[typing]
The 20th anniversary of Duke Nukem 3D
may have passed by back in May of 2016,
but since when is it a shocker for a Duke Nukem game
to show up a little late?
So now we've got Duke Nukem 3D 20th Anniversary World Tour,
released for Windows, PS4 and Xbox One from Gearbox Software.
And full disclosure: I did purchase the game myself,
but then a PR person sent me a review copy a day before launch,
so I used that version to get this video out
even sooner than I would have otherwise.
So...
any time there's a remake or re-release,
I like to answer three simple questions:
What's old, what's new, and why care?
So let's get right to it and begin with what's old.
And well, this contains the exact same Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition
we've known and loved for two decades.
That's four episodes with eight to eleven levels each,
over a dozen weapons and inventory items,
and plenty of ugly alien bastards to kill.
DUKE: Let's rock!
LGR: Now this edition contains more than this, of course,
which we will get to soon,
but for the most part, this is the same old Duke Nukem 3D,
for better or worse.
Also returning is the rewind feature
that first showed up in the port
for last-generation consoles.
Although, it's the first time it's showed up on the PC, as far as I know.
So if you die, you don't have to worry about save games or anything,
and instead can just play back your actions until you don't suck.
And although the engine running the source code
IS different to what we've seen before on the PC,
the effect of running 20th Anniversary in Classic Mode
is very similar to what you get by running the original game's group files
under EDuke32.
That brings us to what's new,
and the big draw of 20th Anniversary Edition
is a fifth official episode titled "Alien World Order."
This includes eight levels with more complexity and detail
than any of the previous ones,
a new enemy that shrinks itself, floats around and burns things up,
known as the Firefly,
and a new weapon that lets you fulfill your arsonist fantasies,
the Flamethrower.
There's also a rendering mode Gearbox calls "True 3D,"
which can be implemented on the fly with a hotkey.
And this takes the original 2.5D Build Engine look,
and makes it so that it's something more akin to a modern 3D game.
It also boasts improved lighting and visual effects,
ambient occlusion,
and some additional resolution options.
No FOV adjustment but, you know,
it's Duke 3D, so I didn't exactly expect it.
And this new episode is also designed
with assistance of some of the original legendary designers
of Duke Nukem 3D,
including Allen H. Blum III
and Richard "Levelord" Gray.
It also includes re-recorded lines for Duke himself
by voice actor John St. John,
and a new musical score by composer Lee Jackson.
DUKE: Why so serious...
Sam?
Groovy!
LGR: There's also a developer commentary option,
taking notes from Valve's playbook
and featuring floating icons to interact with.
MAN: There used to be a lot more stuff here.
There used to be a bank across the street.
There used to be a bridge going across.
We had to get 20 FPS–
MAN #2: On a DX-2 66.
MAN #1: Yeah, something like that.
MAN #1: 66 MHz. MAN #2: Yeah, an Intel 66.
MAN #2: Not even a Pentium–
LGR: Notably absent from all of this, though,
is any involvement by 3D Realms producers
Greg Malone and George Broussard,
who were key in Duke 3D's development,
and I really would've liked to seen them here.
So let's talk about why you should or should not care about any of this.
Well there are two kind of people that I see this 20th Anniversary Edition appealing to.
Number One is die-hard Duke Nukem fans like myself
who buy anything with Duke Nukem in it
because it's practically part of our religion,
and people who want to play the game, perhaps for the first time,
on their PlayStation 4 or Xbox One as a native application.
Notice that I didn't say people who want this for PC
because chances are if you wanted Duke 3D for the PC,
you probably already own any number of other copies,
including the excellent Megaton Edition from 2013 that sold for $10.
And sure, it's pretty great to have a new episode
from some of the original designers,
and the developer commentary and lighting effects are kinda nice, too, but...
did we really need a whole new edition of the game to release these?
Well, in a forced way, yes,
if only because Megaton Edition and all other digital versions of Duke 3D
were pulled from sale a little while back.
It's also worth noting that, as of this video at least,
the data in 20th Anniversary is not compatible with EDuke32
or the original game's executables.
So you absolutely NEED 20th Anniversary to play the content right now.
That might not be so bad if you got a discount on the game
for owning previous versions of Duke 3D, but nope!
As of this recording, it's $20
no matter what previous versions you own.
Oh, and if you want to play on Linux or MacOS
like you could with the Megaton Edition, then tough luck!
No such version is available at the time of this review.
I find all of this to be customer-unfriendly tactics
that sour the relationship with long-time Duke Nukem fans,
even if I really do enjoy the new content for the most part.
And that's my final point.
For the most part,
this content is pretty sweet.
I like a lot of the new levels and the new music and stuff like that, but
when you look closer, there are a few issues,
most notably the sound quality,
or lack thereof.
Here, listen to the original game's sound quality
versus the 20th Anniversary Edition:
DUKE: Damn! Those alien bastards are gonna pay for shooting up my ride.
[muffled gunfire and explosion]
DUKE: Damn! Those alien bastards are gonna pay for shooting up my ride.
[gunfire and explosion]
LGR: It sounds muffled and lacks the punch of the original.
Like your speakers have had their cones replaced with sweaty socks.
This is made even more bizarre
by the inclusion of John St. John's new lines.
DUKE: Hail to the king, baby!
[muffled gunfire]
DUKE: Bitchin'!
[muffled explosions]
DUKE: Yeah, piece o' cake!
LGR: Yeah, as much as I enjoy the man's work,
I have to say it really throws me off here.
There's a HUGE disconnect between the old-school sound effects
and the crispy recordings of these new lines, and
I don't know, but to me it just doesn't sound like the performance that he's giving here
has quite the same... [grunts]
like, aggravation.
Pissed off, kind of Duke Nukem nature.
It's just not there.
Beyond this, the flamethrower weapon and Firefly enemies are pretty forgettable, and
pretty unsatisfying.
The Fireflies feel like a real challenge at first,
and you're dodging them– you know, you get set on fire
and burned to death, but then when you realize
they can be taken out super easily with just a single explosive,
even when they shrink, and they're no real threat.
And the flamethrower is just not very enjoyable to me.
Its arc makes it difficult to use against smaller enemies
and flying enemies alike,
and the whole thing just refuses to hit stuff sometimes.
Finally, the boss at the end of the game is the most pathetic I've ever seen.
It's just a palette swap of the Cycloid Emperor from the Shrapnel City episode,
and he barely moves
and only shoots a flamethrower a short distance.
So you can just stay a little bit away from it,
take it out with no problem. What a joke.
My final verdict on 20th Anniversary World Tour
is that it's not awful by any means,
but it missed an opportunity to be an amazing tribute to an amazing game.
To celebrate such an iconic first-person shooter reaching 20 years of existence,
I hoped for something a little more special.
I mean, yes, simply seeing new levels from the original designers
in the style of the old ones?
That's a special enough thing on its own.
It's like stepping into an alternate timeline
where the development on the Build Engine continued.
And it's enjoyably surreal
seeing the game reference more modern topics,
including poking fun at Duke Nukem Forever's gameplay.
But it sure would have been nice to see this new content
available as an extra for the Megaton Edition,
or even simply at a discount for owners of previous games.
It's still worth playing if you're a fan of the original,
and if you're a total newcomer, it's not a bad place to start, either.
And, hey, hopefully this release means more people would be playing Dukematch online,
and I am all in favor of that.
But it still leaves me feeling a bit left in the cold
as someone who has diligently bought
every edition of the game so far,
and is now expected to get yet another one
for less than an hour and a half of new levels,
some jarring new Duke talk,
developer commentary led by Randy Pitchford,
and a 3D engine that isn't a huge leap in quality
over what you can get for free
with EDuke32 and the original Duke files.
As impressive as some of this stuff is,
I personally feel that Duke Nukem 3D
deserved even better.
And if you enjoyed this look at the latest
iteration, re-release thing of Duke Nukem 3D,
why not check out some of my other videos here
on the topic of this wonderful game.
Probably my favorite of all time. I just love this.
So, in a way, I'm almost overly critical of it.
But that's how it goes!
And as always, thank you very much for watching.