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Duke Nukem 64 is the Nintendo 64 port of the first-person shooter MS-DOS/PC game Duke Nukem 3D.

The Nintendo 64 port features significant changes from the PC version, including modified and expanded levels and a different set of weapons. The port also includes a four-player deathmatch mode and a two-player co-op mode via split-screen. The game's mature themes have been minimized to satisfy Nintendo's adult content standards.

In July 2020, the game was ported to the PC as part of the Rednukem project.

Levels

See Also: Level Changes in Duke Nukem 64

Singleplayer

In the Nintendo 64 version, levels are not divided into episodes. Instead, levels are always completed in an unbroken sequence beginning with Hollywood Holocaust and ending with Stadium. In the PC source port, levels are divided into the original Duke Nukem 3D episodes.

Almost all of the original levels from Duke Nukem 3D are present, but the secret levels Spin Cycle and Tier Drops have been replaced by two levels from the Atomic Edition, namely Duke-Burger (accessible via Gun Crazy) and Area 51 (accessible via Movie Set).

In addition, The Abyss and Overlord have each been split into two levels.

Many of the levels exhibit significant changes from the PC version, most notably Rabid Transit.

The levels progress as follows:

1. Hollywood Holocaust
2. Gun Crazy
3. Duke-Burger (Secret Level)
4. Death Row
5. Toxic Dump
6. Launch Facility
7. The Abyss
8. Battlelord
9. Spaceport
10. Incubator

11. Warp Factor
12. Fusion Station
13. Occupied Territory
14. Tiberius Station
15. Lunar Reactor
16. Dark Side
17. Lunatic Fringe (Secret Level)
18. Dreadnought
19. Overlord
20. Raw Meat

21. Bank Roll
22. Flood Zone
23. L.A. Rumble
24. Movie Set
25. Area 51 (Secret Level)
26. Rabid Transit
27. Fahrenheit
28. Hotel Hell
29. Freeway (Secret Level)
30. Stadium

Multiplayer

There are also four multiplayer-only levels. Piracy is a modified section of the level Babe Land from the Atomic Edition, and Noctis Labyrinthus is a secret level, only accessible via a secret exit button in Shaft.

Weapons

Main Article: Weapons in Duke Nukem 64

Some weapons have been replaced with new ones, and three weapons now support secondary ammo types.

Weapons found in Duke Nukem 64:

1. Mighty Foot
2. Pistol
3. Shotgun
4. SMGs (Sub-Machine Guns)
5. Grenade Launcher

6. Pipe Bombs
7. Shrinker & Expander
8. Missile Launcher
9. Laser Tripbombs
10. Plasma Cannon

Secondary ammo types:

Changes from Duke Nukem 3D

New gameplay mechanic: Freeing captive women

In Duke Nukem 64, captive women can be freed from alien pods, a feature that did not exist in Duke Nukem 3D. Alongside the number of enemies killed and secrets found, the total number of "Babes Saved" during a level is now displayed on the level-end screen after hitting the exit button.

N64 Level-End

Level-end screen, displaying the number of "Babes Saved"

Concomitant with this change, captive women can no longer be killed, and they no longer say "Kill me..." when Duke is standing near them. In addition, all captive women found underwater or hanging from ceilings have been replaced with mangled corpses, since they cannot be freed. In the game's memory, there are unused animations of the captive women breaking free from alien pods, but in the final version, they merely sparkle and vanish when freed.

Retired gameplay mechanics

A few gameplay mechanics from Duke Nukem 3D have been removed from this version of the game.

  • The level-end screen no longer displays level times. This means that levels no longer have a "Par Time" or "3D Realms' Time" associated with them.
  • It is no longer possible to save the player's progress during the course of a level. Instead, progress is only saved upon completing each level. This may explain why The Abyss and Overlord have each been split into two levels; they have been split in such a way that the player's progress is saved immediately before the boss battles.
Battlelord level

Boss battle with the Battlelord. The option to save game manually has been removed, but progress is automatically saved before boss battles.

Level changes

Main Article: Level Changes in Duke Nukem 64

Nearly all the levels have been modified, and a handful of levels have been profoundly expanded.

Weapon changes

Main Article: Weapons in Duke Nukem 64

All of the weapons have been graphically redrawn, and a few new weapons have been introduced. Three weapons now support multiple ammo types.

Ammo types 2

Left: Regular Shotgun Shells. Right: Explosive Shotgun Shells. Bottom: Plasma Cannon.

Enemy changes

Main Article: Enemies in Duke Nukem 64

Protector Drone

Alien Beast

Inventory changes

  • The Steroids have been renamed "Vitamin X."
  • The player's Armor amount is now displayed under the inventory as an item, rather than having its own unique place in the HUD.
New HUD

Updated HUD. The armor is displayed in the same slot as other inventory items.

Cinematic changes

  • Explosions are now rendered in 3D, and they are accompanied by smoke and semi-transparent visual effects.
  • All mirrors in the game are shattered. Duke's reflection is never shown.
  • The skies and/or backdrops on each level are a solid color. Stated more technically, there are no parallax effects.
  • The game begins with an introductory cutscene, explaining Duke's previous exploits in Duke Nukem I and Duke Nukem II.
Effects

New 3D explosions are accompanied by smoke and semi-transparent visual effects.

Audio changes

  • Except for the menu music, there is no in-game music.
  • Duke's one-liners have been re-recorded by Jon St. John, with potentially offensive language rephrased or removed entirely. For example, the line "those alien bastards" has been replaced with "those alien scum," and the line "you're the disease, and I'm the cure" has been replaced with "die, you son of a bitch." Other phrases, such as "eat shit and die," are nowhere to be found. However, some crude phrases, such as "it's time to kick ass and chew bubblegum, and I'm all out of gum," are still present.

Bugs

Main Article: Bugs in Duke Nukem 64

Duke Nukem 64 has many known software bugs. Briefly, these include the appearance of multiplayer-only Expander sprites during singleplayer, looping sound effects, scrambling map layouts when standing atop certain doors, enemies spawning inside of walls, exploding when touching certain surfaces, and multiplying elevators during multiplayer.

Trailers

Duke_Nukem_64_Commercial

Duke Nukem 64 Commercial

External links

Duke Nukem 64
Enemies Common Enemies: Assault Captain | Assault Commander | Enforcer
Assault Trooper | Battlelord Sentry | Octabrain | Pig Cop | Alien Beast
Protozoid Slimer | Recon Patrol Vehicle | Sentry Drone | Shark | Turret
New: Overlord Sentry
Bosses: Battlelord | Overlord | Cycloid Emperor
Weapons Mighty Foot | Pistol | Shotgun | SMGs (Sub-Machine Guns) | Grenade Launcher
Pipe Bombs | Shrinker | Expander | Missile Launcher
Laser Tripbomb | Plasma Cannon
Items Health: Small Medkit | Large Medkit | Atomic Health | Armor
Access Card | Holoduke | Jetpack | Night Vision Goggles | Portable Medkit
Protective Boots | Scuba Gear | Vitamin X
Episodes L.A. Meltdown | Lunar Apocalypse | Shrapnel City
Related Games Duke Nukem 3D | Duke Nukem 64 | Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown
Duke Nukem 3D (Sega Saturn) | Duke Nukem 3D (XBLA)
Other Multiplayer | Hazards | Difficulty | Cheat Codes | Quotes | Music
Game Bugs | Build Engine | Creators | Duke Nukem (Character)
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