Duke Nukem

Duke Nukem is famous a Personnage of video game, hero of a series of many plays of action on PC and console, born on July 1st, 1991.

My name is Nukem, Duke Nukem

It is large, muscular, and has the capped fair hair brushes some (its physique evokes that of the actor Dolph Lundgren). Its vestimentary style almost did not change: red tee-shirt, jeans and black boots of motor bike. Only the fans of the first hour remember that it has the blue eyes, because starting from Duke Nukem 3D it carries black glasses permanently. Moreover it is as starting from this episode as its voice is that of Jon St John, giving him this serious and raucous tone well-known.

It often is represented equipped with a jet-pack (engine dorsal) and armed with a large automatic pistol, of unspecified nature at the beginning, but resembling vaguely a Desert Eagle customized in its most recent adventures.

One knows little thing about his biography. In the very first episode, on DOS, one can learn that Duke was engaged by the CIA for a mission commando against the enemy of then, Doctor Proton, but one knows nothing about the character himself, with share perhaps which it resides (rait?) in California.

Although it is prone to controversy at the fans, the name of “Nukem” would be the contraction of “ nuke them besides” (“atomize them”, in English) since Duke Nukem 2, the nuclear symbol is systematically associated to the character. Also, Duke was called “Nukum” in the update of version 2.0 of the first play, because the originators had believed to understand that the name had already been deposited under copyright. Actually, it of it was nothing, and they could take again the name of “Nukem” during the development of the second opus.

Its enemies

Its first adversaries were the robots of Dr. Proton, the insane scientist having sought to conquer the world with the head of a cybernetic army. In the episode two, they are mysterious aliens which removes Duke to make use of its brain in their computer of war which was to enable them to conquer the Earth. It is starting from Duke Nukem 3D that its recurring enemies appear: others aliens (they would be the same ones as in Duke Nukem 2 , but they are not easily recognizable) which want to always seize planet to reduce the human ones in slavery.

Like this episode marks the appearance in the series of a good layer of pickling humor, the aforementioned aliens is almost caricatures, and seems to leave the telefilms of bottom-of-the-range science fiction of the Années 1980. Their principal characteristic lies in an unexplained fascination for the human females, and in particular the prostitutes of bottoms funds of Los Angeles, which they collect (with half stripped) in bottles.

The opponent more the current of Duke is undoubtedly the porkoflic (pig COP) mutant man-wild boar manufactured starting from body of police officer of the LAPD, generally armed with pump rifle. It is most famous, with the octobrain and others lizard captain to quote only them.

It is noticed that the extraterrestrial ones met in Duke Nukem 3D take as a starting point certain cinematographic kinds. Thus, in Duke Nukem Atomic Edition , a new monster fact are appearance and resembles to mistake there with the alien of “Day Independence”. The eggs refer also to the film “Alien”. They are round, gray and orange with their root and hatch in the same way that in Alien . The protozoïdes which leave there jump on the face of their preys, another reference to Alien of Ridley Scott.

The references to the cinema and on television are important in Duke Nukem 3D : in addition to reminiscences of the film Alien , one can see doors known as “Star Trek” in the second episode ( Lunar Apocalypse ). This episode is parodied besides in the level Movie Set (plate of cinema) of the third episode ( Sharpnel City ). Moreover, one finds a reference to Indiana Jones in a secrecy places Hotel Hell (will say Duke) and at Terminator 1 in the level hidden Freeway . Regularly in the play, of the posters of Sister Act III are placarded (one sees two women in bikini there). In addition, to escape from the prison of Death Row (one sees the space marine Doom in the vault (one intends Duke at this time there to say " That' S one doomed space marine! " : “Here one of these space marine cursed! ”)), Duke passes through a poster of one of the cells to emerge in the sewers, as in the Escaped prisoners of Franck Darabont. One can finally quote the Star Wars with one of the levels of Lunar Apocalypse , named Dark Side (“obscure side”) and also Simpson with the advertizing zeppelin Duff Beer of the final level. Amusing detail: behind the counter of APU (grocer of Simpson), one can see a terminal arcade " Nuke" with a drawing of explosion atomic, reference to the play. Also in the levels on the Moon, a black monolith, reference to the film " 2001, Odyssey of the espace" , which is used as teleportor to go on the Alien vessel

Its weapons

In DN1, the weapon (single) of Duke is described as a kind of rifle to radiation (from where it “atomize them”, to see higher) In DN2, this weapon becomes adaptable, being able to draw, with the liking of the found no-claims bonus, the missiles or the lasers.

With the passage to the kind FPS, Duke was equipped with a more important arsenal still, and often original. Here for memory, weapons available in DNN 3D: besides

  • the kick (especially useful to destroy the decoration or to complete an enemy), Duke which can give kicks of the 2 feet at the same time! (Only in the first version. Corrected in the following versions.)

  • the gun (arms basic);
  • the shotgun (sawn gun pump rifle);
  • the machine-gun (a Gatling which resembles funny of machine with three guns);
  • the RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade: a rocket launcher, traditional since Doom);
  • the pipe bombs (grenades with remote release);
  • the Schrinker (“retrecissor”, to minimize the enemies and to crush them). Starting from the add one Plutonium Pack (1997), this weapon is equipped with a binocular ( Canon with microwaves ) having the opposite effect: it widens the enemies until exploding them. This version is however definitely less practical and especially jouissive (but very amusing with the first uses).
  • the Devastator (double balancing gun of the mini-missiles by gust);
  • the Laser trip-bombs (mines laser punts to be placed on a floor, projecting a red ray which, if crossed, enlenche the explosion of the mine);
  • the Freezer (ray freezer of enemies).

Others weapons will appear in the successive episodes, but those will return systematically, this is why they are quoted here.

The series

the play which introduced the character. It is about a Jeu of platform in two dimensions. a continuation always concerned of platform. First episode in 3D, it acts of a Jeu of subjective shooting which is a great success. This play is also compatible under Windows 95 /98/2000/ME/NT/XP and Vista. Different from version DOS.
  • (Cancelled): Duke Nukem: Endangered Species on Windows (Envisaged for 2002 cancelled then, a mixture of action in the jungle and Play of subjective shooting.)

  • (Cancelled): Duke Nukem: D-Day on PlayStation 2 (Envisaged for 2004)
  • (Under development): Duke Nukem Forever (supposedly always under development since 1996, left supposed in 2007 according to the American English magazine/ PC Gamer , makes this project of play of it constitutes one of most famous the arlésiennes world of the video game, between masterly pun on behalf of the developers and makes an attempt pious on behalf of the fans.)

Duke also appears in other plays, for example in the play of race Death Rally , but also, and it is less known because older, in another play of platform of Apogee Software: Cosmo cosmic' S adventure .

External bonds

  • What occurred since the advertisement from Duke Nukem Forever

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