Duke Nukem 64 is yet another instalment in the wondrous adventures of Duke Nukem, Earth’s best gun totin’, gum chewin’, alien killin’ hero. After returning from single-handedly destroying an alien empire, he crash-lands on earth, which is infested by alien hybrids! Duke must blast his way through tons of aliens, puzzles, and general danger. Along the way, he has to save “babes” which are basically just women who have been restrained by the aliens in some way.
The gameplay in Duke Nukem is great, and easily the best aspect of the game. It’s full of action from start to finish, and there is a large amount of violence(enough to make Giovanni go “ewwwwww” and look away).
Anyway, the game is both fun and challenging, and does not allow for boredom. You’ll constantly be blowing the heads off aliens, flying around on rocket boots, blowing up very, very expensive equipment, and trying not to fall off cliffs. The only problem is the save system. You can only save after a level is completed, so if you die, you restart the whole level. Its kind of annoying, but it’s not really a major problem. Finally, the game is not too repetitive, seeing as new enemies are introduced periodically, and almost none of the levels look the same.
The graphics are also quite good, if not great. They can be a little fuzzy, especially enemies, and all the characters are two-dimensional (they look a bit like paper). But on the other hand, scenery and explosions look great, as does the animation on firearms, even when firing. Duke himself is barely ever seen, except for his hands and feet, such as when you choose to kick the hell out of some alien instead of shooting it. There is also a particularly well animated picture of Duke reloading a shotgun after each level. My favourite thing about the graphics, however, is how great bullet wounds and other wounds look.
The sound on this game is not very good, only because there is almost no music. The voices and sound effects are quite good, and match up well with what is happening. Only a few things talk, but when they do, it’s quite good. The aliens mainly just roar and gurgle in death, or bellow out a challenge when they see you. The best part of the sound aspect is when Duke talks, seeing as it’s always hilarious. He will frequently shove how cool he is down dying enemies throats. Some lines he uses include “I’ve got balls of steel!” and “I’m here to kick ass and chew bubble gum, and I’m all outta’ gum.”
Finally, the value of the game is great. It’s extremely long, and very enjoyable. The game is about 15 hours long if you spend the time finding all the secrets.
Overall, Duke Nukem 64 is a great game.
