Duke Nukem 3D - PC, 28/3/96

It takes a special kind of 3D key-finding shoot 'em up to rise above the Doomish flotsam, and for some time we were sure that Duke Nukem 3D was not one of this elite "button party".

US Gold's advance PR concentrated on flimsy novelties such as the ability to kick urinals off the wall, leaving no clue that this game was set to be one of the most fulfilling of the genre.

And you can kick urinals off the wall!

Duke Nukem 3D, while offering almost nothing new, somehow manages to create a uniquely involving game environment.

There's far more of a sense of freedom of movement than in most of the ilk - you can wander around streets deciding which ravaged building to enter first, or even hop around on windowsills.

The find-key, find-exit formula inevitably imposes some rigidity of structure, but as you wander abandoned streets, looking up and around, you rarely feel constrained.

It's the little touches that make Duke Nukem 3D such a convincing experience.

Baddies and weapons you've all seen before, but there's less of the deja vu that blights most of these games.

All the buildings - cinemas, dirty video shops, amusement arcades - have their own atmosphere and "tricks".

In the cinema you can turn on the projector and view a saucy film; kick the tables in the pool hall and the balls move around.

Where Duke Nukem 3D could so easily have fallen down - the graphics demanded by towering cityscapes - it gets away with just a little stumble.

You see, the SVGA mode for once works splendidly on a 486 - at least it did on our big, brown DX4.

We'll no doubt have a chance to flay the dried corns off any deeper flaws when the full version comes out next month, but in the mean time, please buy this. It's absolutely wizard!

Duke Nukem 3D Shareware - PC - by Apogee/US Gold

Req: 486SX 8Mb RAM
Graphix: 90%
Sonix: 86%
Gameplay: 91%
Lifespan: 40%
Originality: 66%
Uppers: 3D shooting never seemed so big
Downers: Another Doom-boy at heart
Overall: 91% - Cute Lucan