• 15Jun 11

  Duke Nukem 3D - Revisiting the Glory Years

  I was feeling nostalgic at the beginning of last month, and I purchased the original Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition from gog.com. I don't think I have the computing power to do DNF justice right now, (although Crysis runs at an acceptable frame rate.) So I decided it was a case of "better old Duke than no Duke at all."

  I thought it would be interesting to get a fresh perspective of the game that started it all, over a decade ago. Playing it again could give me a better idea of what innovations Duke Nukem Forever brought to the table; and what qualities it carried over from its successor. (Not much it seems, judging from the reviews and gameplay footage I've seen.)

  Starting out with Wolfenstein 3D, I played most FPS titles back in the day. Duke 3D was one of the first games I remember where you could actually look up and down - unlike Doom for example. Thinking back to that era is a nostalgic experience; because things we take for granted in shooters like proper mouse and keyboard controls hadn't yet reached maturity. The release of Quake changed that...

  I think I first played DN3D with a Logitech Wingman joystick, using the stick for movement and the hat switch to look up/down. They were actually marketing joysticks for FPS games back then - times have changed. It wasn't until I found out about a program called eduke32 that I really became interested in buying the game - it adds proper mouselook, enhances the graphics (who needs rose coloured glasses?) and eliminates the need to use DOS mode.

  The ability to use the same controls I use for any other shooter was the clincher for me, because it really lets me fairly compare Duke 3D with modern shooters. I have to say it stacks up quite well - there are actually some features you see in shooters today; that I can't remember seeing in a game before Duke.

  After watching some somewhat uninspiring gameplay footage on "Now Playing: Duke 3D (retro)," I decided to upload a sample of what the game plays like when you're not playing on an XBox. It's a low res video, and it's got a 'demo' watermark on it; but it's had a few views. Rest assured that the game itself looks far prettier than what you can see in my vid... Can anyone suggest a good video capture utility to use?

  If you're interested in seeing what the original game was like, you can do so (legitimately) without having to spend anything - eduke32 works with the shareware episode of DN3D - which is still available for download - as well as the full version. One of the best features of the original Duke, is that you can pick up a jetpack; which gives you the ability to explore vertically, and find places you otherwise couldn't reach (as seen at the end of my video.)

  I was actually surprised to find out that in DNF, the jetpack's not available in single player - only multiplayer. I was hoping to see the same element of verticality that is present in some levels of the first game. Instead, we're given vehicle sequences that basically seem to act as filler. Jetpacks are good enough for games like Dark Void and Killzone 3, among others. You'd think the jetpack would be top of the list of vehicles included in the latest title...

  • Posted Jun 15, 2011 1:25 am GMT
  • Category: Editorial
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
• 22Apr 11

  Natural Camouflage in Bio Shock 1

  I recently finished my third playthrough in a row of Bio Shock 1, after not playing it for quite some time; and I found a tactic that was not mentioned in Gamespot's guide.

  Using Natural Camouflage; I found a way to basically be able to 'farm' Big Daddies, without using ammo. I should say almost without using ammo - you can expect to be able to at least injure a Big Daddy severely enough to kill it with a grenade or a few armor piercing rounds.

  With Natural camo, you can safely use security bots as a weapon; because all you need to do is stand still for a second or two to become invisible to them.

  You can just tag a Big Daddy with Security Bullseye, then intentionally set off an alarm in the hacking minigame. Vending machines are good for doing this, because they can't be destroyed during the fight, and they're often on a Big Daddy's patrol route.

  The security bots attack him for the duration of the alarm, and all you need to do is go somewhere you won't get hit by stray shots or exploding bots. This is also a good time to take some research photos, since you're more likely to get action shots. When the Big Daddy's dead, you just cloak and the bots won't target you.

  You attract no hostility from the Big Daddy by using Security Bullseye on him, so you can just rinse and repeat until he's dead - or just shoot him yourself if he's low on health.

  You don't necessarily need natural camouflage to use this tactic - it's also possible to deliberately set off an alarm and just lead the bots to your target before hitting it with Security Bullseye - but when the target's dead, you run the risk of the bots attacking you.

  Natural camouflage is also useful if you're trying to hack more difficult machines, because it doesn't matter if you set off an alarm. Instead of losing health by getting shocked, you can trigger the alarm and just pay the penalty of staying in one place for its duration.

  • Posted Apr 22, 2011 6:50 am GMT
  • Category: Games
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg

See Previous Blog Posts »