Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour is a port of the original Duke Nukem 3D for modern systems. Gearbox gave it a new coat of paint to boot, in more ways than one. They added an entire new episode made by the original designers.
To start off, I have to state up front that I didn’t really play the original back in the day. If my criticism rings hollow or otherwise seems unfair, keep that in mind. Nostalgia’s a tricky thing, and I’d personally prefer to avoid running afoul of it. But sometimes, it’s unavoidable.
First and foremost, for a 20-year-old game, Duke looks pretty damn good. They didn’t change much in regards to the textures or sprites aesthetically; just applied a bit of elbow grease shining them up. It’s probably the best looking version of the game currently available, for what it’s worth.
The original game is all there, just as it was. It still plays the same, as well, though I have heard a few mutterings about mouse smoothing taking some getting used to in Steam reviews. Nothing’s been removed or changed, if that’s your worry. They did have Jon St. John record a few new lines, but you can toggle those on or off as you so choose.
The sound quality is odd; you can have new lines with the original sound effects. The new stuff is clearly recorded at a higher quality, so the choice is yours. Moreover, they did include creator commentary, though the most fleshed out bits of commentary are for the new episode.
And, I really can’t beat around the bush any longer; I have to talk about the new episode. Jumping from the first episode to the last winds up being a shock. Episode 5 is essentially end game difficulty; they assume that you’re very familiar with the game and they don’t really pull any punches. They start off with some of the more resilient enemies, and things quickly ramp up from there. The saving grace being that they also give you access to some serious firepower almost as quickly.
That said, it feels like there’s little to no progression there. Within moments of starting the episode you have a rocket launcher, chain gun, and Devastator. Not like that lets you live out some power fantasy; it quickly introduces several of the tougher enemies to keep you in check. It’s all probably great if you’re super familiar with the weapons from long ago; I however, was not. Not helped by the fact that it eventually just starts tossing boss enemies at you like it wasn’t a big deal. It also features an achievement that’s a joke hearkening back to the Clinton administration, so 90’s kids should feel right at home.
Which brings me to the really unfortunate part. This is, essentially, a 20 year old game. It has a bit of new content, but experienced players can cut through that quickly. Gearbox decided that, with that in mind, the full package is worth $20. Considering that many of Duke’s peers are anywhere from half to a quarter of that price on Steam (and Shadow Warrior Classic is FREE), that’s a little steep. Especially when, taking the previously mentioned scale into mind, they seem to think the new episode justifies the lion’s share of the price.
All that said, if you can get Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour on sale, and Steam is very good for that, you can do much worse when it comes to ports of older games. The warm glow of 90’s shooting action is always inviting after all. And who knows, Duke might just have a brand new Chrysler Town & Country to give you. Or not, Duke isn’t exactly the type you’d expect to give away mini vans.
PROS:
+ Features new content
+ Looks the best of the available versions
+ gives you a choice of Duke quips
CONS:
– New content is somewhat short
– The sound is odd
– $20 is not a deal for this
3.5/5
“Good”
About Author
