Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition - Four Episodes. All Done. (And one Expansion)

Another game in the bag and this one more of a classic title. Also less thinky, more 'Gun everything in sight..y'. To be fair its hard to really say anything about Duke Nukem 3D that hasn't been covered by many other people in the past... I shall try though.

Lets hit up the basics first, this is a tough first person shooter with enemies aplenty, explosions all over the shop and secrets hidden in every nook and cranny. There's no regenerating health, no 'Allies' you have to protect and no epic story about time-travelling Vin Diesel lookalikes. Its just here is a level, here be a gun, make it to the exit and stay alive. Job done.

And you know... It still works wonderfully. Enemies come thick and fast, the action never feels unfair (unless you play one of the many wonky fanmaps for the game who seem to think difficulty equals throwing the player against impossible odds) and everything flows perfectly... Well... Almost perfectly anyway. Through the game there are four different chapters, each ending with a boss. The bosses are a bit rubbish and simply are there to mark out completion, they all go down very easily and usually to a stream of 'Strafe and shoot, Strafe and shoot'. In addition, while the last chapter (Chapter Four for those who cannot count) contains loads of memorable sequences and levels, the Second chapter which is almost all set in space? Not so much thanks to endless corridors and rooms that looks very similar.

Special attention has to go to some of the weaponry in the game. While you have your usual assortment of FPS favourites such as pistols, shotguns, machineguns and RPGs, there's also more 'interesting' far at play from a freeze-gun that lets you shatter enemies with ease and then my favourite... The 'Shrink' gun, letting you turn enemies into tiny little things and then stomping on em.

Now it should also be said that this isnt exactly the 'Proper' version of the game, this is more of a mini-remake, adding things like proper mouse support, easy to use saving and use of the steam features (aka: Level workshops for easy downloading, achievements, trading cards and cloud saves). In all honestly, I probably would have not played it all the way through if it wasnt... Lets just say having proper mouselook so you can aim easily is needed at all times.

Now as well as the four main episodes there's also three 'expansion' packs to go through as well. I have already gone through one of them (Duke it out in D.C) and well... Trust me when I suggest to steer clear of that expansion. Badly designed maze-like levels abound with no clear objective. Not fun.

You shouldn't however let a few avoidable issues put you off this title though. If you are looking for a game to just turn brain off and get blastin' then this is a very good one to go through.

Oh the other two expansions? I probably will wind up playing them too and probably will post up here about them as well. The more the merrier they say!