[Insert witty Duke Nukem soundboard item here]
He's back, baby. Duke Nukem 3D, the classic first-person shooter, is finally available on Android. It's everything you'd expect it to be, which is to say it's an extremely faithful port. If you've ever played Duke Nukem, you're right at home here. Same snide remarks, same point of view, same guns, same monsters.
Gameplay's fast -- almost too fast. The simple graphics don't allow much room for lag, which is good. But the screen's also pretty cluttered with buttons -- doubly so if you use dual-stick mode. But you can move the controls around, so that'll help some.
The game is a fairly big 27MB download. But for all those MBs, you only get one episode to play -- L.A. Meltdown. Lunar Apocalypse and Shrapnel City will each cost you another 99 cents. And that's on top of the ads that show up on the menus. Not a huge deal, but it's something to be aware of.
Otherwise, it's pretty straightforward. Not the best game we've seen on Android. But for 99 cents worth of nostalgia, it ain't bad.
Check out a few more screen shots, download links and our hands-on footage after the break.
Reader comments
Duke Nukem 3D for Android now available; we go hands-on
This is an atrocity IMO. I would have paid $5 for the game with all the parts, and without ads. Instead they get nothing from me.
Also, Mathparadice - people can be upset by something without ulterior motives. I for one saw these extra costs in the game (yes ads are a cost to the person playing), and wondered what the game was like for iOS. Turns out the internet has some information about that! I didn't have to own an iPhone or work for Apple, wow! *sigh* Anyway, it had all the levels and didn't have ads. Although it was apparently a not great port anyway, with the same bad controls.
"familiar heroes long ago, no matter how much peter loved her, what made the pan refuse to grow, was that the hook brings you back"-blues traveler
Credit card companies were caught posting to forums a few years back to push their own cards. It was on tv news.
Huuuuh? What does this have to do with anything? Lol
****Double post*****
To anyone considering purchasing this mediocre port of Duke Nukem, take my advice and just get N64oid(an AMAZING Android port of a famous N64 emulator)from the market, and download the full Duke Nukem ROM on a emulator-ROM sharing website. Now N64oid is considered a bit pricey for some, ringing up at $5.99,(last time I checked)but I can assure you, the developer of it is very talented(that's understating it), and the latest versions run most ROMs flawlessly. So spend six bucks, and you can play all kinds of free games..(well, basically free..because I know that none of you would d/l a ROM for a game you don't already own the rights to....right?? ;-) )
NOTE: I would NOT recommend that you invest in it, unless you're running a device that's clocked at the 1GHz frequency or higher. So, for all those rocking an entry-level device-such as the Optimus S- or classic devices like the Hero, OG Droid, etc; my advice to you is: don't waste your time/money. Those are all great Android devices, so don't get me wrong..but the simple fact is: they were not built to handle this type of CPU/GPU strain.
It's pretty laggy on my htc desire HD but runs fine on my acer iconia. Let's just say you need a dual core cpu for the emulator to be worth getting.
Jumpman was a better classic game. Someone should port that. And how do people know so much about ios if their on android. I had a treo once. F if I know s about trolling forums tho. apple. Even the name of the company was stolen, borrowed er reinvented.
I never said I disagreed.hard to keep the story straight isnt it.
Major let down.
I got balls of steel.
no music...geez. That was a real success for the original developers. without it....meh
So I have to pay for the app + 2 more levels + put up with ads? Sorry but I will not hail to the king.
I think alot of these people work for apple.
I think people that claim other’s who disagree with them are Apple shills are douches… …and do you think apple would let me say that if I worked for them?
-Suntan
No, unlike Apple fanboys, we have no problem offering a dissenting opinion when something is crap. And as an aside, the iOS version was just as craptacular, and half the d/l size.
Adds + pay extra for more episodes + no music = Epic Fail.
Are ads on the menu that bad? The Kindle ad-supported version has ads on the book selection screen (but not when reading).
Phil's daughter should have done the review on this game. His game play was the scariest part of that video.
It must be mentioned that this port is lacking the fantastic music that was so essential a part of the D3D experience.
A total meltdown? No. A total letdown? Yes.
This looks like a job for the Xperia PLAY!
It runs well on Sony Ericsson's Xperia PLAY ("PlayStation phone"), but there's no support for the physical gaming buttons.
I send them an e-mail, but the most people that request this feature, the more likely they are to update Duke Nukem 3D appropriately...
You can e-mail them here:
mailto:info@machineworksnorthwest.com
Never played Duke Nukem, did the Doom thing. I was hoping to support this app when it came out. But I don't like the business model. A purchased app with Ads and in app purchase is just something I don't care to support.
As an alternative to paying for the game, having ads, and paying for the levels in-app, there is a DOSBox port for android. Does that work well enough to run the actual Duke Nukem 3D DOS game?
i can't support in-app purchases to begin with, let alone buying the game, in-app purchases, and ads. throw in bad controls, and this game is a mess. bought and refunded.
disappointing because i was really looking forward to that nostalgia. would've paid $5 for the game outright, but in-app purchases blow.
the best choice is to install an emulator on your PC and enjoy this (and other games) for free :)
Does it scale well to tablet size? I could see the controls working better if they were smaller relative to the rest of the display.
I was going to buy this, as I spent countless hours playing it back in college. But not if there's ads.
Damn it, I was waiting for this game on Android! This was the game of my childhood. I had the whole Duke collection, all the episodes, expansions, even the original 2D scrollers! This port looks nice but those controls look busted! How disappointing....
Totally agree. I can accept ads in "ad supported" software but if I am expected to pay for an app or game I am expecting an ad free experience.
Duke Nukem 3D will NOT make it to my downloaded list out of principal.
I'm guessing it was a matter of keeping the game cheaper by implementing ads. It's only on the menu, guys. I think you might be overreacting just a bit.
Overreact, no way... not this group!
Have you tried it with a bluetooth controller like a PS3 controller, I wonder if its supported in the game....
Please don't support games that charge money *and* display ads. Didn't we learn our lesson with cable in the '80s?
-Suntan
What are you talking about? Subscription television in Australia STILL shows advertisements, despite launching back in the early '90s with no advertisements...