Game 7 Complete!
Duke Nukem 3D
After Descent turned out to be just a bit too... something, I was hoping that the comparatively simple Duke Nukem 3D would allow me to get back to mindless fun. And I was absolutely right - what a game!
Getting it running
I had no problems getting it running. It's the first game that has graphical options as well as sound options.
Gameplay
This was another game that worked very well with mouse control. It's a bit odd not being able to look up and down (at least by default) but your auto aim allows you to shoot up and down reliably once you get to trust it (like Doom)
. The core gameplay of running, jumping (First game with a jump key, and it took me three hours to realise it!) and shooting is incredibly enjoyable due to a refreshing lack of niggling frustrations when you play. There is no getting lost in a cube/grid based map, no crazy head/ship bob like in Descent. Few hidden areas and rarely are very hidden ones required to progress the story, and I didn't get lost at all.
The levels in Duke 3D look like places. Hopefully, gone are the days of running around a maze a game designer created (with the intention of getting you lost!), as Duke and the build engine effortlessly create a world; a fun but believable world. I'm not saying it's realistic, but the unbelievable gameplay is happening in a truly believable world, for the first time. It's crazy that we went from Wolfenstein 3D to this in four years!
Yes, keycards are still here, but I only needed to use a walkthrough once (and that was on an annoying spinny cog puzzle) and the levels are intuitively laid out so that you're I didn't actually get lost or have to back track much at all. The levels are also short enough that progression is steady. In fact, it might be a bit too short, but I understand there is a fourth episode that I might have to track down after this project!
Duke controls very well with the mouse and keyboard; on the second difficulty I had had no issues with getting stuck in a rut and actually beat the developer's time for the final boss fight in Episode 3! (I got 54 seconds or something). I'm not sure if circle strafing was a thing back then, but it makes combat very enjoyable and "empowering" being able to literally run rings around enemies. Of course, I died quite a lot, the game has a habit of spawning duded behind you, but quick save and quick loading means its rarely an issue. In fact, this might be the first game on the list that doesn't have a lives system? Ammo is usually slightly sparse to keep the tension on but never enough to think that you're doomed and need to reload an earlier save.
There are gadgets which are of varying use; it seems that these have been experimented with in a few games and Dukes are mostly useful with scuba gear and jetpacks essential at some points. However, I didn't use the holoduke at all (intentionally) and I only activated steroids (which makes you run really fast and presumably tank more damage) when I instinctively hit the R reload key.
Overall, the gameplay is great fun. Mostly this is due to the removal of a lot of frustrations of earlier games that allow the core gameplay to shine through finally.
Graphics and Performance
My introduction to the build engine. It can create some great looking places with high quality lighting and textures (for 1996). It's quite a leap over Doom, Heretic and Descent, but then I remember that Quake came out (later) in the same year...
This was the first game where there was the odd performance hiccup, running at 800 * 600, fully software. It was completely playable the whole time but during hectic sections I could see my framerate drop to well under 30 for a few seconds. The trade off for this performance hit was very nice graphics (coming from 3xx * 2xx gaming). It's odd to see my processor finally "have to do something" where performance has been a non issue so far.
Sound
Duke 3D supports AWE32. The test (which plays the theme) is quite disappointing and misleading as it sounds terrible on the AWE32, due to the guitars I think, and I was very tempted to just go Soundblaster OPL3 instead. However the rest of the soundtrack is very good in AWE32, and is quite electronic and pulsey which sounds good through OPL and AWE32. There are some stand out tracks like
Aliens, Say Your Prayers! and
Plasma(which play back to back) which really create a fantastic mood (albeit contrasting with the permentantly silly and brilliant tone).
Was it fun?
You bet your balls it was!
Should you play it?
Absolutely.
Screenshots
This is the first game where the built in screenshots are actually usable! I didn't know that it would only save 35 screen shots before overwriting from the beginning, so we've only got the last 35 to pick from! This is annyoing as I did some nice screenshots with the hud removed and my gun lowered, all of which were overwritten.
I must be remembering that film wrong...
I'm still some way off UT99 though anyway.
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Used to make maps back in the day for it.
