Duke Nukem, yet again.

Despite the fact that DNF had a slightly cliffhanger-ish ending (nevertheless keeping the possibility of a sequel coming; hopefully faster than last time), we might be seeing the Duke in our screens/monitors faster than we'd anticipated.


I've been aware of Duke Nukem 3D Reloaded for a while now. After all, it's barely news, is it? The project of converting the classic DN3D for the high-def era, while exciting to fans, has been in the works for a while by independent developer Interceptor Entairtenment. It's even been featured in magazines. And there were more than one team working on something similar, really, albeit not to the extent they are. But, what had slipped my attention, was that it's now officially licenced and supported by Gearbox, the current owners of the Duke Nukem licence. And for Gearbox it's a win-win situation. If it's good, they'll probably strike a deal to officially distribute it. If it's not, hey, they weren't the ones making it, right? They were just trying to help.


What does this mean? Let's break it down.


This promises to be both a remake (not always a good thing; see Planet of the Apes), a retouch (almost always a good thing, Star Wars aside) and a prequel (rarely a good thing: just look at Star Wars) to DNF. It's using the same engine, and has the same main character and general vibe, but that's probably where all similarities to DNF stop. Oh, and they're getting John St. John, the voice of Duke (no, not John Wayne; the other Duke) to record lines for it. We'll have to wait and see, I suppose, but so far it's looking good. It's got the burning desire to succeed, since it's made by gamers/fans, it has imagination and talent, and it now has official support. You don't need me to tell you that when making a game, support is tantamount, and money never hurts. A little voice in my head says a retouch will only accentuate DN3D's age gameplay-wise resulting in a rather lukewarm experience, but I remain optimistic.


Check it out on: http://www.dukenukemreloaded.com/