Duke Nukem I
From Duke Nukem Wiki
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Duke Nukem I is the side-scrolling computer game for PC that started the Duke Nukem franchise. It was released on July 1, 1991, and was developed and published by Apogee Software.
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[edit] Story
The game takes place in the then future world of 1997, in which Dr. Proton, a once sane scientist named Blunderwitz but now a radiation-lobotomized madman, is determined to take over the world. He plans to accomplish this by using his army of Techbots, advanced, mechanized killing machines designed for the singular goal of annihilation. The first stage of his takeover bid was Earth's largest city, Los Angeles. All resistance and counter-attacks attempted by the military met with failure. Thus as a final resort, the CIA hires the eponymous hero and Ultimate Alien Ass-Kicker Duke Nukem to stop Dr. Proton's plans.
The first episode (Shrapnel City) finds Duke in the devastated city of Los Angeles, blasting his way through the urban streets swarming with Techbots. In the second episode (Mission: Moonbase), Duke follows Dr. Proton to his secret high-security moonbase, where his experiments and machinations reside. Finally, the third episode (Trapped in the Future!) sees Dr. Proton realizing that Duke is ruining his plans, and so he flees to the future with the help of his time machine. Duke gives chase, and must fight him across time if Dr. Proton is to be defeated and his mad schemes put to a permanent end.
[edit] Gameplay
The game is level-based, with the objective in each level being to reach that level's exit. Points are scored for killing and destroying enemies and for collecting items and completing objectives. Objectives include destroying all security cameras in a level and collecting all four letters of "DUKE" (even more bonus points are awarded for collecting them in the right order).
The game features many power-ups, including upgrades for your weapon (which allow faster fire rates), boots that make Duke jump higher and a claw that allows Duke to grapple along certain ceilings. There are many more collectibles that just offer points, including floppy disks, flags, radios and balloons. Most pick-ups can be found inside colored boxes, which are broken open when shot. However, some boxes are traps, and reveal dynamite which explodes and can harm Duke.
The game was notable in its time because of its smart level design, which allows for very fast gameplay. There are a number of routes the player can taken in each level, all of which end up at the same place. Alternatively, there is much to explore. This combination was much favored by gamers.
[edit] Weapon
Duke Nukem only uses one weapon: an atomic pistol that fires large green zig-zag nuclear bolts. It can only be fired straight ahead (i.e. left or right) and not up or down, because of the limitations of the game.
The atomic pistol can be upgraded by picking up a special upgrade item: an atomic pistol. Each time an atomic pistol is picked up, an extra nuclear bolt icon is displayed in the item panel on the right. The number of nuclear bolts there is the number of nuclear bolts that can appear on the screen at the same time. The highest level of upgrade is 5.
[edit] Duke Nukum
After the game's release, Apogee became aware of a villain character from the cartoon series Captain Planet named Duke Nukem. To avoid a potential lawsuit, Apogee renamed the game to Duke Nukum for its 2.0 version. However, it later became apparent that the name "Duke Nukem" was not copyrighted, and so Apogee registered it and has used it ever since.
[edit] External links
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