition.
• Atomic Health:
  These are rare to find and are usually found in secret places. When picked up, they give 50 Health instantly, but is able to boost the health beyond 100, to to a maximum of 200 health.
• Body Armor:
  A Body Armor provides 100 armor, which reduces the damage of your incoming attacks by 50%; practically giving you double health. Pig Cops are able to drop a "Used Body Armor" upon death, which only provides 50 armor. Usually found in secret places.

Useable Items

• Steroids:
  When taken, 'Roids kick Duke's running speed and jumping distance up massively.
• Holoduke:
  Creates a faux-Duke which can confuse enemies and draw fire away from the real Duke. Doesn't work so well on Bosses.
• Medkit:
  When used, allows Duke to heal himself (1 hit point per percentage of Medkit), up to his normal maximum of 100.
• Protective Boots:
  Protective Boots keep Duke safe on toxic sludge and other chemicals when he must traverse them. Used automatically on such surfaces.
• Scuba Gear:

        Scuba Gear allows Duke to remain underwater for much longer periods of time than he can normally survive. Used automatically when underwater.

• Night vision Goggles:
  Night Vision helps you see in the darker areas of the game by increasing the brightness and illuminating any nearby enemies.
• Jet Pack

        Duke's trusty Jet Pack allows him to fly anywhere in a level, but burns fuel quickly. Don't be up high when you run out of juice!

Episodes & Levels

Episode 1: L.A. Meltdown

Level 1: Hollywood Holocaust
Level 2: Red Light District
Level 3: Death Row
Level 4: Toxic Dump
Level 5: The Abyss
Secret Level 6: Launch Facility (Reached from Toxic Dump)

Episode 2: Lunar Apocalypse

Level 1: Space Port
Level 2: Incubator
Level 3: Warp Factor
Level 4: Fusion Station
Level 5: Occupied Territory
Level 6: Tiberius Station
Level 7: Lunar Reactor
Level 8: Dark Side
Level 9: Overlord
Secret Level 10: Spin Cycle (Reached from Occupied Territory)
Secret Level 11: Lunatic Fringe (Reached from Dark Side)

Episode 3: Scrapnel City

Level 1: Raw Meat
Level 2: Bank Roll
Level 3: Flood Zone
Level 4: L.A. Rumble
Level 5: Movie Set
Level 6: Rabid Transit
Level 7: Fahrenheit
Level 8: Hotel Hell
Level 9: Stadium
Secret Level 10: Tier Drops (Reached from Movie Set)
Secret Level 11: Freeway (Reached from Hotel Hell)

Trivia & Easter Eggs

• On the third level "Death Row" one of the secret areas has the Space Marine from Doom, chopped in half and laying on the floor. When approached, Duke says "Man, that is one doomed space marine."
• On the level "L.A. Rumble", walking towards one of the buildings triggers an earthquake which collapses part of the building, to which Duke responds "I ain't afraid of no Quake", a reference to the upcoming game.