Duke Caribbean: Life's a Beach
released on Dec 31, 1997
An expansion for Duke Nukem 3D
Sunstorm Interactive's final authorized expansion pack for Duke Nukem 3D. The add-on includes 7 new levels plus one secret level as well as 4 extra DukeMatch levels; all with new, tropical background music. The weapons and power-ups are the same, but they have new, beach-themed appearances (squirt guns, coconut launchers, and more!). The aliens, too, are now dressed in beach apparel.
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Unlike Duke it out in DC, the levels in this pack are detailed and interested. The new reskinned enemies also are pretty enjoyable.
Best of the official expansions I’ve played
Best of the official expansions I’ve played
This review contains spoilers
Excellent DLC for the main game.
Duke Nukem 3D was one of the first games I ever played, and what a game to start with. As a kid, I was not skilled enough to finish this epic game, but as an adult, I finally finished the game, and all it’s expansions in 2017. It did not disappoint and it was a ride full of joy and nostalgia.
You start in L.A. and see the devastation that has ravaged the city. You fight your way through the alien horde, desperately seeking and rescuing the women that have been abducted. Throughout the four episodes, you fight an Alien Battle lord, infiltrate an alien mothership to discover that the women are being “incubated” by the aliens. But then, you discover they were just a distraction to lure Duke away from earth, while the aliens launch a full invasion of the earth. This is a great example of the simple mind of a man. Lure him away with beer and/or titties and he will follow like a dog.
Anyway, you return to earth, fight the Cycloid Emperor and save the day, or so you think. However, in the next episode, you learn that one of the incubated women from the mother ship is used to “give birth” to the Alien Queen. You get your gun and go to work once again. You venture through “Babe Land”, a parody of Disneyland, Duke Burger, and even Area 51. You kill the Alien Queen but learn that there is another invasion that takes place all around the world. In the last episode, you liberate world capitols like Amsterdam, Paris, London, the pyramids of Giza, Rome and end your ass kicking back in Los Angles. You defeat the Cycloid Incinerator and stop the alien threat once and for all.
In terms of graphics, I still think Duke Nukem 3D looks great. Many items, furniture and walls are destructible, giving this game a realistic look, even back then. The many different areas, regions, unique buildings and settings makes this game stand out in comparison to Doom and Wolfenstein in my opinion.
Sound wise, Duke Nukem 3D is on par with Doom. Gunfire, enemy grunts and explosions all sound great. But of course, the best part of Duke Nukem, is its rocking soundtrack.
You can collect many different items in Duke Nukem 3D. New weapons, portable health kits, speed boosting steroids, holograms and many more. The inclusion of those items give this game an RPG feeling. Most of them are hidden away so exploring the levels thoroughly is a rewarding experience.
The best part of Duke Nukem 3D, is the controversy that it spawned when it came out, something I did not understand as a kid, but which is somewhat hilarious in hindsight. The fact that you dope yourself up with steroids for extra boosts, the fact that Duke is actually a horny playboy/pimp that does not give a crap about people, except hot babes, and the foul jokes that I could finally understand when I grew up learned the English language.
Although the main game was epic enough, I also really enjoyed this expansion.
In Duke Caribbean: Life’s a Beach, I experienced a whole new theme, namely sunny and relaxing, instead of dark and gloomy. You shoot seagulls for enemies right at the start, who are annoying as hell. The plot here is simple, you are enjoying your well earned vacation, when you discover that the aliens have a little vacation there too. It was hilarious to see Duke blast away a reptile alien, wearing an Hawaii shirt. You clear out the many resorts and hotels in this 12 level campaign and restore the peace once more, in which afterwards you resume your vacation.
Overall, I enjoyed every minute of Duke Caribbean: Life’s a Beach, and it will always remain a happy memory.
Definitely recommend this gem.
Duke Nukem 3D was one of the first games I ever played, and what a game to start with. As a kid, I was not skilled enough to finish this epic game, but as an adult, I finally finished the game, and all it’s expansions in 2017. It did not disappoint and it was a ride full of joy and nostalgia.
You start in L.A. and see the devastation that has ravaged the city. You fight your way through the alien horde, desperately seeking and rescuing the women that have been abducted. Throughout the four episodes, you fight an Alien Battle lord, infiltrate an alien mothership to discover that the women are being “incubated” by the aliens. But then, you discover they were just a distraction to lure Duke away from earth, while the aliens launch a full invasion of the earth. This is a great example of the simple mind of a man. Lure him away with beer and/or titties and he will follow like a dog.
Anyway, you return to earth, fight the Cycloid Emperor and save the day, or so you think. However, in the next episode, you learn that one of the incubated women from the mother ship is used to “give birth” to the Alien Queen. You get your gun and go to work once again. You venture through “Babe Land”, a parody of Disneyland, Duke Burger, and even Area 51. You kill the Alien Queen but learn that there is another invasion that takes place all around the world. In the last episode, you liberate world capitols like Amsterdam, Paris, London, the pyramids of Giza, Rome and end your ass kicking back in Los Angles. You defeat the Cycloid Incinerator and stop the alien threat once and for all.
In terms of graphics, I still think Duke Nukem 3D looks great. Many items, furniture and walls are destructible, giving this game a realistic look, even back then. The many different areas, regions, unique buildings and settings makes this game stand out in comparison to Doom and Wolfenstein in my opinion.
Sound wise, Duke Nukem 3D is on par with Doom. Gunfire, enemy grunts and explosions all sound great. But of course, the best part of Duke Nukem, is its rocking soundtrack.
You can collect many different items in Duke Nukem 3D. New weapons, portable health kits, speed boosting steroids, holograms and many more. The inclusion of those items give this game an RPG feeling. Most of them are hidden away so exploring the levels thoroughly is a rewarding experience.
The best part of Duke Nukem 3D, is the controversy that it spawned when it came out, something I did not understand as a kid, but which is somewhat hilarious in hindsight. The fact that you dope yourself up with steroids for extra boosts, the fact that Duke is actually a horny playboy/pimp that does not give a crap about people, except hot babes, and the foul jokes that I could finally understand when I grew up learned the English language.
Although the main game was epic enough, I also really enjoyed this expansion.
In Duke Caribbean: Life’s a Beach, I experienced a whole new theme, namely sunny and relaxing, instead of dark and gloomy. You shoot seagulls for enemies right at the start, who are annoying as hell. The plot here is simple, you are enjoying your well earned vacation, when you discover that the aliens have a little vacation there too. It was hilarious to see Duke blast away a reptile alien, wearing an Hawaii shirt. You clear out the many resorts and hotels in this 12 level campaign and restore the peace once more, in which afterwards you resume your vacation.
Overall, I enjoyed every minute of Duke Caribbean: Life’s a Beach, and it will always remain a happy memory.
Definitely recommend this gem.
While Duke Caribbean might easily be the best expansion pack for Duke Nukem, i feel like many of it’s features hasn’t aged all that well.
The change in sprites is great. I always love when there’s a change in sprites going for a humorous effect (Pirate Doom comes in mind) resulting in something like a “partial conversion”. Weapons, enemies, textures, and the whole artistic work in general is probably the main reason why this expansion is so memorable.
However, the level design doesn’t come even close to that of the original Duke 3D. It’s pretty confusing at times, and i feel like it’s just way too puzzle-oriented. I like puzzles in an FPS like Half Life (actually, puzzles are pretty much essential for such games style), but in these kind of games, an excessive ammount of puzzles just end up killing all the fun.
I also really hate with all my soul the replacement in many weapons sounds. I mean i know it’s supposed to be funny and silly, but since the joke pretty much wastes itself at the very beginning, you end up with a whole game where the weapons just suck, they don’t feel powerful at all. You know how important sound design is when it comes to weapons.
I guess any Duke fan have to check this one out, but honestly i was expecting a little bit more. Maybe i just picked it up at a bad time.
Fav maps: probably the last one (i’m sure this is an unpopular choice)
Worst maps: the first three maps, as memorable as they might be, are just kinda messy in their layout. But the worst, by far, is the Voodo Caves one.
The change in sprites is great. I always love when there’s a change in sprites going for a humorous effect (Pirate Doom comes in mind) resulting in something like a “partial conversion”. Weapons, enemies, textures, and the whole artistic work in general is probably the main reason why this expansion is so memorable.
However, the level design doesn’t come even close to that of the original Duke 3D. It’s pretty confusing at times, and i feel like it’s just way too puzzle-oriented. I like puzzles in an FPS like Half Life (actually, puzzles are pretty much essential for such games style), but in these kind of games, an excessive ammount of puzzles just end up killing all the fun.
I also really hate with all my soul the replacement in many weapons sounds. I mean i know it’s supposed to be funny and silly, but since the joke pretty much wastes itself at the very beginning, you end up with a whole game where the weapons just suck, they don’t feel powerful at all. You know how important sound design is when it comes to weapons.
I guess any Duke fan have to check this one out, but honestly i was expecting a little bit more. Maybe i just picked it up at a bad time.
Fav maps: probably the last one (i’m sure this is an unpopular choice)
Worst maps: the first three maps, as memorable as they might be, are just kinda messy in their layout. But the worst, by far, is the Voodo Caves one.
WAY better than I originally gave it credit for. It's easily the best of the Duke Expansions, and honestly the only one that feels like it's had actual effort put into it. The beach vibes are great and all of the original assets have been very cleverly converted over. I think my favorite is the Freezethrower into an Ice Machine, the sound and projectiles are just the best. Besides all the window dressing though this has some really solid and clever design (with the exception of a stupid button puzzle in the Voodoo Caves.) My only real complaint is the annoying bouncy enemies are kind of cheap, and the sound they make can get grating over time. Otherwise, this one's great, and especially compared to the other expansions, this one is paradise. See what I did there?
The beach theme is cute, its cool they actually skin swapped stuff. Its still like the other duke expansions where i was constantly wondering "what did this button just do" or "where the fuck do i go." The levels also just feel way too long, the campaigns are like an hour too long.
Not perfect, but a severe increase in quality from the previous expansions. Fun, rather short, but still using some of the less desirable design philosophies of the Build Engine-era of shooters.