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DEVELOPER
Eurocom Developments
PUBLISHER
GT Interactive
AVAILABLE
Now
MEDIUM
Cartridge
PLAYERS
Four
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 amn,
those alien bas… uh, scum are gonna pay for shooting up my ride!"
Such is the best description for Duke Nukem 64. It's basically a very
well done 3D corridor shooter that's been Nintendo-ized to omit any questionable
content. Though there are the odd mild expletives remaining, and even a
couple somewhat racy pictures of women in what was the red light district,
this is basically a cleaned up Duke Nukem.
While I was sure that this would go a long way in completely destroying
the Duke experience, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this isn't
the case. For instance, rather than using semi-naked women and sexual references
throughout, it seems that Eurocom has decided to concentrate on things
such as movies instead. If you look closely you're sure to find posters
similar to Clockwork Orange, Apocalypse Now, 12 Monkeys, Independence Day,
and even a reference to Lo Wang, the star of 3D Realms Shadow Warrior.
Other changes include the porn shop, which has been turned into a gun shop.
So it seems that, while cleaning him up a little, the basic premise of
Duke has been retained. The first few levels are very similar to the original
game as well, but they soon become very, very different.
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"Who wants Wang?"
Eurocom pays homage to Duke's creators with this cute
Shadow Warrior plug.
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Along with the regular one player game, four people can get together
to play a split screen death match or co-operative play. While this does
work fairly well, it's not quite as good as Goldeneye, and definitely not
as effective as using a Saturn and a Netlink.
The control is quite versatile, letting you choose between a Turok-style
setup, using the buttons to move and the stick for looking, or the right
position, allowing you to move with the analogue stick. All of Duke's actions
have been retained, including jumping and ducking. Most of the weapons
are the same as well, except the chaingun has become twin uzis and a grenade
launcher has been added. However, the control, while being well thought
out, takes a little time to get used to. It's a little too sensitive.
The graphics are probably the high point of the entire game. The levels
all have very nice, if somewhat fuzzy, textures. The enemies, being sprites,
also suffer a little when they get too close, but at a distance they look
fine. Each weapon has been rendered anew, and looks quite slick. The coolest
graphical effect of all would have to be the explosions, probably the nicest
I've seen on the N64 thus far. Made up of transparent polygons and followed
by a lot of smoke, they look quite impressive.
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While cool, these firearms sort of lack the punch
of the railgun.
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Duke still offers his opinions on his current situation, very similar
to the original title. Again, certain ones have been cut for obvious reasons.
You can hear enemies lurking nearby as well, and since it's in stereo,
you actually have an idea of where they might be. This has always been
one of the best features of all the Doom clones, and this one's no different.
As for the music, well… what music? There is absolutely no soundtrack in
any of the levels. It really detracts from the game, though there's enough
ambient sound effects to make up for it.
N64 owners won't be disappointed with Duke Nukem 64, and they have no
reason to be. Considering the limitations Nintendo puts on these developers,
Eurocom has done an exceptional job with this title.
-- Greg Sewart
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