A Quick History of Duke Nukem

News in recent weeks has been broken that we will finally be getting to see the Duke Nukem series re-booted sometime in 2011 after many twists and turns. It’s been a long 13 years since we last saw a Duke Nukem game released, and for many young gamers the name Duke Nukem maybe new to them
Therefore I thought a trip down memory lane was in order. I would like to welcome you to a Brief History of Duke Nukem.

As we hop into our DeLoren and take a trip back to July 1991 we find our first Duke Nukem – by publishers Apogee Software, which is now 3D Realms – released onto the PC. The game is set in which would then have been the future of 1997! The story was based on an evil Doctor, Dr. Proton, who wanted nothing more than to take over the world with his army of Techbots. It’s Duke Nukem’s job to save the world, on his quest Duke visits 3 different levels, the first being set in a devastated city, the second on Dr Proton’s Moonbase, and the third he follows Dr. Proton into the future for their final confrontation.
Duke Nukem was a side scrolling shooter, in which the objective was to make it to the exit of each level, whilst completing optional bonus for achievement points. Also collecting items such as health packs, power ups and inventory items with special abilities.

Fast forward to 1993 and Duke Nukem II was released. Again released onto the PC, the game followed in the same footsteps as the first, a side scrolling shooter.
This time the game is set in 1999, and Duke has defeated the evil Dr. Proton, but while he is busy promoting his new Autobiography, Why I’m so great, he is kidnapped by the Rigelatins, who attempt to use Duke’s brain power to control their forces and plot an attack against the Earth. Duke Nukem breaks free, ready to save the world once again!

Another 3 years pass and Duke’s back, this time, in 3D glory, but this time as a First Person Shooter.
The game was developed by 3D realms and published by GT Interactive Studios
Duke get the full works, voiced over by Jon St John, and a pair or snazzy black shades to complete his look.   Armed with some explosive fire power, Duke sets off on his mission to fight an Alien Invasion on Earth!

The levels were designed to be fairly non-linear, with Duke being able to use parts of the level to gain advantage on his Alien enemies, by crawling through air ducts and the use of a jet pack! The background of the levels again featured empty streets, flooded cities and a space station.  Certain pick up’s were available to Duke in order to give him special abilities, he could make the use of Steroids to allow Duke to move quicker, Nightvision googles to see in the dar, of course, HoloDuke, which made a Hologram of Duke to confuse those pesky monsters.

One of the most memorable parts of the game from many a young boys point of view was the random strippers in some of the levels, who you could tip for a quick *flash* and provoke a quote for Duke.

Duke had the use of some very cool weapons, which ranged from an meele kick attack, to a grenade launcher and a shrink ray.

This time the enemy came in the shape of Aliens and mutated Humans.  The LAPD had been turned into Pigs and most levels ended with a harder boss.  Some enemies had the use of items such as Jet Packs.

The game did gain some controversy due to the addition on Strippers and Prostitutes that could also be killed, which lead to censored versions of the game being released in certain areas, and even banned in Brazil.

The Duke Nukem series has also featured other expansions and conversions onto the Gameboy Colour and the Playstation.  Now we await its re-boot with Duke Nukem Forever, set to hit the Xbox, PS3, and PC in 2011.

Have a watch of the sample videos above and see if it provokes any old memories, or if you are new to the series, how do you like what you have seen?