Duke Nukem 3D (1996 Video Game) User Reviews

Duke Nukem rocks.

[johnnymacbest · 9/10 · 13 October 2009]

This review is for the XBLA version.

Back in the mid 90's, a legend was born; gracing the screens of PC and console gamers alike with his brash, no-holds barred bravado with tongue-in-cheek goodness ever comprised for one of the greatest video game heroes of all time blasting alien scum in the streets of a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, outer space, and back on Earth. A cultural icon among the brightest corners of the virtual spectrum, Duke Nukem ushered in a new breed of hero at a time when virtually none had any and propelled the hero we know and love into popularity. Now, on Xbox Live, gamers all over the world and newcomers can experience the Duke like they've never seen before with new features such as the ability to "rewind" the game to a previous point, usually when you get killed by an enemy, fall into a bottomless pit, or simply by blowing yourself up, presumably with a rocket launcher or pipe bomb. This feature is really innovative in execution and gives you a bit of strategy. The game is no cakewalk but for seasoned Dukesters, it's a walk in the park. But that's not all. You can also earn achievements by fulfilling certain requirements within the game that unlock a few surprises. Finally, you can play offline or online with your fellow Dukesters for some balls-to-the-wall splattering action with the addition of leader boards for tracking your progress for best times and number of kills. My only gripe is that you can't play in HD mode. I know some people are nostalgic, but I would've loved to see Duke in HD.

So...is the Duke worth playing again? The answer is YES!!! If you never had the pleasure of playing Duke Nukem 3d back in the '90s and have an Xbox 360, get this game and prepare yourself for one of the funniest, blood-soaked high octane action-packed games of the world.

Hail to the king, baby!!

Good old times.

[swedzin · 8/10 · 8 October 2012]

Duke Nukem was really one of those cool games that appeared in the 90s. It caused a huge step forward in video games and it's genre - first person shooters. Straight from the arcade games, to the PC from 3D realms, the production that did a fine job with this character. Duke is an alpha macho main man (as George Carlin called them macho motherf***ers, alpha male jack offs, the muscle a-holes) an alien exterminator and a chick magnet, who saves the planet from evil aliens. Voiced the Jon St. John, who got stuck with the character, but better him than anyone else, I can't remember anyone who can replace him. The game offers you highly entertaining action and story. The character of Duke is himself a parody on some well known movie hero characters and it's combined to one unique character and that's practically good and funny. For 1996, the graphics were good, the sound effects were awesome and the idea itself of the entire game was good. When I say "good old times", I really mean it. Because this Duke game was extremely fun it was the pure meaning of what a video game should be. A clean, good entertainment. But, yes, this game holds also pornographic content and violence, but If you can handle it... no problem, then.

Badass, but kicking and plain awesome.

[Rider_R · 10/10 · 11 May 2006]

The first time I played Duke Nukem 3D was at a friends place. It has just been released and he was lucky enough to have a PC that could handle it, and the game itself.

We spent several hours walking through just the first level, there was so much to see! You got your explosive scenery, your secret areas, your generally badass weaponry (which IMO is still unmatched by ANY shooter today) a host of unique enemies and level design that introduces recognizable landmarks (cities, bars, strip clubs, prisons etc.) which, for it's time, was a great stride ahead!

And of course, then there's the interactivity, also unmatched so far. You could play a match of pool, burn your fingers on an electrical outlet, hand money to strippers, or shoot them, blow up most any decorative object in the game, as well as have Duke interact with an object, only to have him give one of his trademark one-liners.

Which brings me to another great aspect of Duke 3D, The one-liners. Although some of them where not exactly 'new' and taken from popular movies from back in the day, each and every one of them where humorous and usually highly appropriate quotes that really set Duke's personality.

It's been a long while since I've seen a game character have that strong of a personality without the overuse of Cinematic cut-scenes and FMV's.

3D Realms have truly shown what shooters should be like: Fast-paced, comical at times and very immersive.

But after all this I left 1 rather important thing out: Multiplayer! Essentially Duke Nukem 3D's multi-player modes are either Deathmatch (dubbed DukeMatch) or Cooperative Play.

In DukeMatch the goal is simple: Kill as many other players as you possibly can. With weapons like the Freezer, the shrinker, the RPG and Tripbombs this could either turn into your frantic killing spree or attempting to lure the enemy into your own traps.

With Cooperative play the goal was to finish the Singleplayer campaign with multiple players. For this purpose 3DRealms had added additional weapons, extra buttons (to evade certain 'lock-up' situations that might occur in single-player) and other useful stuff.

Duke Nukem 3D is a classic and IMO deserves to be PC Game #1 ever. In combination with JonoF's port (a result of the source code release) this game can even be played on Win32 systems.

Hail to the King baby!

My Favorite Game

[DaveHasNoTimeForAnyOfThisBull · 28 September 2003]

Duke Nukem 3D is the most action packed video game ever. There are plenty of villains, some can even kill each other, saving the player weapons and ammo. I won't tell you which ones but they are awesome to watch. There are so many weapons and accessories that you won't find a way to be bored with this game unless someone takes it away from you. I recommend this to all video game players who haven't played it before. Go for it!

Duke Nukem = Action + Humour + Replayability

[fireemblem555 · 10/10 · 3 September 2006]

Duke Nukem 3D has all the action of today's video games, coupled with humour, and secrets that keep you searching for hours. With today's advanced computer hardware even a simple system can take full advantage of the features of this game.

It offers cheat codes, as well as a range of difficulty levels, the easiest being laughably easy, and the hardest leaving sweat stains on your computer room chair.

I have replayed Duke Nukem 3D many times, always entertained by the humorous endings to boss battles, which I will not reveal to prevent spoiler warnings. All I can say is BUY THIS GAME!

Great game especially for 96!

[gangstahippie · 10/10 · 15 July 2006]

Rated M for Strong Violence,Blood,Gore,Language and Sexual Content.

Duke Nukem 3D is the first 3D Duke Nukem game and the third game in the Duke Nukem series.I have not played the first two Duke Nukem games but I have played Duke Nukem Manhattan Project.Duke Nukem 3D changed the series.The first two Duke Nukem games which came out in 1991 and 1993 were just simple platform games.Nothing special.Duke Nukem 3D however changed the series into an ultra violent,profane and sexual horror video game with elements of humor.This game is a lot like Shadow Warrior(which was made by the same creator).Duke Nukem 3D's graphics may seem dated by today's standards but this game will remain a classic in my book.Duke Nukem 3D is about a bad-ass action hero who always scores with the babes who has to save the world from aliens.With funny one-liners and lots of blood and violence Duke Nukem 3D is a game you wont want to miss.

9/10

The game that redefined the genre

[linkslinks2 · 10/10 · 14 July 2006]

Duke3D is quite possibly the best single player FPS of all time. Though outdated today, it was downright incredible when it released and a quantum leap over existing games. In single player it easily beats Quake but can't even compare to Quake in multi-player. For a sprite based engine, it did push its capabilities as far as it could have. Gameplay and interactivity wise, it is unmatched for what it did during its time.

If only 3D Realms are today what they were in 1996. Quite possibly the biggest pool of talent on the planet, slowly dispersed to other companies and using their talent effectively there. PC Gamer previews of Duke4ever said that the game was very much like the old duke. Lets hope it is.

What an entry! Phew!

[gelziabar · 10/10 · 14 November 2006]

The popularity of Duke3D easily rivals that of Doom and Quake and even exceeds them in some cases, even though the latter mentioned were technological breakthroughs when they released. In a way, Duke3D was also a technological breakthrough on a smaller scale and had groundbreaking interactivity but what made it stand out was Duke himself and for the first time ever, a computer game actually had attitude. But that itself was nothing compared to the fantastic level design, sounds and artwork which were all quite ahead of other games at the time. The music by Lee Jackson was also stuck in a lot of people's minds. Sadly since a lot of the original Duke3D staff have been fired by 3D Realms, people may remain a bit skeptic if the sequel, Duke Nukem Forever, will deliver an experience on the same scale? For Duke fans, check out the High Resolution Pack at duke4.net.

True Legends never die, one of my favorite games of all time! :)

[Ironwarrior86 · 10/10 · 31 July 2009]

I've been playing this game since I was seven years old and I never get tired of it, I still play it every now and then even today. Not only are the episodes and enemies really creative but people are able to create levels for the game as well and a lot of the levels available for download are just as good as the original levels 3D realms has created and the Build Engine definitely deserves critical acclaim for this :) There are loads of fantastic downloadable mods and episodes out there for this as well so the game will literally have you coming back for more. I remember I used to complete the game over and over again.... oh the memories. Now here's a hopin' we get to see the Battlelord in Duke Nukem Forever if it ever comes out :)

Well it scared me

[Danny SwazZ · 7/10 · 27 July 2001]

When I played this game at 10 years old it scared the heck out of me. But then when I played again in my teenage years I found it to be rather crappy. The effects were good for it's time. But now there are better First-Person Shooters out there. Soldier of Fortune, Quake 3..etc

Yes!

[duke_z · 10/10 · 10 October 2020]

The best thing everrrrrrrr!!! I love it. I'm a huge nerd and gamer this completes me.

Duke Nukem rocks!!!

[cheeseboy80 · 8 September 2000]

This is one of my all-time favorite computer games. The game may not be as good as today's 3D shooters like Half-Life and Unreal. This game is still pretty fun to play. This game has everything. Blood, Gore, Destruction, Mayham, and hot women. Everything you want in a video game is in Duke Nukem. Don't forget about the sequels to this wonderful game: Duke Nukem: A Time To Kill, Duke Nukem: Zero Hour, and Duke Nukem Forever. This game rocks!!!

I give this game 10 out of 10

Spectacular game!

[barneycalhounthepizzaguy · 10/10 · 30 April 2019]

Everything is made fun of in this ultra-violent sequel to the original side-scrolling games! Plus there are several add-ons and a level community that has supported the game for over 22 years!

the best game franchise ever made since DooM 1992

[johnc-71334 · 10/10 · 29 June 2018]

Duke nukem made his first appearance in 1991 and then is DUKE NUKEM 3D turns out it's actually the 3rd game in the series which is probably why the stuck in developement hell sequel duke nukem forever had to be a 4th entry in the long running franchise and a final game to end the series but with bad reviews and critics alike disliking dn forever

the game is inspired by many classic action movies in the past like they live , die hard , terminator , ALIENS , and big trouble in little china

duke himself is voiced by john st john

the graphics were great and gameplay is fun and interesting many cool and big weapons to chose from in order to kick some alien ass what i liked most was duke quoting which usually happens when killing aliens , finding easter eggs , reference movie quotes etc

the game is seperate in 4 episodes and alot of levels usually around 12 or short

there are alot of duke nukem games now since 3D was the most popular with this series in order

time to kill , land of the babes , zero hour , criticall mass

final verdict is a 9/10 for the best first person shooter series since DooM and system shock

quite possibly the best game the world has ever seen

[metallica182182-1 · 8 December 2002]

this game itself is a god. it is the emblem of all that is great all all man wishes to accomplish. I still play this game because it is better than all the crap that is out here now. 6 YEars! and they can't make anything better.ANyone who hates this game is challanged in some sort of way.

How was this :The Game that Brought the Fame?

[TheLegendMTP · 31 July 2002]

There was no way in the world that this game could become successful! Even at the time the graphics where nothing new, after Duke 1 and 2: the story line was nothing new, within months of it's release Jedi Knights and Quake 2s started cropping up but all of these latter games had one ingredient missing: they didn't have Duke. The ultra violent, blonde haired, muscle bound he-man with a big gun was back and this time he had a mouth like a trash can and big breasted woman throwing themselves at The Man. Duke Nukem appeals to many people because his goal wasn't to save the galaxy as a whole, it was to score with babes! And the next time you get mad because you're blown away in DukeMatch remember these words of advise: Guns are cool, bones heal and chicks dig scars.

Duke Nukem 3D!

[Movie Nuttball · 15 November 2004]

The Duke Nukem series is one of the most exciting first person shoot em up video games! The characters, monsters, and the action makes this game a fun non-stop playing time! Below is a brief look how I think the game is!

Game Play: The game play is very good. There is really basic controls here and is easy to perform. Novice gamers should have a good time here!

Graphics: The graphics are wonderful especially for the Nintendo 64. The backgrounds are really beautiful!

Difficulty: The game is easy but as it goes on you find out that it will become more difficult!

Music: The music is great! Just fantastic catchy tunes through out the game! In My opinion its some of the best music ever in a video game!

Sound: The sound is great. Nuff said!

Overall: I have always loved Duke Nukem 3d! If you like excellent shoot em up games then I strongly recommend you play this game!

To purchase this video game check out Amazon.com!