Wow that was a lot of fun.
These past few months, i've been playing a lot of games based on the IDTech engine, obvioulsy the classic Doom games, with both Heretic and Hexen as well. Also, a few Doom wads made by fans. So after all that, playing Duke Nukem 3D really shows how much of a progress the Build engine was for the time. And i know how repetitive i am about linking everything that happened in the genre between Doom and Half-Life, but i insist, it would be a crime to not acknowledge how Duke Nukem 3D helped A LOT to pave the way for Half-Life, specially when it comes to the interactivity. And not only because the build engine allowed the player to explode walls, floor, and whole buildings: Is also how the map designers put a lot of the elements (specially in the first episode) that would later be present in Half-Life maps: ventilation ducts, platforming through places where failing would mean instant death, and so on. Man, even that rocky desert levels from episode one are so so similar to the open areas of the Black Mesa Research facility.
I've seen quite a few people complaining about the level design and how the second and third episode were so inferior compared to the first. While i can easily see why the first episode is largely considered to be the best (it is not only the most iconic and the most diverse, it is also the one who has a stronger sense of storytelling, while the latter ones are more focused tematically), i don't really get this criticism. Episode 2 might be a little bit stretched out, but it has a lot of good levels, and the whole Alien-inspired aesthetic is very well handled. And Episode 3 may not be as cohesive (Map 3 felt kinda out of place in the middle of all this city-based maps) or innovative, is probably the most fun to play, also giving us a whole set of levels based on the city theme which is by far the most iconic setting when it comes to Duke Nukem 3D.
Weapons are just great. I don't really care about the laser mines and the freezethrower but the rest is just fantastic. It's not like in Doom 2 where once you've found the super shotgun you'll beat 90% of the game by using that sole weapon. Here, everything is balanced a lot better and you'll find yourself how almost all of the weapons are useful. They even made the best pistol for it's time, so pistol-starting isn't near as painful as in other games. It's worth noting how the pipe bombs and laser mines were basically pioneering the strategical approach that we later found in Half-Life. As for the items, i don't really care about the holoduke, and the steroids just made the whole thing way to fast to be playable. But the rest are pretty functional, the jet-pack being the main star. Both the jet-pack and the nightvision goggles (with it's hability to show hidden messages) helped a lot in bringing tools for a more interactive approach between gameplay and level design.
The enemies are overall ok, except for a few problems: First of all, the first boss. It is extremely unfair to make a hitscanner with so much health, and put it in an open space. At least the Spider Mastermind from Doom was balanced because it had a lot less health, and you could beat it with just two BFG shots. And then, the other two bosses are just way too easy. The third one? i finished that level in just 20 seconds and i'm no pro at all. About the regular enemies, the smaller versions of the first boss are just a real pain in the ass. But by far, my most hated enemy is the protozoid slime. They just make me feel really uneasy when i'm close to them, they have very strange hitboxes, and worst of all, they have to jumpscare the f**k out of you everytime they get to attack. Besides all those things, enemies are ok, but probably some other games handled that better.
What many people (maybe even the majority) remembers about this game is it's humour and it's portraying of women. On this very late subject, it seems that every review needs to have a position about it. Personally, i don't feel like talking about these topics because my main interest is about the gameplay and everything around it (level design, enemies, etc). Focusing so much about the sense of humour of this game (dated or not, misoginistic or not) is kind of unfair with the gameplay, which is just insanely good.
I definitely recommend you to play Duke Nukem 3D, one of the finest FPS of it's times.
These past few months, i've been playing a lot of games based on the IDTech engine, obvioulsy the classic Doom games, with both Heretic and Hexen as well. Also, a few Doom wads made by fans. So after all that, playing Duke Nukem 3D really shows how much of a progress the Build engine was for the time. And i know how repetitive i am about linking everything that happened in the genre between Doom and Half-Life, but i insist, it would be a crime to not acknowledge how Duke Nukem 3D helped A LOT to pave the way for Half-Life, specially when it comes to the interactivity. And not only because the build engine allowed the player to explode walls, floor, and whole buildings: Is also how the map designers put a lot of the elements (specially in the first episode) that would later be present in Half-Life maps: ventilation ducts, platforming through places where failing would mean instant death, and so on. Man, even that rocky desert levels from episode one are so so similar to the open areas of the Black Mesa Research facility.
I've seen quite a few people complaining about the level design and how the second and third episode were so inferior compared to the first. While i can easily see why the first episode is largely considered to be the best (it is not only the most iconic and the most diverse, it is also the one who has a stronger sense of storytelling, while the latter ones are more focused tematically), i don't really get this criticism. Episode 2 might be a little bit stretched out, but it has a lot of good levels, and the whole Alien-inspired aesthetic is very well handled. And Episode 3 may not be as cohesive (Map 3 felt kinda out of place in the middle of all this city-based maps) or innovative, is probably the most fun to play, also giving us a whole set of levels based on the city theme which is by far the most iconic setting when it comes to Duke Nukem 3D.
Weapons are just great. I don't really care about the laser mines and the freezethrower but the rest is just fantastic. It's not like in Doom 2 where once you've found the super shotgun you'll beat 90% of the game by using that sole weapon. Here, everything is balanced a lot better and you'll find yourself how almost all of the weapons are useful. They even made the best pistol for it's time, so pistol-starting isn't near as painful as in other games. It's worth noting how the pipe bombs and laser mines were basically pioneering the strategical approach that we later found in Half-Life. As for the items, i don't really care about the holoduke, and the steroids just made the whole thing way to fast to be playable. But the rest are pretty functional, the jet-pack being the main star. Both the jet-pack and the nightvision goggles (with it's hability to show hidden messages) helped a lot in bringing tools for a more interactive approach between gameplay and level design.
The enemies are overall ok, except for a few problems: First of all, the first boss. It is extremely unfair to make a hitscanner with so much health, and put it in an open space. At least the Spider Mastermind from Doom was balanced because it had a lot less health, and you could beat it with just two BFG shots. And then, the other two bosses are just way too easy. The third one? i finished that level in just 20 seconds and i'm no pro at all. About the regular enemies, the smaller versions of the first boss are just a real pain in the ass. But by far, my most hated enemy is the protozoid slime. They just make me feel really uneasy when i'm close to them, they have very strange hitboxes, and worst of all, they have to jumpscare the f**k out of you everytime they get to attack. Besides all those things, enemies are ok, but probably some other games handled that better.
What many people (maybe even the majority) remembers about this game is it's humour and it's portraying of women. On this very late subject, it seems that every review needs to have a position about it. Personally, i don't feel like talking about these topics because my main interest is about the gameplay and everything around it (level design, enemies, etc). Focusing so much about the sense of humour of this game (dated or not, misoginistic or not) is kind of unfair with the gameplay, which is just insanely good.
I definitely recommend you to play Duke Nukem 3D, one of the finest FPS of it's times.