Duke Nukem 3D is back, thanks to a modder who is blending old and new with a project that implements fresh ideas into the classic shooter. The titular Duke has some of the most memorable lines in all of action gaming, and his antics in the 1996 release made him an icon of early PC gaming. While the series has pretty much fallen face first, fans will always remember the muscular hero for his ability to "kick ass and chew bubble gum," so it's not surprising that people keep returning to his prime.
In fact, there are other things in the pipeline from the community that are helping to restore the once stellar reputation of this high octane franchise. There is currently work being done on a Duke Nukem restoration project, which aims to bring the 2001 game, a new entry that was in progress before it was changed into the doomed Duke Nukem Forever, into the gaming sphere. It will rebuild the early work that the studio was putting in at the time before it got scrapped, and there's already been a pretty explosive trailer showing off what players can expect as and when it drops.
Now, thanks to modder marcolino123, Duke Nukem 3D fans can relive the classic mid-90s FPS as they remember it, only this time there are some new things to check out. According to the description, this mod, which is referred to as the "legacy edition" of the game, introduces new weapons and new monsters. It also implements a scoring system, a revamped version of the soundtrack, and rebalances the difficulty, making it harder for those veteran gamers who like a challenge. A launch trailer shows the game off in all its glory. It's still as many will remember, but with those aforementioned extras. The first three episodes are available to download right now.
It's a shame that the future of Duke is uncertain thanks to Forever, which came out in 2011. It single-handedly ruined the franchise with this one game, not only thanks to the long wait while it was being developed, but the finished product being lambasted for its uninspiring gameplay and dated references.
Hopefully the cigar-smoking alien killer will return in some official capacity. Duke Nukem 3D has gone down as one of the most iconic FPS games of the 90s, up there with such contemporaries as Doom and Quake. Thankfully, the modding community is continuing to keep his name in the limelight, and while fans may be wary about whether he should come back in a brand-new game, no doubt at least one studio out there has the chops to do Duke some justice.
Duke Nukem 3D was released in 1996 for PC, with numerous ports being launched over the years.