By:           3D Realms
Publisher:    US Gold 
Format:       CD
Available:    Out now

*Requires*

O/S:          DOS 5.0+
Processor:    486/DX-33+
RAM:          8MB+
Graphics:     VGA+
CD-Rom:       Double Speed
Soundcard:    All major cards supported

*Tested on*

O/S:          DOS 7.0
Processor:    Pentium 133MHz
RAM:          24Mb
Graphics:     2Mb Matrox Millenium
CD-ROM:       Hitachi IDE Quad Speed
Soundcard:    Soundblaster AWE32
Controls:     Mouse + Keyboard

Duke Nukem 3D (Full release)

Those alien basts stole my ride.

Thus starts the latest 3D first person-perspective shoot-em-up around - Duke Nukem 3D from Apogee. This is the third episode in the very popular Duke Nukem series - but things have progressed in computer gaming since the early days of the VGA sideways-scrolling shoot-em-up era (even though some games developers don't seem to have realised it), so Apogee /3D Realms have gone and got all Doom on us!

Since this program was released as shareware many months ago, I'd be really surprised if there were a lot of people out there who hadn't already seen this game and had their own opinion on it, but here goes anyway!

The usual installation routine is typical of this type of game, and leads into the usual setup stuff. Supported are all major sound cards, all major joysticks, and the control method is totally customisable, so any combination of mouse/keyboard/joystick as preferred is possible.

Graphic modes range from standard 320x240x256 VGA modes right up to 800x600 SVGA, obviously the more detail you want, the faster the PC you must have. It plays fine in VGA on a DX2/66, and is smooth as silk on a P5-133 in all its SVGA glory, so you don't have to have a super-ninja PC to have a good gaming experience.

So is it better than Doom?

Why is this always the first question on everybody's lips? Aren't we getting a bit bored with this discussion? Is a Honda MSX better than an E-type Jaguar? I think that this is a very difficult question to ask, and the Jury's still out. I think I'll leave my opinion until later.

Little boys with big guns.

There is a lot of stuff going on in DN3D. Apart from the old and boring 2D control structure found in Doom, DN3D contains the same idea of 2D + up/down that is becoming the de facto standard amongst games of this ilk. You can also run, jump, and crouch, and amongst the variety of gear you can pick up is Scuba gear for underwater stuff, and a Jetpack so you can go zooming around, RPG in hand, blasting the alien nasties. Guns range from the standard pistol (nice touch here, each clip holds 10 shots, and when the clip is empty, you get a nice bit of re-load animation), machine guns, shotguns, rocket launchers, etc, etc. A small number of ranged weapons are also available, my favourite being the Pipe Bomb. The Pipe Bomb is a device which fires a remote-controlled grenade. You can lob these over walls, in through doors, or drop them on the floor and run. When you want to set them off, you hit the same key you fired with and the bomb blows up in the face of the unsuspecting alien! This is a great tool for setting booby-traps or just being plain cowardly! One of the major improvements over previous 3D games is the ability to blow up walls and bridges and stuff if you have the requisite firepower. Early in the first mission you can pick up a rocket launcher from "a secret place" and take out a guard while blowing out a wall which lets you into a cinema. The ability to "back door" like this is available to both you and your assailants; make sure your stray bullets don't hit that fire extinguisher while you're near it - we all saw what happened to Jaws!

The aliens ate my mom.

The opponents in your quest are a weird mix of genetically altered animals. The only problem I have with this is that it just isn't scary. One of the things I really liked about Doom (and, indeed, even more about Doom 2) was that the whole experience was extremely atmospheric, and coming round the corner to face a Horace (you know, that skeletal creature with the heat-seekers that always shouted "horace" when it was around) made you back up and run like a bast. Well it did to me anyway. I just don't get scared by being fired at by a Pig in a cop suit (nice one, Apogee!).

Sound and vision.

The graphics are all very nice, some great touches being able to watch the view of security cameras around the place on monitors, and the inclusion of mirrors (this can get really confusing when you're being attacked from all sides). Also, time has been spent on a few other nice touches, such as a strip film in a cinema (don't panic, parents, you don't see anything), and being able to blow away itinerant kitty prey whilst on the throne! You are accompanied by a good soundtrack (if you have a decent sound card), and the in-game SFX samples are all very good. It's much nicer to hear Duke saying "I'm gonna tear off your head and sh%t down your neck" before he does it (yep...he does!) than just to see some text come up. Another nice feature is there are occasional earthquakes (lots of nice screen shake); bits come lose from the walls, the floors and ceilings crack, etc, all of which makes things that much more realistic. I'm also fond of the Space Station mission, where you can look out of the window and see space ships flying around and firing at each other.

Funky bits.

There are some very nice "add-on" bits and pieces for DN3D. There is (of course) a complete networking and dial-up service for deathmatch and cooperative network play. There is also a scenario editor/build tool for those all-essential WAD (well, not WAD, but you know what I mean) files which everybody will be so eager to produce. One of the programs I particularly like is a WAD to DN3D file conversion suite. This quite obviously makes available thousands of additional play spaces for when you get bored with the three in-built scenarios.

And the verdict is...

It's good. Very good. Butitsnotasgoodasdoom! There, I've said it - I've pitched my stake and I'm standing by my own opinion. But don't take my word for it - buy it or download the shareware version and make your own mind up - there are two very differing opinions around. I went back and played Doom 2 again after playing DN3D, and just found the whole thing more atmospheric, scary, and satisfying. I also prefer Terminator - Future Shock for other reasons, but that`s another story.

So why should I buy it?

Well, it's good, isn't it?

Yeah, but I've already got the shareware version!

Ahh, now you're talking. Well, there's loads more. The full version contains some significant enhancements over the shareware version. The obligatory two extra episodes; these episodes, unlike the Doom add-ons, each have a very different look and feel to the original episode (see my comments about the space station above). There are several new and improved weapons including the awesome Shrink Ray (zap the Pigs with this, and they will be shrunk to the size of Action Man, just begging to be splattered under your hobnails), the "cool" Freeze Cannon, and ultra-devious laser trip mines. To round the game off, there are a few new monsters, and some very tough end-of-level Guardian-types. The previously mentioned scenario editor/build tool and wad converter is a very welcome addition, and will surely prolong the longevity of DN3D, and for those of you who don't already have them, included on the CD are shareware versions of Duke Nukem 1 & 2, Raptor, Terminal Velocity, and 3 other additional Apogee titles. As an introduction to PC Gaming for people who don't have a lot of PC Games already, this makes the package even more worthwhile.

The scores on the doors..

There are, naturally, two camps. The "I love Doom and everything else is a mere imitation" camp, and the "Doom was OK, but this is soooooo much better" camp. For this reason, I will score this game two separate ways.

Doom Die-hards
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Rating: 7/10 Good (but not great)
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Everyone else
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Rating: 9/10 (Classic - Must Buy!)
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