I’m baffled by the amount of people, especially modern gamers, who have never heard of Duke Nukem. Especially the people who are my age and have been gaming since the 90s! Has Duke really become a forgotten franchise since its major popularity in 1996? It’s almost mind-boggling how such a gaming icon has slipped the minds of the general public.
The snappy one-liners “stolen” from 80s action movies, the misogynous hedonistic nature, the over-the-top action we all weren’t allowed to see because it was “too violent” (this was a time when most of us were in elementary school) but eventually became old enough to play without getting in trouble… it was an early game, it was an amazing game. Now that the long-awaited sequel is finally coming out, gamers will be able to revel in the nostalgia and witness for the first time why Duke Nukem is the icon we’ve known since the early 90s.
A little history for those who are new to the series. Duke Nukem started out as a side-scrolling shooter game made by Todd Replogle, Jim Norwood, George Broussard, and Scott Miller of Apogee Software for MS-DOS in July of 1991. It briefly sported a different spelling of the last name as “Nukum” due to “Nukem” being trademarked by Captain Planet. Luckily, it wasn’t and the name was changed back to the name we now know. The next game, Duke Nukem II, also for MS-DOS, was released. This would be the last side-scroller Duke game.
The next-next sequel, aptly titled “Duke Nukem 3D” hit shelves in 1996 that completely revolutionized the face of First-Person Shooters (FPSes), along with such games as Quake, Doom, and Wolfenstein 3D. This time, Duke actually had a voice! And personality! Why, it even had strippers that you could tip! The voice was done through talent of one Jon St. John and has been since. This is the game everyone knows and loves. A port was shortly made for the then-popular Nintendo 64, titled “Duke Nukem 64.” This port was edited heavily to appeal to the younger generation. Blood and gore was removed and some of the more mature one-liners were edited. Soon, the Atomic Edition was made and released on the Xbox Live Arcade for 360 owners. Nothing was edited, thankfully.
Gearbox, I salute you. And Mr. St John that brought Duke’s personality to life. Oh, and how could I forget Apogee/3D Realms (same company, different names) for creating this epic series. I thank you.
This is a good time to get your preorders in for the game for your preferred system (PS3/360/PC) and play the hell out of the game as it comes out. I know I will. Mark your calendars for the soon-to-be historic day, May 3rd 2011. Do it NOW!
