Duke Nukem 3D

The Ultimate Alien Ass Kicker

Always bet on Duke

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.

Enemies

Image	Description
	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. Despite using alien laser guns, they may drop Pistol ammo upon death.
	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 Main page: Pig Cop.   The Pig Cop is, together with the Assault Trooper and the Assault Captain, the most encountered enemy in the game. They're mutated members of the LAPD armed with shotguns, which makes them quite lethal at close encounters. They require two shotgun blasts before they drop dead. They often go prone before firing, but this doesn't actually effect them at all. May drop a Shotgun or Used Body Armor upon death.
	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. Sometimes the Pig Cop pilot will survive the crash and continue to attack you afterwards.
	Octabrain   These eight-brained monsters will attempt to kill you by launching psychic energy balls towards the player, or bite them with razor sharp mandibles as a melee attack. Their ranged energy balls move slowly through the air, and are easy to dodge if the player is paying attention. 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 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   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 only slightly harder to kill; 2 shotgun blasts should do the trick. May drop chaingun ammo or even a Ripper upon death.
	Sentry Drone   These AI controlled sentry drones are packed to the brim with explosives. When they find a player, they will instantly attempt to charge him and self-destruct -- 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 & Slimer    These weird stationary alien eggs aren't a threat to anyone until they hatch. They usually hatch when the player comes within a certain range of them, and unleash a "Protozoid Slimer", which will latch onto your face and attempt to suck your brains out. They move very slowly and die instantly from any damage, but their ability to crawl on walls and ceiling combined with their often huge numbers, makes them quite an annoyance. However, their most dangerous talent is that while attacking you, they block your entire field of vision, rendering you helpless against the attacks of more powerful aliens.
	Assault Commander   The Assault Commander is best described as a big, ugly pile of flesh floating on a bladed disc with an attached rocket launcher. The Commanders are able to take a lot of damage (5-6 shotgun blasts), and they're certainly capable of doling out the harshness themselves. At a distance, they will continuously launch rockets at Duke, and at close range, they spin their levitating platform, shredding players with the blades on the sides. A nasty fiend indeed, especially as they can follow you anywhere with their flying abilities.    Sometimes drops Devastator ammo.
	Shark   The only enemy in the game from Earth,  this is just a fairly ordinary (if unusually aggressive) shark. They are only found underwater, and can only attack you at close range. The damage they cause is nothing to laugh at, but if you see them coming, they're usually no problem.
	Battlelord   This huge roaring monster appears as the final boss of the first episode. He's capable of dealing a tremendous amount of damage with his enormous chaingun, and its attached grenade launcher. It will take a while before this alien drops dead, so prepare for a long fight. Try to keep moving, as his barrage of firepower can tear Duke apart in seconds if he stands still. As with all bosses, actually touching the massive beast results in instantaneous death. In the later episodes, Duke will encounter Battlelord Sentries, smaller versions of the Battlelord with less health and less powerful guns, though they still pose a significant threat.
	Overlord   This dual-rocket-launcher-attached-to-the-back fella is the last boss of the second episode, and the leader of the alien invasion force stationed on the moon. He's proclaimed to be the easiest boss in the game, since his rockets are quite easy to dodge. In practice, this isn't quite the case, as the room you must face him in is quite small, making splash damage hard to avoid. Not to mention that if you're stupid enough to open the door to his personal chamber before killing the two dozen or so Protozoid Slimers that appear in the battleground, you might find your vision obscured at an unfortunate moment. Like other bosses, he has a huge amount of health, so prepare for a long fight. Like the other end-of-episode bosses, the Overlord can step on you for instant death if you actually run into him.    The Overlord's real claim to fame is that he was the boss Duke infamously threatened to "rip [his] head off and shit down [his] neck", a threat he carried out in the end-of-episode cutscene. 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   The final and most powerful boss of the original Duke Nukem 3D. This boss fight is one of the most memorable parts of the game, since you battle him, for some reason, on a football stadium. For his attacks, he uses the rocket launchers attached to his arms to launch a high amount of rockets at the player. He's also able to shoot energy balls, similar to the Octabrain's, through his mouth. Like the Battlelord and the Overlord before him, the Cycloid Emperor can crush Duke dead if he's dumb enough to come into physical contact with him. When he finally drops dead, a cutscene appears where Duke kicks the back of his head so hard that his eye rockets out and between the uprights, causing Duke to throw the traditional 'touchdown' gesture and triumphantly shout " Game over!" before the credits starts rolling.

Weapons

Image	Description
	Duke's Mighty Foot   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. Interestingly, if you select the foot weapon (1) and use the quick kick button, it is revealed that Duke can kick with both legs at the same time without falling down.
	Pistol Main page: Pistol.  The most basic weapon in the game. Whenever you're low on ammo, or simply want to save the powerful weapons for a better time, don't hesitate to use the pistol. Its damage is low, but the firing speed is incredible -- resulting in great damage per second overall.
	Shotgun Main page: Shotgun.  The shotgun is generally considered the "workhorse" of the game, doing most of the hard work. 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 Chaingun Main page: Ripper Chaingun.   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. It fires incredibly quickly, tearing enemies to shreds. The ammo will die before you know it, but so will the aliens.
	RPG This unbelievably powerful weapon is a danger to everyone -- 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 coveted weapon in any multiplayer game, since the player who's controlling the RPG, has the power to control the game.
	Pipe Bombs Main page: Pipe Bomb.  The pipe bomb is the grenade of Duke Nukem 3D. When tossed, Duke pulls out a remote 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. Pipe bombs can also be detonated by being shot, and players who have thrown a pipe bomb can press the 6 button again to bring up another pipe bomb without detonating the first one. Upon hitting the big red button, all pipe bombs the player has placed will simultanously detonate. This can be used to set large clusters of pipe bombs as a trap for aliens or unsuspecting players.
	Shrink Ray Main page: Shrink-ray.   The Shrink Ray is a unique weapon, and is an iconic weapon in the Duke Nukem franchise. It does exactly what it says on the box - shrinks enemies to the size of an action figure. 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 your enemies. There are certain points in the game where Duke himself must be shrunk in order to get through small areas.
	Devastator   The Devastator is a double-barrelled rocket launcher able to clear a room of enemies in seconds. Its firing rate is impressive, and though it does less damage than the RPG, it throws out a lot more missiles per second. The ammo for this weapon is scarce though, so use it with care.
	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 crosses the beam, the laser mine explodes. 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. In practice, the Laser Trip Mine wasn't particularly useful, as the explosion was only the size and strength of an RPG blast, and it only came from the mine itself. In the single-player mode, it was only ever deployed in areas where the explosion would hurt or kill Duke, but in multiplayer, it could easily be placed on a open area where a player could set it off far enough away from the mine that they take no damage.
	Freezethrower   The Freezethrower is an automatic weapon that fires ice crystals, which freeze victims solid. When frozen, any sort of damage will instantly kill them. When walking up to a frozen enemy, Duke will automatically shatter them with a kick. The ice crystals, however, bounce off walls and have the potential for both harming the player himself, and shoot around corners. The Freezethrower's ice crystals will only hurt a victim until they reach 1 HP, at which point they will be frozen. Players can save ammo by hurting them with regular weapons before using the Freezethrower to finish them off.

Items

Pickup Items

• Health Kits:
  These are consistently 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.

Usable 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. Or players.
  
• 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:

• 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:

Expansions

Box Art	Description
	Plutonium Pak / Atomic Edition Main pages: Duke Nukem 3D: Plutonium Pak and Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition.  The only official expansion by 3D Realms, adding the 4th episode "The Birth" containing 11 new levels, 1 new weapon (the Microwave Expander) 3 new enemies, and a new boss.
	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.
	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 being controlled by aliens. The game adds new enemies, such as snowmen or elves, and changed the skin of many others to be more "Christmas-ish".
	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, swimming pools and, of course, beaches. The game added new skins for every weapon and enemy.

Ports

Duke Nukem 3D for Sega Saturn

This is from the PC. Replace if possible.

Sega Saturn: Duke Nukem 3D

Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown

The final boss of the new episode

PlayStation: Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown

Duke Nukem 64

Lots o' changes

Nintendo 64: Duke Nukem 64

The title screen

The new rewind feature

Xbox Live Arcade: Duke Nukem 3D

Unofficial Map Packs

Episodes & Levels

Episode 1: L.A. Meltdown

Episode 2: Lunar Apocalypse

Episode 3: Shrapnel City

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 then-upcoming game.
• "Shrapnel City", the name of the third episode, was also the name of the first episode of the original Duke Nukum (spelling intended) game.
  

Digital Download Services

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