Duke Nukem
Duke Nukem is a video game series focusing on its protagonist, Duke Nukem. Originally created by Apogee Software Ltd./3D Realms as a series of video games for the PC, the franchise expanded to games released for various consoles by third party developers. In 2010, the rights of the franchise were acquired by Gearbox Software,[1] who completed the development of Duke Nukem Forever and released it on June 10, 2011 in Europe and Australia and on June 14, 2011 in North America. The voice actor for Duke Nukem is Jon St. John.[2]
Contents |
Games[edit]
Main series[edit]
| Title | Year released | Platforms |
|---|---|---|
| Duke Nukem | 1991 | MS-DOS, iOS (to be released in 2013) |
| Duke Nukem II | 1993 | MS-DOS, Game Boy Color (1999), iOS (2013) |
| Duke Nukem 3D | 1996 | MS-DOS, Game.com (1997), Mac OS (1997), Sega Saturn (1997), PlayStation (1997), Nintendo 64 (1997), Microsoft Windows (1998), Sega Mega Drive (Brazil only) (1998), Xbox Live Arcade (2008), iOS (2009), Nokia N900 (2009), Android (2011), Steam (2013) |
| Duke Nukem Forever | 2011 | Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Mac OS X |
Spin-offs[edit]
| Title | Year released | Platforms |
|---|---|---|
| Duke Nukem: Time to Kill | 1998 | PlayStation |
| Duke Nukem: Zero Hour | 1999 | Nintendo 64 |
| Duke Nukem: Land of the Babes | 2000 | PlayStation |
| Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project | 2002 | Microsoft Windows, Xbox Live Arcade (2010) |
Portable games[edit]
| Title | Year released | Platforms |
|---|---|---|
| Duke Nukem Advance | 2002 | Game Boy Advance |
| Duke Nukem Mobile | 2004 | Tapwave Zodiac |
| Duke Nukem Mobile | 2004 | Mobile phone |
| Duke Nukem Mobile II: Bikini Project | 2005 | Mobile phone |
| Duke Nukem: Critical Mass | 2011 | Nintendo DSi |
Reception[edit]
| Game | GameRankings | Metacritic |
|---|---|---|
| Duke Nukem | (PC) -[3] | (PC) - |
| Duke Nukem II | (PC) -[4] (GBC) 73.31%[5] |
(PC) - (GBC) - |
| Duke Nukem 3D | (PC) 88.50%[6] (SAT) 82.50%[7] (X360) 80.67%[8] (N64) 74.33%[9] (PS1) 59.33%[10] (GEN) 50.00%[11] |
(PC) 89[12] (X360) 80[13] (N64) 73[14] |
| Duke Nukem Forever | (X360) 49.36%[15] (PS3) 48.61%[16] (PC) 48.52%[17] |
(PC) 54[18] (PS3) 51[19] (X360) 49[20] |
 |
This section needs additional citations for verification. (March 2011) |
The series has been generally popular since its inception. Duke Nukem and Duke Nukem II, along with Commander Keen, helped make the genre popular on the personal computer, as against games like Super Mario Bros. for video game consoles.[21]
The games broke out of the shareware niche and into the mainstream gamer audience with Duke Nukem 3D, which also brought the series to the forefront of video game controversy. The game, like others such as Star Wars: Dark Forces, was one of the first titles considered comparable to Doom. The Build engine used in Duke Nukem 3D has also become one of the most popular engines among developers. Duke Nukem 3D was controversial, because of its depictions of sexuality, pornography, obscenities, graphic violence, drug use, and other taboo topics. This caused the game to be banned in Brazil and, in other countries, the sale of the game was strictly regulated against purchase by minors. Despite this, Duke Nukem 3D was a commercial and critical success for 3D Realms.[21]
Duke Nukem Forever had been in development hell since 1997 until it was finally released on June 10, 2011. The exceedingly long wait had spawned a number of jokes related to its development timeline. The video game media and the public in general have routinely suggested several names in place of Forever, calling it: "Never", "(Taking) Forever", "Whenever", "ForNever", "Neverever", and "If Ever". Many fans[who?] have noted that the game's initials, "DNF", also stand for Did Not Finish, which is an acronym widely used in motorsports to denote cars which did not reach the finish line (usually due to mechanical failure or crash). Due to Duke Nukem games featuring many pop culture references, a joke on the development hell nightmare of Duke Nukem Forever's production was included in the title itself, where Duke is playing it himself within the game, and when asked if it was any good, commented "After 12 fucking years, it should be!". The game has also won a wide variety of "vaporware awards".[22][23][24]
Although anticipation was high, Duke Nukem Forever received disparate reviews upon release from critics, with most of the criticism directed towards the game's clunky controls on consoles, shooting mechanics, and overall aging and dated design.The PR firm responsible for the game's publicity, The Redner Group, reacted to these reviews in a statement on the corporation's Twitter account. This comment appeared to threaten to withdraw access to review copies for future titles for reviewers who had been highly critical of the game. Head of the PR firm Jim Redner later apologised for and retracted this comment, and the original Twitter post has been deleted.[25] Despite the apologies, Publisher 2K Games has officially dropped The Redner Group from representing its products.[26]
Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project, a spin-off from the main franchise released in 2002, generally received positive reviews in the video game press, with rankings around 7/10 and of 80 out 100. However, the game did not sell as well as hoped, and its developer Sunstorm Interactive is no longer in existence. Duke Nukem Advance, which was also released in 2002 for the Game Boy Advance, did also receive favorable reviews. Duke Nukem: Critical Mass, which was released the same year as Duke Nukem Forever and was developed for the Nintendo DS, received a negative reception.
Duke Nukem: Glorious Bastard[edit]
A comic series titled Duke Nukem: Glorious Bastard was released in July 2011 by IDW. The series features Duke Nukem traveling back to the Second World War, to help the allies defeat the Nazis and aliens.[27]
References[edit]
- ^ Kelly, Kevin (September 5, 2010). "Gearbox Software Acquires Rights To Entire Duke Nukem Franchise, Free Level Cap Upgrade For Borderlands". G4tv.com. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
- ^ "Duke Nukem Forever release date delayed until June". BBC News. March 24, 2011. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
- ^ "Duke Nukem Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ "Duke Nukem II Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ "Duke Nukem Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ "Duke Nukem 3D Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ "Duke Nukem 3D Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ "Duke Nukem 3D Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ "Duke Nukem 64 Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ "Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ "Duke Nukem 3D Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ "Duke Nukem 3D Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ "Duke Nukem 3D Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ "Duke Nukem 64 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ "Duke Nukem Forever Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ "Duke Nukem Forever Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ "Duke Nukem Forever Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ "Duke Nukem Forever Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ "Duke Nukem Forever Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ "Duke Nukem Forever Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ a b Kushner, David (2003). Masters of Doom. Random House. 89. ISBN 0-375-50524-5.
- ^ Kahney, Leander. "Vaporware 2000: Missing Inaction". December 27, 2000. Wired News.
- ^ Manjoo, Farhad. "Vaporware 2001: Empty Promises". January 7, 2002. Wired News.
- ^ Vaporware Team. "Vaporware 2002: Tech Up in Smoke?". Wired News. January 3, 2003.
- ^ Kuchera, Ben (June 15, 2011). "Duke Nukem's PR threatens to punish sites that run negative reviews". Ars Technica.
- ^ Orland, Kyle (June 15, 2011). "2K Games Drops PR Firm Following Duke Nukem Forever Blackball Threats". Gamasutra.
- ^ "Duke Nukem: Glorious Bastard Sends Duke to WWII for His First Comic Book Series". Kotaku. 2011-04-29.
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